90s FMV 'Classic' Ground Zero Texas Getting HD Rerelease

[Ulquiorra]

Sega CD FMV "classic" Ground Zero Texas is next in line for an HD rerelease on PC and PlayStation 4. The revival comes from the team at Screaming Villains, the same studio behind the recent rereleases of Night Trap and Corpse Killer. Originally developed by Digital Pictures and released in November 1993, Ground Zero Texas is the first game the studio created solely for the Sega CD, with their previous work being left over from the failed NEMO console from Hasbro. That system would have used VHS tapes instead of traditional game cartridges, which is why the studio's output was composed almost entirely of FMV-centric adventures.

While FMV games never truly went away, they have become mostly a nostalgia play in recent years versus their heyday in the 90s. However, those that do continue to utilize the technology have moved past the cheesy acting and produced some interesting games. The creators of Myst released Obduction in 2016 following a Kickstarter, and that game uses FMV talking heads for its storytelling. Meanwhile, the team at Wales Interactive has specialized in publishing so-called interactive movies of all types, including releases like The Shapeshifting Detective and Night Shift. Like so many genres of years past, the market has expanded to fill even a small niche, and there's certainly an audience for continued FMV releases.

 

As announced via a reveal trailer this week, Ground Zero Texas will see a rerelease on PlayStation 4 and PC on March 2, 2021. The game, which was previously only available on the Sega CD and is, therefore, one of Digital Pictures' more obscure releases, involves aliens known as Reticulans attacking a small border town in Texas. The player must use four Battle Cams to stun the aliens before they can blow up the state of Texas with a nuclear bomb. The game's film bits were directed by Dwight H. Little, who also directed the Steven Seagal classic Marked for Death.

While new FMV fans still have to wait a few months to experience Ground Zero Texas for the first time, veterans interested in securing the game in a physical edition can preorder the game starting on January 22 thanks to Limited Run Games. The physical games retailer is offering a PlayStation 4 version as well as a special edition that includes a Sega CD version of the game alongside a pile of extras. The PC version is sadly not available in a big box but will be on Steam upon the game's release.

Considering the dubious video quality of all FMV-heavy games released on the Sega CD, this rerelease of Ground Zero Texas is more than just a nostalgic throwback. Screaming Villains are preserving these games in a quality never seen before as well as restoring deleted scenes and other extras. It's one of several companies providing older games with the same kind of releases that films of all sizes see all the time on Blu-Ray, and it's great to see that type of release for even the most obscure of titles from decades past.