True Lies (SNES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
365A playthough of LJN's 1994 licensed-based action game for the Super NES, True Lies.
Played through on the normal difficulty level.
True Lies was a popular Hollywood action movie, and so it should come as no surprise that its gaming equivalent was brought to us by Acclaim/LJN. What might surprise you, though, is that True Lies is a good game.
The thoroughly ridiculous movie provides the perfect setup for a good old-fashioned action game. Terrorists, covert government operations, double-identities, nonstop and large-scale destruction of property, Arnold Schwarzenegger... all the key ingredients are here.
Instead of going the usual route with these types of games - the traditional 2D platformer - True Lies is a top-down run-and-gun style shooter with *extremely* light puzzle/adventure elements, making it feel like methodically paced take on old classics like Bloody Wolf, Commando, and Heavy Barrel.
You play as Arnie (of course), blasting his way through public places like parks, shopping malls, office buildings with a fun selection of weapons. In addition to the standard assortment of action movie firearms, you can find flamethrowers and mines to really up the violence quotient. Most of the stages have you running through huge, maze-like areas looking for random items that you need in order to progress, and of course, the throngs of bad guys stand in your way at every possible opportunity.
Thankfully, Arnie's controls are well-tailored to face the often nigh-insurmountable odds he faces. He gets a tuck'n'dive move, perfect for closing distance while avoiding gunfire; he can strafe, a necessity for surviving even the earliest stages; and he can fire in any direction, including those that fall between the 45 degree increments in an 8-way control scheme.
The game is difficult, but the varied level designs and the constant level of action keep it driving forward, and there is a password system in place so that you don't have conquer the entire thing in one sitting.
I did have one moment where I decided to test my luck and show off a bit, hahaha. I was curious whether or not I could do the final mission without anything but the pistol and the flamethrower, so if you were wondering why I run from everything in the final stage, there you go.
Finally, the presentation is excellent. There are tons of digitized stills from the movie here, the locations are all impressively detailed and huge, and if you like violence, OMG THERE IS SO MUCH BLOOD. Unlike most SNES games, this one loves turning people into big red puddles. Take someone put with a shotgun at point-blank range and you'll see what I mean. The music is also great, but I think I liked it so much because it reminded me of Shadowrun's soundtrack. It uses a lot of the same samples and rhythms, but I guess that makes sense since both games were developed by Beam.
True Lies is probably the best Arnold Schwarzenegger game on the 16-bit platforms, LJN logo be damned, so if you want a bit of over-the-top bit mid 90's action hero violence, this one is well worth giving a go.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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