Composer(s) Andy Brock Mode(s) Single-player Developer Acclaim Cheltenham | Genre(s) 2D action platform Initial release date 1995 Publisher Acclaim Entertainment | |
 | ||
Distributor(s) Throwback Entertainment Designer(s) Simon Bland
Andy Cambridge
Ben O' Reilly Platforms Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, DOS Similar Acclaim Entertainment games, Platform games | ||
Judge Dredd is an action video game for the Super NES, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear and Game Boy originally released in 1995. The game is loosely based on the 1995 film Judge Dredd, which was a spin off from the Judge Dredd strip from 2000AD.
Contents
Gameplay
The game features run and gun gameplay with a variety of weapons. The player is given a choice to either execute criminals or arrest them.
Levels range from the major futuristic city known as Mega-City One, a prison in a post-nuclear wasteland, ruins and a showdown with the rogue Judge Rico.
Plot
In the 22nd century, everybody lives in the urban areas of the world. Police officers and lawyers have been abolished and only the Judges are in complete control of human society. One of them, Judge Dredd, must pursue the renegade Judge Rico and Mega-City's most dangerous criminals. Eventually, Dredd defeats Rico and wins a final battle with the Dark Judges to rescue Mega-City.
Development
For seven of the game's 12 levels, the backgrounds were created by digitizing sets from the movie; the remaining five levels use backgrounds based on the comic book.
Reception
The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly criticized that the game's bosses are overly difficult, but generally approved of Judge Dredd for its large levels and selection of weapons, with one of their reviewers remarking that "What Judge Dredd lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in playability." They were much more critical of the Genesis version, which they said suffers from inferior graphics, sound, and most importantly, control compared to the SNES version. Similarly, GamePro criticized the game's lack of originality but praised the large levels, selection of weapons, and the ability to arrest enemies instead of killing them. They too gave the Genesis version a more negative review on account of inferior graphics and sounds.
Electronic Gaming Monthly reviewed that the game "translates surprisingly well to the Game Boy", with most of the levels and graphical effects of the home versions, but that the Game Boy version also suffers from inferior sound quality. GamePro's review of the Game Boy version criticized that Judge Dredd is overly similar to previous handheld action/adventure games and has so-so controls, but concluded, "Is Judge Dredd tough? Not guilty. Is it terrific? Not guilty. Is it worth playing? Guilty."