Comix Zone saw the poorly-named Sega Technical Institute (STI) finally meld their deranged concepts into a game that felt cohesive and a joy to play instead of being hindered by the stilted and unresponsive controls that plagued their previous Sonic Spinball and The Ooze.

Obstensively a beat-em-up without a y-axis, the game sees the crude and hulky Sketch Turner knuckle his way through being transported into the comic book he was in the process of creating. The game's soundtrack is a grungy, counterpointy sting of guitar riffs that-- despite being rendered on the Mega Drive's harsh distorted synthesizer-- sounds as if it is being improvised by someone channeling Nervana or Alice in Chains and sat right next to you. The game is granted a pedestrial perspective that reinforces the "everyman" appeal of its character facing an extroadinary situation in spite of his kinetic prowess.

Punches land with crisp precision and thunderous feedback, the dpad alternating lows, highs, uppercuts and a brazen range of moves in spite of being attached to a single button. For a high-concept game it is unusual for an American developer to have attained an almost Japanese perfectionism with their play-control. Sketch hops, hangs and maneuvers through the levels with athletic intuition that springs so effortlessly from so few inputs.



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