Title: T-Mek Released: 1995 Genre: Mech/3-D Shooter Developer: Atari/Midway Games Publisher: Time Warner Interactive Regions: USA, UK Availability: Rare

A 32x console exclusive. The meager 32x library consists of only 39 titles released worldwide, a number far outpaced by most consoles. Even financial disappointments like the Atari 5200, Turbo Grafx-16, Sega Master System, and 3DO have substantially larger software libraries, leaving the 32x in the same dubious company as market underachievers like the Emerson Arcadia, Bally Astrocade, Vectrex, Atari 7800, and CD-i. The 32x is sorely lacking in important genres like strategy and role playing, though it does have a fair number of games that began as arcade titles. Over a quarter of the games in the 32x library began life in an arcade, and 2 of its 10 arcade ports are 32x exclusives. T-Mek, like Star Wars Arcade, did not appear on any other console.

Many gamers share a certain fascination with console games that originally appeared in an arcade format. There is something inherently fascinating about the concept of taking a large, imposing cabinet game costing thousands of dollars and compressing its essence into a compact cartridge or CD that costs $70 or less. Early home consoles like the Atari 2600 and Intellivision simply could not duplicate the complex visuals and sound effects of arcade games of the era, though the Colecovision and Atari 5200 came close. The Nintendo Entertainment System and Master System, though more powerful than the earlier "classic" consoles, couldn't quite keep up with the technological advances that occurred in arcade hardware in the late 80's, and many of the arcade-to-console ports that appeared on these later 8-bit consoles pale in comparison to the originals. It wasn't until the age of the Genesis and Super Nintendo that we began to see a flood of arcade conversions that were nearly identical to the originals, occasionally sporting extra levels and additional features. Unfortunately, game developers still attempted to port arcade games that were too advanced for some home consoles, demonstrated by lackluster conversions like Atari's Race Drivin' for the Super Nintendo (a game that was scheduled to appear on the 32x, but was later canceled) and Namco's Starblade for the Sega CD. In theory, the 32x has enough horsepower to handle most of the arcade games from the 80's and early 90's, evidenced by the excellent conversions of After Burner, Space Harrier, and Virtua Racing. Even games running on higher-powered hardware like Virtua Fighter and Star Wars Arcade survived the programming odyssey from arcade to 32x relatively unscathed, albeit in stripped-down, graphically-challenged form. Unfortunately, such is not the case with Atari's port of their arcade mech shooter T-Mek.

T-Mek debuted in American arcades in 1993, courtesy of Atari Games (an arcade division of Midway, not the Atari Corporation responsible for the Lynx and Jaguar. The two companies were not affiliated.) It was a minor "cult" hit in arcades, attracting a small but devoted fan base who enjoyed the multi-player nature of the game as well as its dark theme and surrealistic graphics. While not a runaway financial success, T-Mek garnered enough attention to warrant a home release. For some strange reason, Atari/Midway selected the Sega 32x as the sole home console to receive a version of T-Mek. It's believed that the 32x game was ported from the 1994 arcade update (version 5.1: The Warlords) which contained additional features and arenas.

T-Mek can best be described as an update of the classic vector graphics arcade game Battlezone. As a competitor in a brutal "tournament" set in a post-apocalyptic future, your objective is to hunt down all enemy "mek" tanks, all while avoiding your own destruction. All of the action is presented from a first-person view (there is no other viewing option), much like the view you would get if you were staring out of a small window in a tank. Your combat mek (which floats on air, rather than rolling on wheels) is placed in a variety of different locales, each with unique topographical features and environmental hazards. Each mek sports its own unique weapons and capabilities. Power-ups (such as increased heath and better weaponry) litter the arenas and are key to your survival. In addition to destroying all of the regular competitors, you must defeat a series of increasingly difficult "boss" meks in order to progress to the final battle. Victory is achieved when you defeat all of the boss characters, taking your place at the top of the tournament ladder.

T-Mek appeared in arcades on the eve of the 3-D revolution. Instead of 3-D meks and environments comprised of texture-mapped polygons, the game features 2-D sprites, image scaling, and graphical rotation. Regardless of the technology, the 32x port's graphics aren't that attractive, though in all fairness the arcade game's graphics really weren't that great, either. The screen has been truncated to keep up the frame rate, with gameplay being presented in a window less than two-thirds the size of the screen. The character models don't move as smoothly as the arcade game and cuts appear to have been made in the animation frames, probably in an effort to fit the game into the limited cartridge format. T-Mek simply isn't very impressive from a visual standpoint, but the graphics get the job done and represent a good compromise between the more powerful arcade hardware and the limitations of the cartridge format.

