Sega's Zero Tolerance on Terrorism!

This article comes from Highwaygames.com

Billed as one of the most exciting, innovative, revolutionary gun games of this century, Ghost Squad from Sega will be in full force at this years London Preview for its first trade show outside of Japan. The R&D teams in Japan must have been working overtime to produce such an exceptional forward thinking game that will set a new benchmark for all other games. Test incomes in Japan have been exceptional, "with figures averaging £190 per day being reported, against HOD3 at £86 and Time Crisis 3 at £73 for the same period," according to Sega Sales Manager Aaron Gilbey. The 50" deluxe two-player cabinet has a unique realistic multi action recoil gun and built in 'IC player data card' technology. It is designed to give extra player value and add to operator incomes. Ghost (Global Humanitarian Operation & Special Tactics) Squad has nothing to do with ghosts as the title may suggest but everything to do with beating terrorism on the world stage, saving world leaders and capturing hostages. It could not be more current or topical. Players work together as one unit of a Special Forces team and can choose one of three missions. 'Grand Villa' requires the team to rescue captured government officials and storm their exclusive resort. Alternatively on ‘Air Force One' rescuing the President and fighting off terrorists is the only outcome that will lead to success. Finally in the ‘Jungle' success comes if hostage VIPs can be rescued and the terrorist base camp can be fled. The realistic gun builds on the success of previous Sega gun games but now has a shot selector to allow the player to switch quickly between 'single shot', '3-shot burst' and ‘fully automatic' depending on the needs of the moment.

Paul Williams said, "The success of a game like House of Dead 3 owes a great deal to the big pump action gun and being so much better than anything else on the market at the time. It clearly appealed to players and made them come back to the game time and time again. We took this factor into consideration when creating the Ghost Squad gun and the result is better than any of us had imagined." Tactical stages make use of the multi tool recoil gun which has a unique 'Action Button' built in. During tactical stages this button will be used to defuse bombs, fight hand-to-hand combat, perform circuit breaking, crack codes and defuse bombs. The game also allows players to experience 'Special Events' where it realistically recreates tense operations using special equipment such as thermovision and night vision. The 'Integrated Circuit' or IC card concept is new to Europe but widely popular in Japan. Looking and feeling like a credit card it is an advanced players card that not only stores data but also influences game play. On Ghost Squad the IC card will allow players to experience different views and events on the same mission each time they play; this will both add the element of surprise and prevent players memorising game event and routes so quickly. This will definitely extend the games interest span. Extra dimensions and alternative routes will appear by increased successful use of the card. Experience points can be added to the card – the more points will increase a players rank from Private to General. Along the way the increased rank will entitle the player to choose new uniforms and new weapons. Players using the IC Card will also be able to join in a world wide ranking via the internet, detailing the players stage levels, weapons, rank and regions achieved. Mr Williams said, "The initial production of Ghost Squad due for release in late October has been presold by customers who saw the premier showing of the machine at the Jamma Show in the first week of September and came back to us and ordered immediately. A second production is now planned for November delivery".