Altered Beast was a graphical delight on the Genesis back in the launch day. In this, you are a dead warrior that Zeus brings back to life (not as a zombie, but whole) to rescue Athena from a bald guy named Neff. I know a lot of Greek Mythology, but don't remember a guy named Neff before.  This is a side-scrolling beat-em up, also two player, with a lot of parallax scrolling to make the backgrounds appear 3D. Your weapons are kicks and punches, to start with. Pretty pedestrian for a game with Greek gods, you might be thinking.  But this game is called Altered Beast, which happens to be your hero! 

Each stage contains a different were-animal you can transform into for the duration of that level.  From werewolves that punch fireballs, werebears that have stonebreath (!) to super powerful dragons that break the stage they are in, you can collect strange white orbs to get stronger and tougher, until finally the third brings your power over the edge and you transform in a wild cutscene, and the music gets more dynamic. You must transform into the wereform to even fight that stage's boss, so you will see them all playing through the game. 


The stages are a mixed bag. Take the first stage: a Greek graveyard, full of moss, pillars, intricate stone carving. It looks awesome.  And then second stage is a brown swampy area with hardly anything in it. The enemies will attack from the ground, the sky and even underground, so one has to use the attacks to meet each threat, for instance a ducking kick will hit skyward foes, try out all the limited move set, especially the often unusual were attacks. Unfortunately, due to only one kind of enemy dropping the power up orbs, you will meet 3 before getting to the boss, and often you are just transforming right before taking it on. So you sometimes don't get to use a wereform very much before you finish the level and the next stage with no power.  If you can beat that boss that is. The bosses are pretty wild, all things said. The first boss attacks you by ripping his own head off, only to have it instantly reappear!  

Some hang ups are the limited moves you can do, the sometimes short duration (unless you play 2 players or skip a power up) of your wereforms, the transforming easily the star of the game.  The were animals are not balanced well, the bear is fairly weak compared to the crazy power dragon, making some bosses a cakewalk. You also do not get to choose the form, they are chosen for each stage, and the game itself is fairly short. There are a small number of enemies for each stage, and some are reused.

The nostalgia of this showpiece is good, it was a great looking game and featured some voice work at the time (a bit muddled audio but mostly ok). But the short game and small number of attacks in this side-scroller don't make it really one I'd like to go back to now. Games have come much farther than this, but Altered Beast had its place back in the day. That day just isn't today or tomorrow.

I know that I am a little late, but I noticed that no one replied to your review. You did a good job with it. It is a good review and now I know a decent amount about the game. I know I am late, but I just wanted to say it was good since no one else did!

tgags123 : better fashionably late than forgotten 

Hm, I never noticed this review. Not a bad one, either. Well done! It's short and to the point, so it doesn't tire the eyes of anyone. Good job, man.