Special Criminal Investigation

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Special Criminal Investigation
Special criminal investigation arcadeflyer.png
North American Special Criminal Investigation arcade flyer.
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)Taito
SeriesChase
Platform(s)Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Sega Master System, PC Engine, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseJune 1, 1989[1]
Genre(s)Racing, Action
Mode(s)Single-player
Arcade systemTaito Z System

Special Criminal Investigation, also known as S.C.I. for short or as Chase HQ II: Special Criminal Investigation in some home versions, is a 1989 vehicular combat racing game published by Taito for arcades. It is the sequel to the 1988 original Chase H.Q.

Gameplay[]

European front cover of Sega Master System version.

Instead of the black Porsche 928 of the first game, the player commands a red example of the just-introduced (at the time) Nissan 300ZX Z32 T-Top Turbo. Unlike the first game, the player is able to fire at offending vehicles, with some cabinets containing buttons on the steering wheel, and others having a fire button on the gearshift, along with a button to activate the nitrous boost.

The game brings back protagonists Tony Gibson and Det. Raymond Broady of the first game, and their second game appearance. Broady has taken over the driver's seat this time, while Gibson, as the passenger, serves as the gunman. Also, instead of Nancy, Karen is the officer delivering reports of whom the criminal is pursuing, and what they are driving.

Ports and related releases[]

Conversions for Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum were released in 1991 by Ocean Software, developed by Glasgow's ICE Software. A conversion for the PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) was released in January 1991 exclusively in Japan by Taito. Natsume ported it to the Sega Master System. An Amstrad CPC version was written but never released, and only a small number of cartridges are known to exist.

In 1996, Taito released an emulation of the arcade original for the Sega Saturn in Japan, bundled together with Chase H.Q. on one disc.[2]

Reception[]

hideContemporary reception
Review scores
Publication Scores
Arcade Amiga ST C64 PC Engine ZX
ACE 4/5 stars[3]
Commodore User 86%[4] 72%[5]
Computer + Video Games 84%[6] 79%[7] 85%[8]
Raze 89%[9]
Sinclair User 8/10[10]
Your Sinclair 94%[11] 80%[12]
Zero 5/5 stars[13] 81%[14] 79%[15]
Zzap!64 Positive[16] 91%[17] 93%[18]
Awards
Publication Award
Crash Coin-op of the month[19]

In Japan, Game Machine listed Special Criminal Investigation on their December 1, 1989 issue as being the second most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.[20] It went on to become Japan's third highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1990, below Super Monaco GP and Winning Run Suzuka GP.[21]

References[]

  1. ^ "Special Criminal Investigation (Registration Number PA0000473769)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Taito Chase H.Q. Plus S.C.I.: Traffic Cops Take it to the Bad Guys!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 12. Emap International Limited. October 1996. pp. 28–29.
  3. ^ http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/46/322/special_criminal_investigations_review.html
  4. ^ http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/287/322/special_criminal_investigations_review.html
  5. ^ http://amr.abime.net/review_8934
  6. ^ http://amr.abime.net/review_27120
  7. ^ http://amr.abime.net/review_27121
  8. ^ https://archive.org/stream/computer-video-games-magazine-113/CVG113_Apr_1991#page/n78/mode/1up
  9. ^ https://archive.org/stream/RAZE_Issue_09_1991-07_Newsfield_Publishing_GB#page/n57/mode/1up
  10. ^ http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/124/322/special_criminal_investigations_review.html
  11. ^ http://www.solvalou.com/subpage/arcade_reviews/69/322/special_criminal_investigations_review.html
  12. ^ Your Sinclair, issue 63
  13. ^ https://archive.org/stream/zero-magazine-04/Zero_04_Feb_1990#page/n90/mode/1up
  14. ^ http://amr.abime.net/review_40279
  15. ^ http://amr.abime.net/review_40280
  16. ^ Hogg, Robin (March 1990). "Arcades". Zzap!64. No. 59. pp. 38–40.
  17. ^ http://amr.abime.net/review_5593
  18. ^ http://amr.abime.net/review_5594
  19. ^ Caswell, Mark (25 January 1990). "Arcade Action". Crash. No. 73 (February 1990).
  20. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 369. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 December 1989. p. 29.
  21. ^ ""Tetris" Has Still Earned More Than "Final Fight"" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 396. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 February 1991. p. 22.

External links[]


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