Global Gladiators

In 1992, Virgin Mastertronic, while expanding into the United States, entered a deal with McDonald's to publish a video game themed around its restaurants within six months. Virgin contacted Probe Software programmer David Perry and made a generous offer to hire him into their American development branch in Irvine, California; Virgin was convinced by Perry's work on The Terminator that he could quickly make a satisfactory game for the Sega Genesis. Virgin granted Perry an apartment overlooking Laguna Beach, which he remarked was "like living in Baywatch". For Global Gladiators, the development team combined tools that they had developed for previous titles. Aside from some branding, the game had little to do with the McDonald's franchise. This displeased visiting McDonald's executives, who questioned the lack of restaurants and Ronald McDonald. To this, Perry bluntly replied that no one liked Ronald McDonald and no one wanted restaurants in the game. Perry had planned to return to the United Kingdom upon the game's completion, but its unexpected critical success convinced him to stay in California; as he recalled, "it suddenly made people appreciate me". ==Reception==

Sega Pro magazine gave an overall score of 93/100, noting the game's challenging difficulty, praising the game's graphics—stating "brilliantly animated sprites and characters give this game a very polished feel"—and the game's sound as "very much geared to the rave style with a few rocky tunes for good measure" and concluding "[A] great game that will keep up till the wee hours, a definite purchase for all of you seeking a big challenge." Mega Action gave an overall score of 93%, describing the game as "a brilliant game with some really nice sprites". ==See also==