3/5 ★ – RawMetal's review of Judge Dredd.

System: Arcade Started: April 30, 2024 Ended: April 30, 2024 Now I’ve heard of Judge Dredd vs. Death and Midway’s unreleased Beat em Up demo of Judge Dredd, but I was not aware that there was a Judge Dredd Light Gun game made by Gremlin Interactive. Released in the arcades in 1997 and ported to the PlayStation, I managed to find one at a local arcade, and I have to play it. This light-gun game is good and I love the FMV cutscene, though, with its 90's-era cheese. The game’s story and plot are almost identical to the 2012 Judge Dredd movie, as Dredd raids into a building to stop fugitive ex-Judge Roy Bean as he takes the mayor hostage. The only difference is that Judge Dredd is doing this solo, so no Judge Anderson, Hershey, or even Giant. and this game has a 2-player co-op. At every level, Dredd makes his way to the top of the building until the final confrontation between two judges. Except that Roy Bean is not the final boss in the game, which is disappointing. Between FMV cutscenes, we get 3D light gun action that reminds me of Area 51. You shoot and try to kill as many lawbreakers as you can, finding bonuses in every level, because when you complete a level, you get a tally of how many baddies there are and how many bonuses you missed. The FMV cutscenes stood out the most in this game, and most FMV games can be hit or miss sometimes, like Night Trap and Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties. But Gremlin Interactive's Judge Dredd is actually enjoyable to watch, aside from the banal acting. There was a minor flame war between Syvester Stallone’s Judge Dredd and Karl Urban’s Judge Dredd over which is the best movie version of the main character. This game's Judge Dredd is played by Richard Waters, and I consider him to be the best of both worlds. I would arguably say this, but I think Waters is underrated and possibly the best Dredd. Stallone was close, but he took his helmet off, and his face was supposed to be deformed. Urban has the voice and physique as Dredd, but the costume looked too gritty and not as flashy compared to the comic books. In this one, Waters got the costume right; he does look a bit lean, but it is accurate from the early prog comics, and his voice needs to be a little gruffier. The light-gun portion of the game feels okay. The 3D animations can be outdated, but they look cool for their time. However, the enemies in this game are sometimes hard to see as they blend into the background. I like how most of the enemies and civilians would appear out of nowhere. I mean, there was a flash of light in an area, and the enemies and civilians would appear without any plot whatsoever. In fact, I don’t even know what or who I am shooting at. The enemies look like either rogue judges or robots, and it's really hard to tell the difference between innocent civilians and baddies. This is a good Judge Dredd game, but I’ve played better Light Gun games than this. But on the bright side, the FMV cutscenes are the only thing that carried this game. This is something I would still check out if you are a fan of the comic books and the two movies. If you want more Judge Dredd, check this game out.