Revolution X

Revolution X is a 1994 Light-gun shooter video game by Midway, originally for Arcade platforms, but later ported to various home consoles. Revolution X was notable for featuring all 5 band members of the rock band Aerosmith, who served as the game's primary characters, and came complete with many popular Aerosmith songs. Revolution X was originally planned to have a sequel, this time featuring the band Public Enemy, but was canceled due to the lack of popularity of the original.

Plot
The plot concerns a dystopian version of 1996 where an alliance of corrupt government and corporate military forces have taken control of the world in the guise of the "New Order Nation" (NON). The NON, with their vampish commander Mistress Helga (portrayed by Kerri Hoskins), have declared war on youth culture (anyone aged from 13 to 30) and have banned music, television and video games. At a gig in Los Angeles at 'Club X', complete with neon sign, Aerosmith are captured by NON troops once the player reached inside the theater and the game begins.

Gameplay
The game is a standard side-scrolling rail shooter in which the player has to shoot targets including NON soldiers and vehicles, with the ultimate goal of rescuing the band. One of the five members of Aerosmith are hidden in each level of the game and all must be found in order to see the real ending. Players start the game at Club X, then select one of several levels to proceed to - the Amazon jungle, the Middle East and Pacific Rim. In the final battle, players shoot in Wembley Stadium.

Throughout the game, boxes constantly drop containing Power-Ups like Health-Up shakes, CDs, the more powerful Laserdiscs, Super Guns, Skull Bombs and shields. Players can find female hostages and free them throughout the game for extra points.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack consists of several Aerosmith songs continuously looped, including "Eat The Rich", "Sweet Emotion", "Toys in the Attic" and "Walk This Way". A Muzak version of Love in an Elevator plays in the elevator part of the Amazon Jungle level.

The console versions included loops of "Rag Doll" for the attract screen, main menu, and score, "Fever" for the Middle East level, and "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" for the ending.

Platforms
The arcade game was later ported by Acclaim to several home video game consoles and to computers running DOS. The Super NES, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Sony PlayStation and PC versions were developed by Rage Software while the Sega Saturn version was developed by Software Creations.

The home versions were not light gun compatible. The Super NES and Sega Genesis ports tone down the blood and the exotic dancers (also played by Kerri Hoskins) who were showing off their thongs have been turned around so they are facing the screen. CD-based console versions feature more blood, but the dancers are still facing the screen.

Reception & Legacy
The release of the arcade game was a success and proved to be a very popular arcade game and was well received by critics and fans alike. However, when ported to home consoles, most versions suffered from lackluster sales due to receiving mediocre review scores and being released at the dawn of the 32-bit era.