WELCO METOT HENEX TLEVEL - Citizen X

Publisher: Good Deal Games Developer: Digital Pictures Released: 2004

This is a milestone for the WELCO METOT HENEX TLEVEL series. This is the first game we've featured that was developed by the infamous Digital Pictures.

Even if you've never heard of the Sega CD, you've probably heard of Digital Pictures. Their most famous game – Night Trap – is so not only because it was one of the first FMV games on the market, but it was front and center during the congressional video game violence hearings back in the mid-90s thanks to a “rape” scene partway through the game.

It's ironic, then, that the first game we look at is the one game they made that wasn't completely based around full-motion video. Citizen X is actually more of a “video game” in the traditional sense of the term. It's a side-scrolling action game where you're racing against the clock to save the city from a terrorist attack. For some reason, everyone around you has succumbed to some sort of gas, but you're immune...at least for 15 minutes or so.

That's right. Fifteen minutes. Citizen X has a strict, 15 minute time limit in which you have to fight multiple bosses and find key items in order to thwart the United Vengeance League's diabolical plot.

Kind of crazy when you think about it. Also incredibly ballzy to try something that different back in the day. And that time limit is even more...limiting...when you realize that the map that must be explored in Citizen X is relatively huge. Plus there are hidden passages and hidden interactive bits that have to be discovered along the way.

And even though this was Digital Pictures' single foray out of their FMV comfort zone, there are still a generous amount of poorly acted, over-the-top cut scenes peppered throughout the game. The villain and his various minions revel in taunting and threatening you through your wristwatch communicator as you near different objectives.

A few of these scenes actually aren't done. And if you paid attention to the release date up top, you can probably guess why: Citizen X was never finished and released. It's one of the handful of Sega CD games that Good Deal Games has since revived and put on the market. While the main game play of Citizen X is all there, there are whole scenes and effects that are missing.

Not that it matters too much. Digital Pictures had zero experience developing a more traditional video game, and it shows in Citizen X. The controls are pretty clunky, with a weird momentum system in place for the running that makes it feel very unresponsive, and a fighting system that's more or less useless. Not to mention you really need to invest in the whole experience if you want to see any sort of success.

It's kind of a shame the game was never released back in the day, as I think the sheer creativity of it would have helped Digital Pictures' rep a tiny bit, though the quality definitely wouldn't have done them any favors.