Blood Bath At Red Falls (Mac, PC)

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Blood Bath At Red Falls was made by Underworld Software in 1995 for Mac and PC. The Mac version was distributed by American Laser Games. The game was named by Act Labs to be compatible with their light gun. Personally I had calibration problems using their gun on it and therefore some recordings of this review were made using a mouse.

The Windows version simulates a Macintosh environment to run the game. Therefore both versions look nearly identical. There are slight differences however. One example is the starting cut scene which is missing in the windows version. In the game's story the man from the cover stopped a prison bus, killed the driver and let all prisoners escape. These prisoners now cause trouble in a town called Red Falls. The player takes the role of the local Sheriff who tries to stop the prisoners.

The game uses digitized sprites for the enemies, similarly as Shootout at Old Tucson did one year prior. In comparison the enemies in Bloodbath at Red Falls are cut out better and move more fluently. Four different weapons can be used, two of which are full automatic. Weapons are obtained by sparing civilians or by shooting at secret portions of the screen. These secret spots may also provide donut shaped health and ammunition. Sometimes secret mini levels are triggered within a main level upon shooting certain objects. Shooting civilians will deplete the player's health which is displayed as Sheriff stars.

The game consists of six blocks of three levels each. Some of the levels are concluded in a boss fight. After each block the player may save the progress. A limited number of continues are available which allow the player to restart a stage. The first level shows the prison bus. The second level takes the player to an oil field. Next the player fights in a shed. The whole second block of levels takes place at a tube depot. The third block of levels is located at a train station. The fourth block starts in a stone quarry and concludes at a cemetery. The fifth block takes place at a warehouse. The final block of levels takes the player to an office building.

In my opinion the game is too difficult. The visuals are very nice, but the sound was disappointing as the same track is used in every level. Both versions have some bugs. In the PC version often graphical artifacts appear on the screen and obscure vision. In the Mac version the reticle is permanently changed for a mouse cursor if the player hovers over the task bar.

I think the cover of the Mac version looks very intriguing and is well made. The PC version was renamed and given a cover so badly fitting that it could as well have been a mixup.