Maximum Carnage
I've been wanting to pick up Maximum Carnage for a while now, so I've been reading up about it recently. This game was released on the both the SNES and the Sega Genesis and, based on what I've read, it is not a 2-player game. I remember playing it as a kid on the Genesis as well, and recall that it was only 1-player. However, whenever this game comes up in discussion, it seems like there are many people who believe that it is a 2-player game. In fact, just today on NA there was a poster who listed Maximum Carnage in a list of 2-player beat 'em ups.
So my question is this: what is the reason for this confusion? Are people just confusing Maximum Carnage with Separation Anxiety (its sequel, which was 2-player)? If so, why is this the case? It seems odd that SO many people would confuse the two. Was this game indeed capable of having 2-players in some kind of special mode or something?
So my question is this: what is the reason for this confusion? Are people just confusing Maximum Carnage with Separation Anxiety (its sequel, which was 2-player)? If so, why is this the case? It seems odd that SO many people would confuse the two. Was this game indeed capable of having 2-players in some kind of special mode or something?
Comments
I always thought the lack of 2-player in Maximum Carnage felt like a huge missed opportunity, because the idea of having Spider-Man and Venom team up on the same screen together seemed like the perfect co-op beat-'em-up experience.
I was not confused, I just assumed it was a 2 player game, so we end up playing some Separation Anxiety
Btw, not sure why, but, playing beatemups has been kind of boring to me now days, very repetitive gameplay, whereas back in the day was an awesome genre.
Still a great game though, and one I have very found memories playing.
Every arcade beat-em-up I can think of was at least two-player capable, and I think that's the mindset of the general public: At the video rental store with a buddy looking for a 2-player experience? You go to the beat-em-ups.
Either people are remembering it wrong or they are confusing it with its similar but not as good sequel, Spider-Man & Venom - Separation Anxiety, which did have 2p co-op.
Maximum Carnage did have 2 players; Spiderman and Venom, but you couldn't play as both as the same time. There are no codes or mods that I know of that allow that.
Either people are remembering it wrong or they are confusing it with its similar but not as good sequel, Spider-Man & Venom - Separation Anxiety, which did have 2p co-op.
It's like when people find out that Double Dragon for NES doesn't have a 2-player co-op mode. (Just a 2-player versus fighting mini-game.) It's a feature that is assumed with all beat-em-ups.
I think in this topic you have to assume when someone says '2-player', they mean co-op.
Jesus, this is actually weird for me to read. I played the hell out of Maximum Carnage as a young 7th-grader, but always played solo. Even then, I never realized the fact that the option for a 2-player game wasn't available. It never occurred to me at the title screen that this wasn't an option, as it never once affected me during my time playing the game. Looking back, what in the holy hell were the devs thinking releasing this as a 1-player-only game? What a missed opportunity for a great co-op beat 'em up.
It really was a missed opportunity. This game would have been great if it included co-op, and the sequel just wasn't as good.
People assume beat-em-ups will be at least two player at the same time. If a 2-player mode is absent, that's probably because the people coding the game were too lazy to include it, the product had to be rushed to meet a deadline, or there was some kind of other technical problem barring the way.
Every arcade beat-em-up I can think of was at least two-player capable, and I think that's the mindset of the general public: At the video rental store with a buddy looking for a 2-player experience? You go to the beat-em-ups.
Good point. Most people associate beat 'em ups with 2-player co-op, and I suppose that the heavy "Spiderman & Venom" marketing for this game didn't help to quell any 2-player assumptions.
Interesting. I know Separation Anxiety had both a very similar visual style and concept to Maximum Carnage, which could contribute to some folks' misunderstanding.
I always thought the lack of 2-player in Maximum Carnage felt like a huge missed opportunity, because the idea of having Spider-Man and Venom team up on the same screen together seemed like the perfect co-op beat-'em-up experience.
In all fairness, while the idea of teaming up sounds good on paper, I do like how closely the game follows the comics. There were actually few areas where both characters overlapped in the comics, and it's really shown well with the branching paths through the game for each character. Separation Anxiety on the other hand felt like a huge downgrade from Maximum Carnage, with the only real plus being the two-player mode. Honestly, I found Maximum Carnage to be a much better game overall, with multiplayer being the only real positive that Separation Anxiety has over it.
But yeah, to the OP's question, it's likely confusion on most people's part.