Menacer

The Menacer

The Menacer is a lightgun created by Sega for the Mega Drive video game console in 1992, as a response to the Super Scope by Nintendo.

The Menacer is made up of three sections which can be disassembled. Rather than being connected to the console by a cable, the Menacer is wireless, communicating via an infrared receiver plugged in to one of the gamepad ports.

Design

The Menacer is made up of three sections which can be disassembled. The main section alone can be used as a pistol. A skeletonized shoulder stock can be added for extra support. The third removable section are twin sights that are clipped on to the top of the barrel.

The Menacer is powered by 6 AAA batteries and was not connected by a wire to the console but by an infrared beam that relays signals to a receiver box that would ideally sit on top of the television. The receiver box has to be plugged into the console in the second controller port.

As with other contemporary light guns, the Menacer uses scan lines to determine where the user is aiming and thus requires the use of a CRT-based television set.

The Menacer was advertised as the most accurate light gun ever. The Menacer retailed for $100 in North America.

Games

The Menacer came with an exclusive 6-game cartridge of mostly target shooting games. The games included on the cartridge are: Pest Control, Space Station Defender, Whack Ball, Front Line, Rockman's Zone, and Ready, Aim Tomatoes! -- the latter stars Sega franchise characters ToeJam and Earl. While most games utilize the light gun as a means to shoot down objects, Whack Ball actually utilized the Menacer as a mouse of sorts. All 6 of the games were conceptualized by Mac Senour, Producer on both the hardware and software. The Menacer works fully with the Sega Mega-CD, even though that system had, with the Konami Justifier, two different light guns developed for it.

Sega and third-party developers did not develop many games for the Menacer. The only compatible Mega Drive games were the 6-game cartridge, Body Count, and T2: The Arcade Game.^{[citation needed]} All other Menacer games were for the Sega 32X and/or Sega Mega-CD.

The complete list of supported games is:

• Body Count (Sega Mega Drive)
• Corpse Killer (Sega Mega-CD, Sega Mega-CD 32X)
• Crime Patrol (Sega Mega-CD)
• Mad Dog McCree (Sega Mega-CD)
• Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold (Sega Mega-CD)
• Menacer 6-game cartridge (Sega Mega Drive)
• Monster Hunter (Unreleased)
• T2: The Arcade Game (Sega Mega Drive)
• Who Shot Johnny Rock? (Sega Mega-CD)

Radica Games has manufactured an dedicated console based on the Menacer. The unit has the games from the 6-game cartridge built into it.