Powered By Amiga, it’s Mad – Mad Dog MCCREE The Arcade Game

Mad Dog McCree is a classic arcade title first released in 1990, and it quickly became a smash hit within days of launch. At its core, the game is a straightforward shooting gallery, but its appeal went far beyond the simple and linear gameplay. The massive backlit screen, plastic light-guns, and the option for co-op play all combined to create an experience that felt fresh and exciting at the time.

FMV Laserdisc…

Mad Dog McCree finally arrived on PSN last week, and I’ve been waiting a long time for this release. Back in late 2011, there were rumours about classic FMV Laserdisc games making a comeback through remakes or re-releases on modern platforms. Since then, we’ve seen titles like Dragon’s Lair, Space Ace, and even another western-themed shooter, Fast Draw Showdown.

The Game…

The game itself is very straightforward—it’s essentially an FMV rail shooter where you watch a movie play out while steering a reticle. On the PS3 version, however, you can only use the PlayStation Move controller; there’s no way to play without one.

There is a level selection system that adds a bit of variety, but overall, the gameplay remains extremely limited and linear. It often feels more like: “You picked the wrong option, here’s a short sequence before we send you back to the menu.”

As for the acting—well, it’s classic FMV cheese. Think B-movie performances: corny, overplayed, and oddly charming. Personally, I enjoy it for exactly that reason. There are a few fun stunts sprinkled throughout, but this game doesn’t quite reach the polish of later titles from the same creators, like Space Pirates or Crime Patrol.

Capturing good screenshots has been a challenge, though—I’ll be looking into upgrading my recording setup soon so I can grab better shots for future articles.

Short If You Got The Money…

So, is the game actually any good? Back in the arcades, Mad Dog McCree was both challenging and fun, largely because you were limited by how many coins you had in your pocket. At home, with infinite continues, the experience doesn’t hold up quite the same—it’s more of a “have fun for a short while” type of game.

The PS3 version has been remastered, with cleaner video quality, updated menus, and a general polish that makes it look better than ever. Still, underneath the facelift, it’s essentially the exact same game.

What really surprised me was just how short it is—you can see everything the game has to offer in less than 20 minutes!

And now over to something that not everyone knows:

Only Amigaaaaaa…

See that logo? You might think the original 1990 game ran on a single Amiga 500—but that’s actually not quite true. It was powered by two Amiga 500 boards, along with a Genlock, an EPROM reader, and, of course, a laserdisc player.

Now that looks like an Amiga 1000 Cabinet…

Here’s the box from the arcade cabinet. Inside, you’ll find all the hardware that powered this iconic classic. Strangely enough, it ain’t housing an A1000 but…

Amiga 500 Inside…

On the right side, you can see the EPROM. Beneath it, covering the entire bottom, sits an Amiga 500 board, and on top of that, on the left side, is the Genlock.

The Mystery Continues…

What the second Amiga 500 board was actually used for is a bit of a mystery, though I suspect it may have handled the multiplayer functions.

The main Amiga 500 served as the control unit for the laserdisc stream—handling play, pause, rewind, and overlay graphics like the GUI.

Interestingly, while the arcade cabinet dates from 1989/1990, the boards themselves are from 1987, making them part of one of the earliest Amiga 500 production series from Commodore.

Other Laserdisc games that used the Amiga as the host include Mad Dog McCree 2: The Lost Gold, Space Pirates, and Who Shot Johnny Rock?—with likely several more titles following the same setup.

After Commodore went bankrupt, developers shifted to other hardware, such as the Sanyo 3DO and similar systems. Unfortunately, many of those arcade machines suffered from overheating and severe instability, which led arcade hall and fast-food chain owners to look for more reliable machines to rent.

Psst: A big thanks to everyone who researched the history of this game before me—your info, pictures, and references made this post possible!