Red Zone

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Red Zone
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Scavenger, Time Warner Interactive
Developer: Zyrinx
Sound driver: Zyrinx/Jesper Kyd sound driver
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-11 T-48376 EU 1994-11 T-48376-50 PT 199x UK 1994-11 £44.9944.99 T-48376-50 CZ 199x AU 1994-11 $109.95109.95 FLAW00SMC KR 199x HIC-95001

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Red Zone is a Sega Mega Drive action game developed by Zyrinx and published by Time Warner Interactive. First released in Europe and the United States in November 1994, the game is most notable for its various graphical effects, such as sprite rotation, vector-based 3D maps, and limited full-motion video - all without utilizing extra hardware like Virtua Racing, and proudly used as one of the game's selling points.

Story

The story can also be read in-game in the "History" option on the title screen, in which the game's premise is chronicled in detail.

A radical party has succeeded in a cruel military takeover in a small former communist country called Zyristan, taking over huge depots of nuclear weapons. The coup was lead by the former colonel of the Zyristan army: Ivan Retovitz, a brutal power seeking psychopath and a notorious liar. Retovitz is a ruthless leader who has used drug trafficking to finance and purchase middle-eastern weapons to use in extreme right-wing terrorist attacks.

After using their newly acquired military firepower to annex neighbouring countries, Dictator Ivan Retovitz makes a territorial claim on two new countries. He threatens to use Zyristan's nuclear weapons on the neighbouring countries and on any countries from the free world daring to interfere, giving the world 24 hours to comply to his demands. Ivan claims that it is the last territorial claim that he will make, but a spy video tape reveals his plans about obtaining world domination by taking over one country at a time.

In a desperate last attempt to overthrow Retovitz's Zyristan party, a team of the world's elite troops assemble a covert plan to stop Retovitz and his party from taking over the world. The team is composed of "Shades", "Rocco", and "Mirage" — Each of them being trained in martial arts combat, heavy weapons operation, and vehicle reconnaissance. Military intelligence experts have recommended that a small aircraft to enter Zyristan airspace on a stealth mission bearing the codename: "Operation Red Zone". Once inside the airspace, the objective of the team is to disable the Zyristan missile launching facilities, which is to be followed by an allied infantry invasion. To accomplish this plan, the team secretly builds a special three-seater (Pilot, Gunner, Navigator) AH-64B Apache helicopter.

Gameplay

The game is a shooter consisting mostly of flight missions using a helicopter fighter, interspersed with on-foot missions. The player starts out in control of the team's Apache fighter chopper, then having to pilot the Apache through enemy fire to complete a series of missions, utilizing their navigational maps to locate enemy outposts, fighter jets, and nuclear missile sites.

The helicopter starts out the mission landed on a landing pad. In order to lift off the ground, the player hold or any other direction until the chopper is flying in the air. Once airborne, the player can move the Apache by pressing and to move forwards/backwards, and press and to turn the Apache left/right. The Apache is armed with a variety of weapons that are aimed with a crosshair that is at a fixed distance from the front of the helicopter, which steers alongside the helicopter itself. Those weapons include a 30mm chain gun (fired with ), Hellfire tank killer missiles, 70mm rockets and Stinger missiles (fired with and switched between with ).

In order to land, the player must hover the Apache over a landing pad, which makes the Apache land automatically.

During the on-foot missions, the player has option to select between one of the three soldiers. In this mode, the game also uses a lot of technical tricks to simulate a 3D environment similar to e.g. Loaded on Sega Saturn. Once a character is defeated, he is permanently dead. If all characters perish, the mission fails, and its considered a Game Over.

Overall the game is rather puzzle oriented. Strict ammo limits, low health, as well as limited fuel require a well planned approach. Armor, weaponry, and fuel need to be replenished by picking up the respective items (marked with letters on the game's map, accessible via the  START  button).

A password system is used to record progress, with passwords being given after the completion of a mission. Each password consists of a combination of the letters A, B, and C that correspond to the face buttons on the Control Pad.

Missions

	Mission 1 - Obtaining Infiltration Software
	The first mission starts out with the Apache fighter landed on an allied landing pad, where the objective is to fly to a southeastern island to meet an undercover agent. Reaching the destination, the player must land the helicopter and walk on foot to meet the agent, which will give a disk containing a piece of infiltration software designed to stun the enemy's early warning system.
	Mission 2
	Mission 3
	Mission 4
	Mission 5
	Mission 6
	Mission 7
	Mission 8
	Mission 9

Sound and music

As with previous Zyrinx games, Red Zone's soundtrack was composed by the studio's in-house musician Jesper Kyd.

History

Development

During the game's development, it was known under the working title Hardwired. Later, when the game was demonstrated at Summer CES 1994, it appeared under the new title Commando Raid.

Production credits

• Code: David Guldbrandsen, Karsten Hvidberg, Jens Bo Albretsen
• Graphics': Mikael Balle, Jesper Vorsholt Jørgensen
• Music: Jesper Kyd
• Additional Code: Thomas Risager (Guz)
• Character Animation: Dan Harder
• Acting & Math Support: Haissam Badawi

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• Producers: Ken Humphries, Daniel Small
• Manual Writer: Jon Mongelluzzo

Source:

US manual

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Magazine articles

Main article: Red Zone/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Mean Machines Sega (UK) #26: "December 1994" (1994-10-28)

Print advert in GamePro (US) #66: "January 1995" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Game Champ (KR) #1995-03: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Game Champ (KR) #1995-04: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 30 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 Alaab Alcomputtar (SA) 78 Cool Gamer (RU) 70 Computer & Video Games (UK) 93 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 75 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 68 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 60 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 3 (RU) 60 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 80 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 68 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 72 Joypad (FR) 86 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 74 Mega (UK) PAL 92 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 76 Micro Kid's Multimédia (FR) 75 Micromanía (tercera época) (ES) 90 Magazina Igrushek (RU) 90 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 92 Next Generation (US) 50 Player One (FR) 90 Play Time (DE) PAL 76 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 94 Sega Power (UK) PAL 78 Sega Megazone (AU) 81 Todo Sega (ES) 92 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 72 Video Games (DE) PAL 84 VideoGames (US) 70

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Red Zone

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, CZ (Datart)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, KR
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Red Zone/Technical information.