Risk (Genesis) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
72A playthrough of Parker Brothers' 1994 strategy boardgame adaptation for the Sega Genesis, Risk.
This video shows two different games played through to the end. The first is of the game being played in "arcade" mode, and the second, beginning at 29:31, is played in "classic" mode. Both are played as six-player games against the CPU.
Risk on the Sega Genesis was the first video game adaptation of the classic board game to be made for consoles. Being released after their video game renditions of Monopoly and Clue, Sculptured Software and Parker Brothers' experience in cramming a board game into a cartridge shines through quite plainly.
The game stays as true as possible to the original board game - you place your armies, claim as many lands as you possibly can, and invade any other territories with your armies in your attempts at conquering the world. The strategy and dynamics of the board game translate quite well here, and the battles do a great job of bringing it all to life. In arcade mode, you actively aim and fire your cannons at the enemy army, while in classic mode you merely watch as the AI handles it for you, but they both have some impressive graphics - I particularly liked the classic mode's auto-battle graphics. The montage of Civil War-era war scenes look fantastic (yeah, the Genesis can do big cinematics quite nicely when the graphics aren't dithered to buggery!), and the first-person cannon shootouts have a huge variety of backdrops to fight against (that actually somewhat reflect the location of the battle, neat touch!). The map might not be that exciting to look at, but hey - it's a low resolution world map. What else would you expect? The sound is great too - the folksy Civil War-style music is surprisingly memorable - many of these themes will be going around your head for awhile! The loud sounds of cannons, gunshots, and satisfyingly agony-filled digitized screams also come through well thanks to the solid sample work.
However, the excellent presentation would mean little if the game fell flat. Thankfully, Risk rises above that. The battle scenes are a neat (albeit somewhat unnecessary) way to give the game a healthy dose of action, the AI players are surprisingly well-balanced, and the strategic game play is just as engaging here as it ever was in table-top form.
Risk is insanely cheap at the moment, and if you own a Genesis, there's no question - you need to own this game. Whether you're playing with several friends or going it alone against the CPU, Risk is an addictive experience that'll keep you entertained for hours at a shot.
It's amazing how much fun can get crammed into a 512K cartridge, isn't it?
_
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
Visit for the latest updates!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/NintendoComplete/540091756006560
https://twitter.com/nes_complete