Action 52
Action 52 | |
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Single-player Multiplayer |
Action 52 is an unlicensed
The NES version of Action 52 sold poorly and became infamous among gamers for the poor quality and functionality of its games; it is often considered to be one of the worst games of all time. The Genesis version is widely considered superior, though still of subpar quality. Many video game collectors value Action 52 for its notoriety and rarity. It initially retailed for the comparatively high price of US$199 (equivalent to $445 in 2023).[3]
Gameplay
NES
The NES version of Action 52 includes games that cover a variety of
; other issues include incomplete or endless levels, confusing design, and unresponsive controls.Each game is given a brief description in the manual for Action 52. Some of the descriptions cover games from the early development of Action 52 that were very different from the games of corresponding titles; for example, Jigsaw is described as a game involving a jigsaw puzzle, but the game titled as such on the final product is a platformer involving a construction worker avoiding construction tools.[4]
The Cheetahmen is the featured game of Action 52, and was intended to launch a multimedia franchise and an accompanying line of merchandise. A Cheetahmen animated television series, a comic book series and T-shirts were planned. An advertisement for action figures, which included concept art, appeared in a promotional comic book included in the Action 52 package.[5][6] However, these plans were eventually cancelled due to the extremely negative reception Action 52 received.[citation needed]
Active Enterprises advertised a contest involving Ooze, one of the games of Action 52. Players who could complete Level 6 of the game could enter a drawing for $104,000 ($52,000 cash, and a scholarship with the same value). Ooze was reported to consistently crash on Level 2; therefore, it was impossible to qualify for the contest[7] without using an emulator; after the contest had been cancelled, a second version of Action 52 was released which fixed this crashing problem, among some others.
The opening sequence of the NES version uses a
Sega Genesis
Few of the games from the NES version of Action 52 appear in the Sega Genesis version; although many of the titles have been retained, the games themselves have been rebuilt from scratch for the most part.[9] For example, Haunted Hills appears in both versions, but the player character's gender is different (female in the NES version and male in the Genesis version), as is the setting, which is inside a haunted house in the NES version, and outside of one in the Genesis version. In the Genesis version of The Cheetahmen, the titular characters rescue cheetah cubs from Dr. Morbis and his minions.
Many - though not all - of the numerous technical issues with the NES version have been fixed in the Genesis version, which also takes advantage of the Genesis's superior hardware.[9] Each game is color-coded on the main menu screen; "Beginner" games are green, "Intermediate" games are purple, "Expert" games are yellow, "Challenge" games are white, and multiplayer games are blue.[9] The 52nd game, also titled Challenge, consists of a random sequence of the highest levels of the other single-player games.[9] Also included in the Genesis version are the Randomizer, which selects a game at random, and a music demo mode.
Development
The creator of Action 52 was Vince Perri, a businessman from
In 1993, Perri showcased Action 52 at the
According to González, the gaming press's characterization of Action 52 as a "scam" is incorrect. He says that Perri, inspired by his neighborhood's reaction to the Taiwanese compilation, fully intended, at least in the beginning, to create and market a legitimate multicart. However, Perri knew little about the video game business when he launched his venture, and as a result made serious errors, such as entrusting the project to programmers who had too little experience, and giving them an insufficient length of time to develop Action 52. Perri's expectation that the multicart would launch a multimedia Cheetahmen franchise was similarly not well-founded, given the game's low quality.
The Sega Genesis version of Action 52 was developed by FarSight Technologies, under the direction of Jay Obernolte, using a Macintosh LC.[15] FarSight's experienced programmers, along with the returning Pérez and Hernández (González opted not to participate, in order to spend more time with his girlfriend, whom he would eventually marry), were allowed to spend a year developing this version. FarSight insisted that Active Enterprises playtest it before its release; thus, the resulting multicart had far fewer glitches than the NES version released two years before. Mark Steven Miller and Jason Scher of Nu Romantic Productions composed the music for the Genesis version, in 48 hours. A version of the game for the SNES was planned for release in October 1993 but was canceled.[10] Active Enterprises also planned to have FarSight develop another multicart titled Sports 5, but Active folded without releasing either game soon after, and no copies of them are known to exist.
