Wirehead

From Sega Retro

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Wirehead title.png

Wirehead
System(s): Sega Mega-CD
Publisher: Sega of America
Developer:
Supporting companies:
Licensor: MGM Interactive
Genre: Action

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega-CD
US 		$59.99[1] 4437
ESRB: Teen

Wirehead is a full-motion video game for the Sega Mega-CD. It was only released in North America, although it seems a PAL version was considered at one point in 1995.[2]

Story

Ned Hubbard is a mild-mannered family man. After a freak accident, Ned has a microchip implanted into his brain that allows his actions to be directed using a controller. Now he is on the run as a mad scientist is after the technology.

Characters

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Ned
Portrayed by:
Steve Witting
The "Wirehead", an ordinary family man and high school history teacher who had a microchip implanted in his brain as a life-saving measure.

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Dr. Oja
Portrayed by:
John Fujioka
A kindly scientist who created Ned's mind implant.

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Dr. Slitcon
Portrayed by:
Vaughn Armstrong
A sinister biotech engineer who wants the mind control chip for his own self-serving ends.

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Laura
Portrayed by:
Leah Lail
A novice reporter who is looking for a big story and ends up helping Ned and Dr. Oja.

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Rip and Sticks
Portrayed by:
Stephen Davies and Sonny Surowiec
A pair of mercenary agents working for Dr. Slitcon.

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Heels
Portrayed by:
Natasha Pavlova
A bounty hunter hired by Dr. Slitcon to find Ned.

Gameplay

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Choices

Wirehead is an interactive movie in which the player controls the protagonist Ned through a microchip in his brain as he is pursued by the evil Dr. Slitcon's thugs. Every few seconds, the player is prompted to choose an action for Ned and given a short amount of time to do so. Some of these actions continue the narrative while others show a short video clip depicting the downfall of the protagonist, similar to games such as Dragon's Lair but with some branching paths. In most cases, three arrows appear for Left, Up, Right, or sometimes Down, giving the player a choice of directions to take. Less commonly, Ned may have to fight using A to punch and B to kick.

Ned has three "batteries" (continues), and each battery has three "charges" (lives). Going in the wrong direction (or failing to press anything) can lead to one of these charges being lost, although Wirehead also offers multiple routes in some scenarios.

Locations

The game mostly follows a linear path, though there are some branching paths.

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Ned's House 1.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Ned's House 2.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Ned's House 3.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Ned's House 4.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Ned's House 5.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Ned's House 6.png

Ned's House

The story begins at Ned's house. He receives a video tape with a recorded message from Dr. Oja warning him that Dr. Slitcon's thugs are after him. Rip and Sticks, posing as FBI agents, appear at Ned's door and give chase. Ned can choose a skateboard, bicycle, or station wagon to use to escape, though only the skateboard can be used successfully. Ned can either hitch a ride in a red Jeep to the airport or skateboard into an airport shuttle.

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Airport 1.png

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Airport 4.png

Airport

Ned goes to the airport to get out of town and boards an airplane. Heels identifies and tries to entrap him, and airport security has been told the staff to apprehend him as well. Ned escapes by opening the door on the side of the plane and jumping out with a raft.

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Wilderness 1.png

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Wilderness 3.png

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Wilderness 5.png

Wilderness

Ned lands the raft in a river near a waterfall and finds himself in the wilderness with a bear.

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Old West Town 1.png

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Old West Town 9.png

Old West Town

Ned finds his way out of the woods into an Old West town with a saloon and tries to blend in, but he is picked up by local law enforcement. The reporter Laura arrives and helps him escape. Ned can choose a wagon, a motorcycle, or a Jeep to escape. The game lets the player successfully escape with any of them (with a different sequence for each).

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Dr Oja's Motel 1.png

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Dr Oja's Motel 4.png

Dr. Oja's Motel

Ned and Laura arrive at Dr. Oja's motel, but the three of them are chased out by Heels. They steal a pink Cadillac from a wedding ceremony to flee. If they crash the car during the first part of the chase, they are captured and taken to Dr. Slitcon's lair. Otherwise, they lose their tail, and Laura calls her editor and learns that Dr. Slitcon has kidnapped Ned's family and taken them to the shipyard.

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Dr Slitcon's Lair 1.png

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Dr Slitcon's Lair 5.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Dr Slitcon's Lair 6.png

Dr. Slitcon's Lair

If Ned, Laura, and Dr. Oja crash the car in the last chase sequence, they are taken to Dr. Slitcon's lair and must escape. If they succeed in escaping, they get back in the pink Cadillac and finish the rest of the chase sequence.

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Shipyard 1.png

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Shipyard 4.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Shipyard 5.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Shipyard 6.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Shipyard 7.png

  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, Shipyard 8.png

Shipyard

Ned and Laura go to the shipyard to rescue Ned's family (while Dr. Oja goes to the police). After they succeed, Ned's wife takes the children, and Ned and Laura can choose to escape by motorized raft, jetski, or boat, though only the motorized raft can be used successfully.

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, City 1.png

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  • Wirehead MCD, Locations, City 4.png

City

Arriving back in the city, Ned can choose a go-kart, a Mini, or a Fresh Fish truck to evade police and reach the Times building. The game lets the player successfully escape with the go-kart or the Fresh Fish truck (with a different sequence for each) but not the Mini.

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Times Building

At the Times building, Ned and Laura are cornered by Dr. Slitcon and his goons, but Dr. Oja arrives with the police. As Laura meets with her editor, Heels arrives for a final showdown with Ned.

History

Development

Wirehead was originally set to be released similarly to Fahrenheit, in that the package would contain both a Mega-CD copy of the game, and a Mega-CD 32X variant.[3] The Mega-CD 32X version was announced at Summer CES 1994, but was ultimately scrapped for unknown reasons. Had it been released, the Mega-CD 32X version of Wirehead would have debuted during the launch window of the 32X system, and was at one point dated for December 1994[4] (later January 1995[5]).

Production credits

Main article: Wirehead/Production credits.

Magazine articles

Main article: Wirehead/Magazine articles.

Artwork

  • Mega-CD US prototype cover

  • Mega-CD 32X US prototype cover

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
58
[1]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
22
[6]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
50
[7]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
69
[8]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
10
[9]
VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
20
[10]
Sega Mega-CD
 38
Based on
6 reviews

Wirehead

Mega-CD, US
Wirehead MCD US Box Back.jpgWirehead MCD US Box Front.jpg
Box
Wirehead MCD US Disc.jpg
Disc
Wirehead mcd us manual.pdf
Manual

Technical information

Main article: Wirehead/Technical information.

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 GamePro, "October 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 58
  2. ↑ Sega Magazine, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-13), page 31
  3. ↑ 1995 Sega Product Catalog (US), page 46
  4. ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 1 January 1995" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 18
  5. ↑ File:GamePlayers US Supplement 0802.pdf, page 2
  6. ↑ Game Informer, "September 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 52
  7. ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Febrero 1996" (ES; 1996-xx-xx), page 101
  8. ↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 69
  9. ↑ Sega Power, "Christmas 1995" (UK; 1995-12-21), page 58
  10. ↑ VideoGames, "October 1995" (US; 1995-09-19), page 88
Wirehead

Wirehead title.png

Main page | Credits | Hidden content | Development | Magazine articles | Reception | Technical information
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