Howdy stranger! Today we’re talking about Mad Dog McCree. The “live-action rail shooter video game on laser disc running on the Amega.” If this sounds like a lot, well, you’re not wrong. However, this was first of its kind for a video game arcade back in the 90s. And boy, was it a total blast.
The game: Mad Dog McCree. The objective: Rescue the mayor (and his daughter) by eliminating the outlaws. The setting: the Old West. Players dropping right in the middle of gun fights and shootouts. Whether on the dusty streets of town, or inside the saloon. And all before VR goggles.
Mad Dog McCree is an arcade game by American Laser Games. First developed and released in 1990. Light gun technology in video games was still fairly new at the time, although the technology of using light guns was not.
The more mainstream game which used the light gun is Duck Hunt on the Nintendo Entertainment System. More folks probably more familiar with this as it sold with the NES beginning in the late 80s.
I can remember getting through a few levels of Mad Dog McCree, but not necessarily the end of the game. Like Duck Hunt, you had to be a good shot. At the time, I was ok. But thankfully I had Duck Hunt to work on my light gun shooting skills.
Reloading your gun was a fun event as well! You’d place the gun in your holster (or just point it down beside your leg). Sometimes though, you’d be too slow and one of the outlaws would out draw you.
Later the game was ported to Sega CD and Microsoft Windows. Eventually, you could even play it on the Wii, 3DS, PS3, and even some older iOS devices. In my opinion, I can’t imagine the game had the same effect as it did in the arcade.
Mad Dog McCree is an arcade game that pops into my head every once in a while. More so when I am watching Back to the Future: Part 3. An arcade game that I would be thrilled to play once more, if I ever come across it again.
