"Let's rock n' roll!" - Johnny Nero
"Earth has been at war with the evil Terellian Empire for over a century -
It has been a long and bloody battle.
A battle Earth is losing -
Deep in space.
The fate of the human race will be decided -
On the Federation destroyer "Petro", the pulsar cannon was created.
A weapon of mass destruction -
The survival of the human race will depend on the success of this device."
It has been a long and bloody battle.
A battle Earth is losing -
Deep in space.
The fate of the human race will be decided -
On the Federation destroyer "Petro", the pulsar cannon was created.
A weapon of mass destruction -
The survival of the human race will depend on the success of this device."
— Space Wars' opening narration
Take CarnEvil, combine it with Virtua Cop and Time Crisis, add in a ton of action movie and comic book tropes, and you pretty much have Action Hero (commonly known as Johnny Nero Action Hero or Johnny Nero: Action Hero). The game might not be original, but it makes up for it by doing it's own thing and it sure is fun as hell.
The plot of three-different comics involves the alien empire, cursed mummies, and Wild West undead zombies/ghosts, but who cares about the plot, anyway? We're here to blow up sticky dynamites!
Johnny Nero Action Hero was created in 2004 by the American arcade game company Play Mechanix (of Big Buck Hunter, founded by former Midway game designer George Petro), it is considered to be a Spiritual Successor to CarnEvil.
This game provides examples of:
- Big Bad: Sheriff in Ghost Town and the final boss of the entire game.
- Guns Akimbo: The cutscenes had two guns that Johnny carries, the player can also be dual wielded. Although the player has to access "Guns of Fury" mode in addition to standard mode to do so, but it's basically the same as standard 1-player mode but with second gun being allowed and one set of magazines that both guns reloaded the same time. A more traditional dual wielding can be set by having 2-player mode instead.
- Lighter and Softer: Johnny Nero Action Hero are this when you compare them to CarnEvil, Invasion: The Abductors or Target Terror. All four games are first-person rail shooters, but Johnny Nero Action Hero have no blood, less violence (while still pretty gory), and more colorful, cartoony Comic Book graphics compared to CarnEvil, Invasion: The Abductors or Target: Terror.
- Painfully Slow Projectile: Every boss (and some enemies) attacks with slow-moving rockets or fireballs that can be shot out of the air.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: The final boss and the boss of Ghost Town has this upon confronting them.
- Shout-Out: There are shout-outs of the game can be shown by clicking it here.
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Spiritual Successor: To Midway's CarnEvil and Invasion: The Abductors. - Super Mode: The "Andrealin' Rush", which giving you powerful weapon (the unlimited rocket launchers) and ran for 15 seconds.
- Trick Boss: In the final comic Ghost Town, you face a Indian chief with flying skulls, then when you beat him, it triggers a Haunted Alley Action Bonus mini-game, after either success or failed upon the mini-game, then continues the rest of the comic's gameplay... until a evil demon known as Sheriff shows up for the true final battle.
- True Final Boss: In the final comic Ghost Town, your boss battle with Sheriff acting as this if you beat first two comics (Space Wars and Curse of the Mummy King) in numeral order (1-2).
- Time Bomb: The side challenges (also known as mini-games) force you to run for your life.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: You can kill a friendly person, but this makes you lose health, score, and "Rush" meter.
