This Pre-Red Dead Western & Its Sequel Are Now Playable In ScummVM, Alongside Five Other Titles
Image: American Laser

Earlier this week, ScummVM announced testing for seven games from the developer American Laser, including the DOS versions of the western Mad Dog McCree and its sequel, Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold.

So if you happen to have a particular affection for corny '90s full-motion-video (FMV) games and still have some of your old CD-ROMs knocking about, it might be time to finally dust them off and put them to use.

Mad Dog McCree, in case you've somehow never heard of it (or have happened to have missed the countless viral clips and let's plays poking fun at it over the years), is a laser-disc-based light-gun shooter that has previously been described by websites like Polygon as "one of the granddaddies of cowboy gaming".

It was originally released in the arcade back in 1990, at a time when arcade games were seeing increased competition from the home console market, and was designed to offer an experience that players couldn't get at home, through the use of full-motion video and live-action actors (including Rusty Dillon as the game's titular villain).

With the increasing popularity of CD-ROM technology, it would eventually find its way to various home platforms only a couple of years after its initial release, including DOS PCs, the Sega CD, the Philips CD-i, and the 3DO.

Its sequel, Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold, meanwhile, was released in arcades in 1992 and, similarly, found its way to 3DO, Sega CD, CD-i, and DOS not long after.

"Grab your game CD (only DOS versions are supported currently), the daily build, shoot some baddies before they shoot you, and report any bugs you might encounter on your adventures," said ScummVM in the update on its website. "Or, if you don’t have any of those games but still want in on the fun, try one of the demos available."

Here's the full list of American Laser titles being supported:

  • Crime Patrol
  • Crime Patrol 2: Drug Wars
  • The Last Bounty Hunter
  • Mad Dog McCree
  • Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold
  • Space Pirates
  • Who Shot Johnny Rock?

If you decide to give the games a spin, ScummVM asks players to read through their testing guidelines, and to take some screenshots along the way.

[source scummvm.org]