T-Mek is a tournament style vehicular combat game developed by Atari Games and published
by Time Warner Interactive in 1994.
The game would receive a port for the Sega 32x the following year.
Being a late release on an obscure console, T-Mek is uncommon, and commands a moderate
price on eBay.
Sticking to its arcade roots, there are few modes or options available.
T-Mek simply starts with a tournament ladder reminiscent of Mortal Kombat.
From here, select one of 6 different meks and you’re off.
Each mek is rated for weapon, shield and speed, allowing you to choose different attributes
depending on the arena and your skill level.
In addition to your main weapon, you have two secondary items.
The defense item offers you some sort of defense, and recharges when not in use.
The special weapon is a powerful shot, with limited uses.
This can be replenished by collecting power-ups in the arenas however.
Finally, your shield is your life bar.
After destroying an enemy, you can collect a special capsule on their destroyed remains
to refill a portion of this bar.
T-Mek does a really nice job providing a nice arsenal of weapons and items without it ever
feeling overwhelming or confusing.
When using a 6-button controller, the 3 items are mapped to A, B, and C, while strafing,
and a quick look, are mapped to X, Y, and Z.
After familiarizing yourself with the controls, the gameplay is fairly straightforward.
The beginning of each round outlines the goal, be it score the most points, or destroy a
specific target, to win.
If you fail to come out on top after time runs out, you must retry.
The arenas themselves dictate how much fun you are going to have.
With just 3 enemies to battle, it can be easy to wander around for a while, trying to maneuver
your way through obstacles before finally initiating a fire fight.
The smaller arenas with fewer obstacles in the way are generally more enjoyable, letting
you stay in the thick of the fight for longer periods of time.
The simple controls blend nicely with the fast action and for the most part, T-Mek is
an enjoyable experience.
I like the simple arcade style focus, rather than some long boring missions, and it helps
make this a decent retro game.
T-Mek has a few other things going for it as well.
First, there is no music outside the title screen.
Instead, all you’ll hear is the ambient noises from the environment mixed in with
a huge variety of different explosion sounds.
The quality is surprisingly good, with clear samples and nice bass, and is definitely something
you’ll want to listen to on the louder side.
The announcer is equally impressive, with some of the clearest voice samples I’ve
ever heard from the system.
Perhaps most interesting is the entire graphics engine itself.
T-mek uses nothing but sprite scaling to create a three dimensional world.
It’s definitely something that could not have been done on lesser hardware, and it’s
always cool to see the Sega 32x doing more than what was capable on the SNES or Genesis.
As a result of this sprite-based approach, T-Mek runs fairly smooth.
At times the frame rate is exceptional, but it will still get bogged down when there is
a lot of action on the screen.
I also like the subtle shading on the sprites.
Enemies will fade into view, almost like fog.
Cliff walls will also get darker, the farther away they are.
It all looks rather nice, especially when considering the color limitations of the system.
The arenas in T-Mek are also varied, with vastly different color palettes, designs,
and foliage.
The opening level is a barren desert in the day time, other levels get considerably darker
with alien vegetation, lava flow, and blue canyons.
I can't help but feel a lot of the arcade luster has been lost in this home version
however.
Sprites are smaller, the frame rate isn't as smooth, and without the benefit of a full
sit down cabinet with surround speakers and a subwoofer under the seat, the intense action
making this a well-received arcade game or sort of, lost.
Same goes for the controls.
The arcade version features dual control sticks allowing for precise movement.
While T-Mek for the Sega 32x has decent controls, the d-pad feels somewhat limiting.
Overall, T-Mek doesn't offer the deepest gameplay experience ever, but it is very playable and
offers a nice challenge.
T-Mek also shows off some of the processing power the 32x possesses.
The sprite scaling is smooth and does a great job giving the arenas a truly 3D feel.
Most will find some enjoyment here.
Three out of five.