The "deluxe" arcade T-Mek game cabinet featured something Atari called the "CAGE immersive surround sound system", which is another name for stereo surround sound. Unfortunately, T-Mek was similar to a lot of arcade games in that it suffered from something we like to call "arcade soundtrack syndrome." Most arcades are inherently noisy, and the sound effects from dozens of games lined up side-by-side tend to blur together in a chaotic symphony of unrelated noises. Because of this, many arcade games tend to skimp on the audio because it's probably not going to be heard anyway. Unfortunately, the generally unnoticed shortcomings of an arcade game's sound effects are painfully obvious in a home conversion, since there are no other games to disguise the feeble audio. T-Mek's sound effects consist primarily generic weapons fire, a cheesy deep-voiced announcer, and weak keyboard-style music riffs. The soundtrack is just enough to get the job done, and not a bit more.

The arcade version of T-Mek had a wonderful dual-joystick control configuration, similar to that of Sega's Virtua On arcade sticks (a wonderful set of dual sticks was released in Japan for the Japanese Saturn, and it can also be used with the Dreamcast with the aid of an adapter. No, it's not compatible with the 32x.) The dual stick layout was a challenge to learn, but offered wonderfully precise and intuitive control when mastered. Unfortunately, dual-stick controller was made available for the 32x, and the home version has to make due with the standard controller. While adequate, the Genesis control pad isn't nearly as nice as the arcade set-up, and something is lost in the translation. Regardless, the home controller responds well to your inputs and does not prove detrimental to the action.

Simply out, what really set T-Mek apart from other games in the arcades was its multi-player capabilities. Unlike most arcade games that limit the number of players to a maximum of two, T-Mek offered the undeniably addictive option of allowing up to six gamers to challenge each other in a game of deathmatch (three two-player cabinets networked together.) The arcade T-Mek combined the strategy of a simulator game with the competitive excitement of a fighting game, resulting in a very enjoyable diversion best experienced with other players. The basics could be learned quickly, but mastery only came after numerous matches. Seasoned T-Mek players honed their reflexes, made split-second decisions, and employed subtle strategies and counter-strategies to defeat their opponents. The 32x port of T-Mek, on the other hand, can only be played with a maximum of two players, and only in split-screen mode. The "essence" of the game that made it so attractive to the arcade audience has been lost in the home translation, and much of the fun has been lost as well. That's not to say that the game isn't enjoyable... it's just not the same.

Some arcade games simply beg to be brought to a home console. Other games belong only in the arcade, and no where else. The 32x port of T-Mek falls somewhere in between. It's not a bad game by any means, and it can be a great little diversion on a rainy day. Since the original arcade games were difficult to find when they first debuted in 1993, it seems unlikely that most of today's gamers have played it. Unfortunately, those few gamers familiar with the arcade original will be sorely disappointed with the 32x translation, regardless of its merits. The rest of us will probably enjoy a few games of T-Mek, and we recommend you pick it up should you happen upon it in your travels.

Atari/Midway Games was also responsible for the hit arcade dinosaur fighting game Primal Rage, and one of the dinosaurs is hidden in T-Mek! On the STORM RIFT level you can find the character Sauron deep inside one of the cracks in the wall. Look around for two stones close to one crack. Destroy the stones, then enter the opening and bump all the walls. Eventually you'll pass through one and enter a tight corridor. Follow it until you come to a right turn. Keep going to find Sauron.

T-Mek came out rather late in the 32x's life span and was released in limited numbers, making it one of the more difficult 32x games to find. It appears on E-Bay occasionally and can occasionally be found on the websites of a few online retailers. A port of T-Mek was also produced for the PC format, but it suffers from the same deficiencies found in the 32x cart and is equally difficult to find.

Today's home arcade ports are very similar (if not identical) to the arcade originals. In fact, most modern arcade hardware is based on home console technology (or vice-versa.) The Neo-Geo MVS/AES systems started the trend over a decade ago, and it continues today with arcade hardware like Namco's Playstation-derived System 11 board (Tekken), Sega's Dreamcast-based Naomi board (House of the Dead 2), and upcoming arcade games built on the foundation of the Playstation 2 and X-Box. The era of the inferior arcade port appears to be over. Regrettably, the era of the arcade game seems to be nearing its end as well. Enjoy it while you can!