Risk Review by: Eirinn - 7.2/10
A mostly faithful port of a classic gameRisk: the game of global domination. I remember the first time I played this game at the ripe old age of fourteen: I instantly loved it, and I've been hooked ever since. My only problem was that I was the only one I knew of personally that felt that way about the game, and playing a board game by yourself isn't exactly fun; Trust me, I've tried it. So several years later, when I found this game on Vizzed, I was intrigued to say the least. A chance to actually play one of my favorite board games? Could this actually be happening? Could I have here at my fingertips, a chance to dominate a cardboard world filled with plastic armies once again? Or would they somehow find a way to mess up such a great and timeless game? I had to find out for myself, and so I decided to see how it worked. So what was the verdict? Let's see.
Graphics: 7/10
Very Good.
There might not be much to look at, but what do you expect from a board game? And what scenery you do get is nicely done. During troop placement, you will see an overview of the Risk board, and nothing more. During the battle however, you will either see cannons firing at each other, or a slide show of still shots with battle sound effects playing. these still scenes are well illustrated and are well done, with very little pixelation, and to top it off, the white flag (when you win) has a waving animation. Small, maybe, but a chance to add a little more detail was thankfully capitalized on here. If you choose "Attack" or "Continuous attack" mode when striking, you will see the cannons firing at each other, and notice that the scenery is different, depending on what country you're attacking. This was a nice and somewhat unexpected touch. In "Arcade" mode (yes, they put an Arcade mode in there, which turned out to be an unfortunate mistake in my opinion), you will see infantry and cavalry scurrying from side to side, acting as nothing but targets, and two cannons firing. This is a mode I avoid at all costs, but the graphics here aren't bad, they just aren't good. So with nice animations, varying scenery that is also well drawn, and various types of battle scenes which can be toggled on and off, Risk on the Sega Genesis manages to put on a decent enough graphics show for a board game turned 16-bit video game.
Sound: 8/10
Exceptional.
This is one of the aspects of the game that really shines. And what else should we expect from a game on the Genesis? It was known by many for having superrior sound quality after all. And it is with that in mind that Risk tries to prove the Genesis fans right, by putting on an impressive sound show. Unfortunately however, the only bad sound in the game also happens to be the first sound to greet your ears when you turn it on. It would appear that the developers weren't much for first impressions. However, once you manage to make it past the somewhat grating sound at the start, you will be greeted with some very nice battle music, which never gets old, despite being the only soundtrack that the game has to offer. It manages to create a good battle atmosphere, and makes the overall experience much more enjoyable, not to mention making the strategy phase that much more intense. They really couldn't have composed a better tune for the Background music here. The next sound you will hear is the attack tune, and it happens to be that same grating sound that greeted you at the start of the game, which is really a shame, especially since there are so many different countries to conquer, which means hearing it often. Sounds pretty bad, right? Well oddly, I eventually grew accustomed to it, and almost started to enjoy it, in a wierd grating sound sort of way. The actual battle sound effects however, were nice. The bugler playing, explosions, gunfire, and the occasional scream of agony, they were all very well executed, and have a remarkable level of quality. Unfortunately while there was an obvious amount of effort put into the quality of the sound, there was an equally obvious lack of effort put into the
quantity of the sounds, as the sounds I have listed here are pretty much all of the sounds you'll encounter throughout the entire game. Still, the lack of variety can't take away from the quality of the sound that is there. And in all fairness, there isn't typically that much depth to be had with a board game by way of sound.
Depth: 4/10
Poor.
Sadly, even with the Arcade mode, this game has little depth. However, it does offer three difficulty levels, as well as the option of playing with anywhere from two to six players. And there are a lot of possibilities with these options, and the arcade mode which actually puts you in the fight, trying to shoot the opposing armies with your cannons. Unfortunately, even if you liked the Arcade mode, it would probably take a much longer time than you'd care to wait to finish a full game in it. Thankfully, you can pause the game and switch between classic and arcade modes at any time. Another area they came up short in, is requiring each human player to have their own controller. It isn't an uncommon thing for games like this to allow all of the players to share the same controller. This would have really boosted the depth and addictiveness, as it would have allowed six human players to duke it out on the battlefield. But a lost opportunity is just that: lost. Even so, the lack of depth doesn't take away from the fact that it's fun, it just doesn't add to it.
Story: N/A
It's a board game; they don't typically have stories. The objective is to manage to gain control of every single country in the world. It was good enough for the board game, and it's good enough for the video game.
Addictiveness: 10/10
Incredible.
Now
this is what I came to this game looking for: fun and addictiveness. Not flashy graphics and catchy tunes. And this game came through for me, by delivering all of the fun and addictive war game action that the board game is known for. I played three consecutive games when I first launched it, if that's any indication of how good this one is. Simply put: if you love the board game, you'll love this too. It's the exact same thing, only there's no messy clean up of cards and plastic armies, and you can play it by yourself.
It's Risk: enough said.
Difficulty: 2/10
Incredibly easy.
The very first game I played, I won in three turns. So I bumped it up to Intermediate, and won in five turns, and it would have been four, but I couldn't figure out how to trade in my cards. That said, these people have obviously never heard of a difficulty curve, as this game doesn't have one whatsoever. I personally saw very little, if any change in difficulty between beginner and intermediate, but a drastic change between intermediate and expert. Too drastic in fact. Also I was disappointed to find that the battles were predetermined at times (if not always). I found this by using save states prior to a battle or two and attacking, then loading and trying again. Each time I got the exact same results. That said, the difficulty (at least on expert) is somewhat fake, as it relies on predetermined outcomes, as opposed to the strategy/luck blend that the actual board game uses. But I rate difficulty on the easiest setting, for the average player, rather than the hardest, for experts. All in all, this game is terribly easy on anything but the hardest difficulty.
Overall: 7.2/10
Very Good.
This game wasn't all that I expected it to be, but only because of the lack of a difficulty curve, and the rigged battle system. Whether the battle is predetermined in your favor, or against you, it's still an unwelcome setting. Why the programmers set it up this way rather than the simple random dice roll odds that the board game gave us, is beyond me. Aside from that, the game was everything I expected it to be, and an overall great experience. It's a good game, and really captures the fun that the board game offers us.
So is Risk on the Sega Genesis worth your time and Viz? The answer is a resounding yes. It's a game that offers a solid mix of action, fighting, and strategy, that can't be beat. If you're a fan of the board game, you'll enjoy this one, and if you've never played the board game, then I recomend learning how, and trying this one out.
Risk for the Sega Genesis, is a great game, and a mostly faithful port of the classic beloved board game.
Graphics
7 Sound
8 Addictive
10 Depth
4 Difficulty
2
User Notice 
