T-MEK

Cabinet
Screenshot
Cabinet from another angle
Screen shot of Nazrac, the top boss

T-MEK is a two-player, sit-down, virtual reality fighting arcade game published by Time Warner Interactive in 1994. Each player can choose their MEK (a hovering tank with special weapons and abilities). One player can play against 6 AI players and the occasional boss, or two players can play against each other and 4 AI players. There is a special tournament mode where two players can go one on one. Up to three T-MEK cabinets can be linked for six-player competitions. T-MEK was later ported to DOS and the Sega 32X; rather than linking multiple systems together, the home versions featured split-screen multiplayer for two players.

T-MEK featured surround sound, which Time Warner Interactive advertised as "CAGE Audio". Each player's station had four speakers; two in front and two behind the player, and a subwoofer mounted directly below the seat. T-MEK has no background music soundtrack, which was a departure for "deluxe" arcade games in the coming-of-age era of digitally sampled audio, and instead relied upon the sound to help aid the player in finding enemies.

Hardware

Updated version

In early 1995 Time Warner Interactive released an updated version of T-MEK called T-MEK Version 5.1: The Warlords. In addition to the ability to play as a boss MEK (done by entering that boss's name as the player name), this update added a "beginner" difficulty mode, instructional screens on how to play the game, new combos moves, and some secret codes.[1]

Reception

GamePro gave the arcade version a perfect score, citing easy to learn controls, the excitement added by the surround sound and "rumble seat", and the detailed visuals. They commented that "While T-MEK's graphics are not groundbreaking, they sizzle with depth and realism."[2]

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the 32X version a 6.125 out of 10, commenting that the arcade game was great fun but that its excitement and intensity is lost in the translation to home console. Most of them were also critical of the port's technical aspects, with one going so far as to say that an equally good or even better port could have been done on the Genesis.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "T-MEK/Warlord Update by TWI". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (67): 60. February 1995.
  2. ↑ "ProReview: T-MEK". GamePro (IDG) (64): 38. November 1994.
  3. ↑ "Review Crew: T-MEK". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (76): 44. November 1995.

External links

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