3-D World Runner by Acclaim - Cover Review

Back in the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System I used to play this game all the time. Some may consider this to be nothing more than a rip off of Sega's Space Harrier game, but 3-D World Runner had a look and feel all its own. It was also one of the first games to use 3D glasses, one of the worst video game accessories we have ever seen (even worse than the Rock 'N Roller). But no matter how much I love 3-D World Runner, I just can't get into this terrible cover art. It's not that just that the art is bad, but the design makes very little sense. Then again, when you really think about what you're doing in 3-D World Runner you'll find that the whole product doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

My first issue with 3-D World Runner is that the bullets seem to be coming out of the man's chest. Forget about giving the dude a gun to hold, apparently in the future your weapons will come directly out of your chest. Also confusing is why he is wearing 3D glasses. There is absolutely no reason for this guy to be wearing the same glasses as you, the world he's running through already is 3D to him. It's not like he's watching it on a crappy 13 inch television set like you, he actually gets to experience it first-hand. If anything the 3D glasses are going to make it harder for him, since everything is in this weird red and blue tint. Perhaps that's the reason he's headed for a big opening in the checker board landscape.