Reception
Publication | Score |
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AllGame | [16] |
Critical reaction to Action 52 has been consistently negative.
The entirety of Action 52 has also been famously reviewed by internet personality and YouTube content creator James Rolfe (as his persona, the Angry Video Game Nerd), which originally aired on YouTube on July 21, 2011. Despite his comedic exaggerations, the review pointed out severe cases of repeating themes, crashing or non-functional games, critical bugs, and misleading titles.[17]
Destructoid called gave a highly critical review, noting that "there’s nothing worth playing in the lot."[18]
A Rock, Paper, Shotgun retrospective review in 2019 delivered the similar criticism, stating that "all the games in the collection were creatively bankrupt rush jobs" and that the best games in the collection could be described as "minigames which functioned."[19]
Atlas Obscura gave similar criticism and noted that there was a remake project in 2010 to remake all of the games in the cartridge due to their low quality and that 23 were completed, but no updates have come from the project since then.[20]
See also
- List of commercial failures in video games
- List of video games notable for negative reception
- Asset flip
- Caltron 6 in 1
- Cassette 50
- Don't Buy This
References
- ^ a b "Action 52 for NES - MobyGames". MobyGames. Archived from the original on 2023-10-06. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ "What is the Single RAREST Item in Your Collection? - Page 57 - Retrogaming Roundtable". Archived from the original on 2023-03-19. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
- ^ "Top Ten Shameful Games". Archive.gamespy.com. 2002-12-31. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ "Action 52 - Nintendo NES - Manual -" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ^ "Active Enterprises exposed". atarihq.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ "Action 52 - th' Stuff". Arkfullofsorrow.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2009-07-22.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Chiucchi, Vincent (2008-01-17). "411mania.com: Games - The Hall of Shame 01.17.08: Action 52". 411mania.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-06. Retrieved 2009-11-14.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Cinemassacre (2011-07-21), Action 52 - Angry Video Game Nerd - Episode 90, retrieved 2016-02-21
- ^ a b c d Jave. "Action 52 - NES (1991) / Action 52 - Genesis (1993) / Cheetahmen 2 - NES (unreleased)". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ The Miami Herald.
- ^ a b "Mario Gonzalez (Action 52) - Interview". Arcade Attack. 2017-09-16. Archived from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ^ "Cartridge has 52 video games". Austin American-Statesman. 1993-01-30. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ "Post on NESDev forums by Kevin Horton". 2011-04-05. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-04-09.[unreliable source?]
- ^ "YouTube Video demonstrating matching songs from "The Music Studio" and "Action 52"". YouTube. 2009-02-12.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Harris, Andrew; Allwein, Dave (2003). "Jay Obernolte Interview". Cheetahmen Corner. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ AllGame. Archived from the originalon December 11, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
- ^ Cinemassacre (2011-07-21), Action 52 (NES) - Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN), archived from the original on 2024-03-29, retrieved 2024-03-29
- ^ Handley, Zoey (2022-12-26). "The 8 most expensive video games you don't really want to play". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2024-05-01. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ Crowley, Nate (2019-12-04). "Have You Played... Action 52?". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ Smith, Ernie (2016-12-13). "The Video Game That Promised to Contain 52 Video Games And Failed Miserably". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 2022-10-21. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
External links
- List of all Action 52 games — a comprehensive website detailing all 52 of the games in the compilation.
- Active Enterprises exposed — a website with information on both Action 52 and Active Enterprises.
- Cheetahmengames.com Archived 2013-01-21 at the Wayback Machine — official website of The Cheetahmen.
- Action52Prototype.com — Action 52 Developer #4's firsthand story of the development of Action 52 and the rare Action 52 prototype NES game cartridge.