| True Lies | |
|---|---|
| European cover Mega Drive version |
|
| Developer(s) | Beam Software |
| Publisher(s) | Acclaim |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Super NES |
| Release date(s) | 1994 |
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media/distribution | Cartridge |
True Lies is a top-view action shooting game 1994 film of the same title that was developed by Beam Software and published by Acclaim and LJN. Four different versions of the game were released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, and the Game Boy. The home versions and portable versions were drastically different from each other, but featured similar play mechanics.
The player controls Harry Tasker, who is tasked with the duty of foiling the terrorist plot of Salim Abu Aziz. Each stage has a particular series of goals that the player must fulfill before reaching the stage's goal. Harry's abilities includes the ability to keep his aim steady at one direction while shooting and a diving shoulder roll move that allows him to avoid enemy fire. The player has a health gauge and a limited amount of lives, with power-ups available that restores health. In addition to enemies, there also civilians that the player must not harm during shoot-outs. If the player kills three civilians, he will lose a life and will be forced to restart the current stage.
Harry starts each stage wielding only a single-shot pistol that has unlimited ammo, but must be reloaded after every 15 shots. In each stage Harry can procure three additional firearms (an Uzi machine gun, a shotgun, and a flamethrower), as well as hand grenades and anti-personnel mines, which he can switch between at any point. Unlike the pistol, Harry's other weapons have limited ammunition (with a different maximum capacity) and individual ammo for each must be found if Harry runs out.
There are a total of nine stages, which consists of a chateau, a mall, a park, a subway, a dock, a Chinese city, an oil refinery, an overseas highway, and an office building. A password feature is available that allows the player to restart the game at later stages.
The portable versions of True Lies for the Game Boy and Game Gear are a bit simplified compared to the console versions for the Super NES and Sega Genesis. The Game Boy and Game Gear version are almost identical to each other, aside for the addition of colored graphics and the omission of a pause function in the Game Gear version. Although the play mechanics are similar, Harry's shoulder diving roll was removed due to limited controls, although all the weapons, except the flamethrower, are included. Only five stages (the chateau, the mall, the park, the docks, and the office building) are included and the level designs are completely different.