Lethal Enforcers is one of the first games that used “photorealistic” representations of characters. So that’s why I’ve been losing these so quickly the past twenty years…Īs unattractive as the cabinet is, gameplay is even uglier. Ohhhh…*don’t* shoot the innocent bystanders. It’s the sort of arcade machine that pops up for $150 on Craigslist and ends up in the mancave of a guy desperate for a shooting game, forever forcing his friends to fake enjoyment of it during halftime. There’s a reason why there’s not a huge aftermarket for these games. With dated font and an unappealing white/blue color fade, the cabinet is gaudy down to its logo. The cabinet is an off-putting shape and features generic graphics of a male (sporting a mullet) and female detective (dressed in a pink tank top tucked into mom jeans). To be fair, its depth is explained by the old school mirror/CRT set-up that admittedly did slightly improve accuracy and calibration. It’s as clunky as arcade games get, wide enough to allow for two obese enforcers to stand side by side (a foreshadowing?) and about as deep as a Lincoln Town Car - fittingly as they’re on the side art (note to arcade developers: never feature a real, current car in the art of your cabinet - it makes it hard for bowling alleys to pass it off as new). Lethal Enforcers, however, is about as dull, lifeless and dreary as it gets starting with the cabinet. Arcade games with poor gameplay mechanics like Mutation Nation and Area 51 remain endearing because of their colorful sprites and interesting concepts. Released during the wave of late ‘80s early ‘90s police procedurals, there’s nothing unique or endearing about the concept to be nostalgic for today. So what better way to escape the normalcy of life than stepping in the shoes of a detective? That was Konami’s thought behind Lethal Enforcers, a game that aged about as well as an early episode of COPS. It’s a thankless job that takes its toll on your psyche. Sure, you get a car, but it’s a 1986 LeBaron and nobody likes LeBarons - well, besides Jon Voight. There’s no respect instead of congratulating you, your boss reams you for causing $500,000 in property damage while taking down two drug dealers. You’ll somberly cruise the streets of a city past redemption with your partner - a partner thought of like a brother who will be killed a week before retirement. A hard-boiled everyman who puts his neck on the line to save law-abiding citizens and stuff the bad guys in jail - but what’s the point? They’ll be back on the streets in time for Cagney and Lacey. In part 5 of our 15,435 part series, we grow mullets, tuck our t-shirts into our jeans and grab a neon blue gun.Īh, to be a detective in the ‘80s. The goal? Chronicle every arcade game in existence. Every week, we’re setting out around the darkest corners of America in search of a different game to play. Welcome to “Raising ‘Cade”, a retrospective feature about the original gaming arena: the arcade.
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