Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 (Sega 32X) Playthrough

Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000, released for the Sega 32X in 1995, is one of the stranger attempts to revive a classic Sega property. Developed by CSK Research Institute, it was released as Parasquad in Japan and simply Motherbase in Europe, while the North American version received the Zaxxon name. Despite the branding, however, it shares relatively little with Sega’s 1982 arcade classic beyond the familiar isometric viewpoint. Rating: 6/10 The biggest difference is the removal of the original Zaxxon’s altitude control. Instead, your ship can jump, and this ability forms the basis of the game’s most interesting mechanic: hijacking enemy craft. By jumping onto certain enemies, you can take control of their vehicles, gaining stronger weapons, extra protection and different handling characteristics. This system is easily the game’s best idea. Your basic Stinger craft is weak and fragile, so much of the strategy revolves around finding useful enemy machines to commandeer. A powerful host can make a difficult section much easier, but once it takes enough damage you need to abandon it and search for another. Enemies therefore function as both threats and potential upgrades, giving the game a distinctive identity. The campaign consists of nine auto-scrolling stages presented from a three-quarter isometric perspective. Unfortunately, the viewpoint also causes several problems. The camera sits relatively close to the action, giving you little time to react to approaching enemies and obstacles. Your ship moves rather slowly, and pits or environmental hazards can be difficult to judge from the angle. As a result, success often depends on memorizing enemy positions rather than relying purely on reflexes. Performance is another weakness. Motherbase 2000 uses flat-shaded polygonal ships, enemies and bosses against mostly 2D backgrounds, producing a very recognizable mid-1990s early-3D look. At its best, the presentation is unusual and occasionally impressive for the 32X, especially when large mechanical enemies appear. When the screen becomes crowded, however, noticeable slowdown can make movement and dodging feel even less precise. The graphics have plenty of personality, but they have not aged particularly gracefully. The untextured polygons are crude, and the busy backgrounds sometimes make hazards difficult to distinguish. Even so, the combination of 2D scenery and polygonal objects gives the game a look unlike most other shooters on the system. The soundtrack is filled with energetic 1990s techno and sampled voice clips, giving the game a cheesy but memorable sci-fi atmosphere. The music suits the action reasonably well, although the short loops can become repetitive during the longer stages. Weapon and explosion effects are less impressive and lack much impact. Difficulty is fairly high, especially whenever you are forced back into your default craft. Enemy patterns can be learned and bosses are usually manageable once their attacks are understood, but surviving the stages themselves is often the bigger challenge. Limited visibility, slowdown and occasional awkward collisions can also lead to frustrating deaths. Zaxxon's Motherbase 2000 is ultimately more interesting than truly great. Its hijacking mechanic is clever and gives the game a unique twist, while the polygon-heavy presentation makes it an intriguing 32X curiosity. Unfortunately, slow movement, restricted visibility, repetitive sections and inconsistent performance prevent it from becoming a top-tier shooter. As a Zaxxon sequel it feels rather disconnected from the original, but as an experimental 32X title it is still worth trying. It is flawed, strange and unmistakably rooted in the early polygon era, yet its unusual mechanics make it more memorable than many safer games from the same period.