Streets of Rage 2 was one of the Sega Mega Drive’s most revered games but you can get it on Steam these days. It first came during a period when arcades had a lot of similar beat ’em ups, from those based in cities fighting thugs, to fantasy and futuristic settings. There were licensed games based on cartoons such as The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But none of those can be called the greatest side-scrolling beat ’em up ever created. And them’s the facts.

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That damn Brendan’s always flaunting the fact that he had a childhood, that he didn’t just floop fully-formed out a pod. Oh hark at you, Mister ‘Renegade Ops makes me feel all young and boisterous again and not at all like what grows if you spill nutrient paste down the back of the radiator.’ Yeah, well, the rest of us can also enjoy shooting tanks and helicopters and soldiermen in top-down Jungle Strike-ish shooty action, you know. And we can do it for free, as Sega are giving away Renegade Ops along with Gunstar Heroes and Viking: Battle for Asgard right now.

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Last week SEGA ordered that the Streets Of Rage remake – a faithful fan (reportedly eight years in development) recreation by Bomber Gamers that we previously reported on – be taken down by its creators. Subsequently, SEGA issued this statement:

“SEGA is committed to supporting any fans that take an interest in our games, and where possible we do so by involving them in Beta tests and other development, marketing or research opportunities. However we need to protect our intellectual property rights and this may result in us requesting that our fans remove online imagery, videos or games in some instances.”

Fairly tragic, I think. Is there any good news today?

I have only foggy memories of Sega’s 1991 side-scrolling man-thumper Streets of Rage (I was more of a Final Fight man, played on a chum’s Amiga) but I remember visiting the house of the only boy in the world to own a Mega-CD / Sega CD and playing it with him there. Though it might have been the second game, now I think of it. No matter – many buttons were bashed, many men were thumped, many naughty-swears were uttered. And yes, I do remember that thing where the police car turns up and bombs everything to death with as much fondness as the next man.

Now, a cartel of indie devs have painstakingly remade the bally thing as an elaborate, faithful but free PC game. After a remarkable eight years in development, you can play the ‘final’ version of this labour of violent love right now.
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