The Games of American Laser Games

If we say American Laser Games, what comes to mind? If you are now thinking of Mad Dog McCree, you are correct. As big fans of laserdisc games, we take a look at the games of this company that had its best moments in its years, starting in the early 90s. In a short time they won the hearts of players with a particular style and the same signature as always. Except for Mazer, of course. But nobody wants to play Mazer, right?

Who can forget the legendary video game developer American Laser Games? That same one that made light gun arcade games and laserdisc games popular, which used pre-recorded videos, either with real people or animation, to represent the action on screen. Its life was not as long as other companies, but in a period of five years they released a number of titles that are remembered to this day as classics.

The beginnings of American Laser Games

American Laser Games was founded in the city of Albuquerque, in New Mexico, in the late 80s, by Robert Grebe. But the curious thing about this story is that the technology that made the company so popular was originally designed to train police officers under the name ICAT (Institute for Combat Arms and Tactics). We don't know the outcome of that project, but we know that a few years later it adapted the system to work in classic arcades. There it saw its best moment, releasing games like Mad Dog McCree, Crime Patrol, and Who Shot Johnny Rock?, among others. Do you want to know a little more about each of its games? Here's a list full of details!

Mazer (1995)

Mazer is clearly the black sheep of American Laser Games. It was the only one on the list developed in the offices of American Laser Games that did not have FMV (Full Motion Video) and, moreover, had an isometric camera, unlike the rest which were generally in first or third person. We could compare it to games like Project Overkill, in terms of gameplay, but it didn't come close in quality. The player chose one of four soldiers to save Earth from an oppressive regime of aliens, destroying the bases they had on our planet. This was one of its last games under the name American Laser Games and it was clear that it was an attempt to change genres, but it was not successful.

Space Pirates (1992)

This title was part of the most traditional style of American Laser Games, with the main difference being that it had a theme closely linked to science fiction and space. The player — or players, the original version supported a cooperative mode for up to two people — took the place of a Star Ranger, who responded to a transmission from Ursula Skye, the commander of the Colonial Star One, which was being invaded by a group of space pirates, known as the Black Brigade and led by Captain Tallinn. But he not only had to defend this ship, but also destroy the enemy ship, the Black Dragon, for which he needed to gather the crystals needed to charge the Star-Splitter cannon. True to the company's style, the gameplay only consisted of using the light gun to shoot enemies and, occasionally, choosing a path that slightly varied the scenarios.

Fast Draw Showdown (1994)

This was one of the last action games released by the company. And just like its first game, Mad Dog McCree, it belonged to the Western genre. But unlike that one, it was much shorter and had much less development. There was no story, beyond the player being the Sheriff of the town and having to confront five villains in duels. And if he defeated all of them without missing once, he accessed the final duel with Wes Flowers, a real person, champion of the sport known as Fast Draw.

The Last Bounty Hunter (1994)

Like the one mentioned before, it was one of the last released by the developer and they were probably filmed simultaneously at the Old Tucson studios in Tucson, Arizona. Unlike the previous one, the player did not take the role of a Sheriff, but rather a Bounty Hunter who arrived in a town to capture four powerful criminals, whose gangs terrorized innocent people.

The levels consisted of defeating a good number of enemies until reaching the leader of the gang, who could be killed or taken alive, something that gave many more points, but was also more difficult, because you had to aim at a very small spot at the right moment. And the way the player resolved the situations changed the final outcome, since if some were alive they could return and try to kill you or bribe you at the end. As a final detail, this title had an interesting difference: in addition to the traditional revolver, at times you could use a powerful shotgun.

Who Shot Johnny Rock? (1991)

This is probably one of the most different in American Laser Games' catalog that used FMV. Unlike being in the Wild West, it had a 1930s style and the player took the role of a detective who had to deduce who had killed the singer of a nightclub, known as Johnny Rock. The action was still identical to the rest of the games, with the difference that a Tommy Gun was used, which did not need to reload, but you had to buy bullets. Money formed an important part because if the player received too much damage, he had to pay the doctors to give him an extra life and, if he killed innocent people, he had to pay for their funeral services. The player lost when he ran out of money. Throughout the adventure, clues were collected and characters interrogated, but the player had no impact on what happened.

Crime Patrol (1993)

Like the rest of the games, Crime Patrol did not focus much on the story, but rather on action. The player took the place of a police officer in contemporary times and climbed from beginner to Delta Force. It was a simple game, with four long levels, but in each one he had different partners and dealt with different threats. For example, at first he stopped robberies and gang members. Then he dealt with drug traffickers and, in Delta Force, he dealt with criminals who jeopardized national security. Beyond that, in terms of gameplay, it was identical to the rest of the developer's games.

Crime Patrol 2: Drug Wars (1994)

A year later, they released the sequel, which was very similar to its predecessor, but in this case, the player took the role of a DEA agent. The objective was to stop the Drug Baron who lived hidden in South America. Unlike the original, the player was not promoted in rank, but rather traveled through the continent, from various states in the United States, the border with Mexico, and even South America. Like a few of the company's games, it did allow choosing different paths at certain moments.

Mad Dog McCree (1990)

There is no doubt that if there is a game that identifies American Laser Games, it is this one. It was not only its first laserdisc game, but one of the best they made, despite the lack of polish that was later improved in its sequel. The player took the place of The Stranger, who arrived in a quiet town and learned that the Mayor's daughter had been kidnapped. Thus, he began to hunt down the criminals who worked for the legendary Mad Dog McCree. The action consisted of several duels and action sequences until reaching McCree, for the final duel. It goes without saying that the success of this title marked the structure of the company's future games.

Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold (1992)

Unlike the original, which was considered simple, The Lost Gold added some new things to the genre. Once again, the player started as a stranger in search of Mad Dog McCree. To reach him, he could choose between three guides: Buckskin Bonnie, El Profesor, and Shooting Beaver. Each had their own path, but they all reached the same ending, inside a moving train. The second objective was to find the legendary lost gold of McCree, which could only be seen if the game was won using more than one credit. This sequel had more elaborate scenes, but in essence it was very similar.

Shootout at Old Tucson (1994)

And we end with the missing link, one of the rarest games from the company. It came out on limited platforms and never reached the PC. The reason not much is known about it is because after launching it, American Laser Games closed. Additionally, it was said to have several technical problems that limited its popularity. In style and gameplay it was very similar to the Mad Dog McCree series, with the difference that it supported up to two players.

The end of American Laser Games

American Laser Games arrived at the arcades just at the moment when these machines began to decline in popularity. That is why at the end of the 90s, they made many adaptations of their games for PC, 3DO, and SEGA CD, among others, and they were usually very bad versions. They even released a laser gun to be used with the computer, called the PC Gamegun, but it never achieved success because of the terrible aiming it offered to players. And these bad decisions were one of the reasons that led to the end of the mythical developer.

Its end came in the late 90s, when they stopped working on these types of games and dedicated all their attention to their second company, Her Interactive, founded in 1995. The demographic of this new developer was women, more predominantly the graphic adventures of the Nancy Drew series. The rights to the games created by American Laser Games were later bought by Digital Leisure, Inc., who then re-released them for PC and DVD TV with better quality.

The legacy of American Laser Games is irrefutable. At the time there were very few games of that style, but those developed by this company had a very particular style. The acting was bad and exaggerated, but that was one of the many attractions it had. It was a company that was probably destined to have the short life it had, but while it was alive, it gave us hours of joy, fun, and action, with very different and exciting themes.