Poor example of an on-rails shooter
Mystic Midway is a sort of on-rails shooters that tries to combine B-movie horror cliches with an interactive movie (it was originally released on Phillips' short-lived CD-i device) but which unfortunately misses the mark and is entertaining only for about fifteen minutes. The game has some semblance of a story, which basically revolves around a dodgy demonic theme park host. Doctor Dearth, inviting you into his creation, a tawdry amusement park filled with zombies, skeletons and other supposedly scary creatures. In order to escape this nightmare, you simply have to blast your way through the various targets which litter the rooms, while avoiding hitting the tombstones. Targets are worth different amounts of points, and really this is nothing more than an exercise in racking up a high score. Supposedly adding to the game's appeal are Doctor Dearth's 'witty' comments when you fail or complete a level but really these are just as simple and repetitive as the game itself. The shooting genre has some great examples, from Operation Wolf to Panzer Dragoon to the House of the Dead series, but unfortunately Mystic Midway fails to live up to these standards. The graphics are pretty poor, which dull levels that lack any real visual flair or originality, while the shooting itself is less than exciting, with wildly uneven difficulty levels. Dr. Dearth's cringe-making comments quickly lose their novelty value and just become embarrassing and really this is a game to avoid unless you are a die-hard fan of shooting gallery style games. Even if you are though, this one is likely to prove all that entertaining. the sequel, Phantom Express is equally unappealing.
