A few months ago, QuByte Interactive re-released both The Humans and The Immortal as the first in a line of old school games they are calling QuByte Classics. Fast-forward six months and they are back with their next release – Zero Tolerance. This Genesis first-person shooter was a technical marvel when it first came out and showed gamers everywhere that the 16-bit systems still had a little life left in them. It's cool that this old school oddity is finding a second life on PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Switch, but is this game actually worth playing in 2022? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Mean Machines Sega and more classic magazines to see what the critics said about Zero Tolerance back when it first came out. Join me for another action-packed episode of QuByte Classics Review Crew.


I want to take you back to 1994, a time when first-person shooters like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D were dominating the computer scene and 32-bit consoles were just around the corner. But what if you were a Genesis owner who had no interest in upgrading to new hardware but still wanted to play the hottest first-person shooters? That's where Zero Tolerance comes in. Originally published by Accolade in 1994, this game proved that you didn't need fancy Mode-7 effects to pull off a competent Doom clone on Sega's aging hardware. It may not have been pretty and you can definitely see the developer butting up against a lot of limitations, but this game was a solid choice for anybody wanting to dip their toe into this emerging new genre.

When it came to the reviews, there was clearly a divide between people who appreciated the effort that went into making a cutting-edge game on outdated hardware and those who couldn't overlook the inherent limitations. Ed praised the surprisingly smooth scrolling and great gameplay. “The levels are huge and I like all the weapons you can pick up. Zero Tolerance is a fast-paced shooter that shines particularly well on the Sega Genesis.” Al, on the other hand, strongly disagreed. Giving it a 6 out of 10, he starts off his review by noting the extreme ultra violence: “The gore, blood and carnage throughout the levels are excellent. As a one-player game, it's great. I just didn't care for the two-player simultaneous game. Maye it's because I want to do all the killing. The control also needs weeding out.”

GamePro liked it even more than EGM, giving it a 4.5 out of 5. They explained that the game “doles up pulse-pounding action, thanks to its “through the eyes” perspective and speedy graphics. Despite minor flaws, Zero Tolerance provides deep-dish entertainment. The levels are large, with winding passages, ample confrontations and loads of gameplay. Too few developers are thinking creatively like this, and too few games deliver the enjoyment Zero Tolerance services up.”

Across the pond in the UK, Mean Machines Sega was impressed by this game's innovation: “At long last, some fresh gameplay. Mega Drive owners have been kept waiting quite long enough for this game format to hit the stores. And I'm glad to say it's a pretty decent port. This is challenging stuff for the Mega Drive, and rather than try to tart up the graphics, using loads of memory, they've concentrated on the gameplay.”

That said, not everybody was as impressed as Mean Machines and GamePro. For example, you saw VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine give the first-person shooter a paltry 6 out of 10. Similarly, Game Players gave it a 65%, complaining that “the graphics are below par. You never get to see the enemy face.” Furthermore, “while the rocket launcher and flame-thrower caused noticeable differences in carnage, all of the projectile weapons caused the same simple hole-in-the-goblin effect. There was no difference between the shotgun and pistol. Finally, the game lacked good ideas. Take the main screen – outside of the viewfinder that shows where you are, the rest of the screen is useless junk.” Unfortunately, these are a lot of the problems you're going to run into when you attempt to play Zero Tolerance in 2022. While there's no doubt that this was technically impressive for a Genesis game, it feels like little more than a relic from the past today. Zero Tolerance is only recommended to people who have nostalgia for this early first-person shooter.