Publisher: Good Deal Games
Developer: Digital Pictures
Size: 1 CD
Memory Usage: None
No. of players: 1
Got it for: Free, was a perk from an old project I was working with...
Driving into town one evening, you stumble across a series of disasters caused by a nerve gas that has been released into the air. Not being affected by it somehow(I am guessing your character has highly evolved gills that allow him to filter the air...making him the ultra-super human!! That's just a guess though), you come across a dying woman who gives you her watch. Immediately you are hailed down by a secret organization via the watch's video screen, are told what the situation is and recruited to stop it. Talk about a short interview...

What's it all about?
It's a sidescrolling adventure game. Playing as "Citizen X" you move around the city(or more accurately, below it) looking for the antidote to the deadly nerve toxin that terrorists are threatening the world with. Along the way you'll receive information via your wristwatch in the form of the always cheesy Digital Pictures-style FMV sequences. After being "treated" to one of the finely performed sequences, you'll then punch and kick through an assortment of enemies while trying to find your way through one of the various underground labyrinths. This is where things go downhill: The underground sections are beyond confusing, and most areas look exactly the same so you end up spending most of your time running through the same fucking parts over and over and over and over....and over again.
Graphics - Though they're more than just a bit grainy, the graphics aren't that bad at all. The buildings, sewers and various scenery are all very nicely detailed(the later levels are actually look pretty good too). Your character animates well...but the enemies could have used some work. The only problem, and it's a major one, you'll run into with the graphics is how amazingly flat everything is. I'm talking wallpaper-flat. Now, it wouldn't be so bad if you didn't actually have to interact with certain parts of the background...but you do. Finding what can be messed with will take up the general majority of your time...and frustrate the piss out of you while you do it...
Sound - The music isn't too bad, kind of a weird mix of highly over-synthesized instruments accompanying a beefy beat. The sound effects are alright, consisting of a mix of various grunts and contact noises.
Control - Trying(at best). Your character starts off walking, then after about three steps breaks out into a full sprint....then, in order to stop, he goes from full sprint into walking, then finally stops. So, with that said, getting around can be just a bit tough at times as his goofy ass is just sliding around all over the place. Past that, you attack using either one or two buttons at once, and you can jump...both come off immediately, assuming you're not stuck in the run or walk animations...
AI - Generic. The enemies simply follow you no matter where you go. If they are on a level above you they'll follow you, if they are on the other side of the screen they'll follow you. For the most part you can either take them out, jump over them or just out run them. About the only enemies you really *have* to fight are the various "bosses" that will show up in certain areas.
Replay value - Virtually non-existent. You won't even want to play through it *once*, let alone come back and do it again...
Tips for better gaming experiences:
Almost anytime you are stuck, if you can't bomb your way through a wall/floor, then start looking around the flat-ass backgrounds for some door or entrance you may have missed...

Someone has actually taken the time to map out the huge, underground sections of the game. To take a look at the various maps for these locations, be sure to check out Richard Aldridge's collection of Citizen X maps.(note: PowerPoint is required to view these maps)
My rating: 48(out of 100) - Great concept, could have made for a great game...but it just didn't. Instead we get an overly-boring attempt at some sidescrolling adventuring. To make matters worse, each level consists of hard to find entrances, and even harder to navigate sections. Though kudos go out to the fine folks at GDG for their interest in old, non-published Sega CD stuff, I think this is one beta that should have stayed a beta...and back under some uneven table leg...

Kitty's sleepy thoughts: It's not that bad, it's just not that great either. {yawn}Now back to my kitty nap...

Ah Frobish, the root beer with the foam on the bottom...delicious.
Ok, from this picture, can *you* tell that you can go into the Subway!?
One of the various killer clowns that just seem to enjoy roaming the sewer...
Run Forest, run...
Beta X?
Over at the GDG site, it says that the only thing missing from this game is one video clip, thus giving it its "beta" status. I find it hard to believe that the game was going to be released like this, even if that clip was shot...but then again this *is* Digital Pictures we're talking about. In my time with it I've had it just crash, outright on me about four times and have run across numerous in-game glitches and bugs.
More Sega CD stuff coming!?:
Yes indeed. Good Deal Games has acquired the rights to a few Sega CD titles that were finished, but never released. So far, they have published Bug Blasters, Star Strike, Citizen X, Marko and Battle Frenzy. Be sure to check it out!