{{Short description|1994 video game}} {{Infobox video game |title = Tomcat Alley |image = Tomcatalley mcd.jpg |developer = The Code Monkeys (Sega CD)<br>Novotrade (PC) |publisher = Sega |designer = John Zuur Platten |engine = |released = '''Sega CD'''{{vgrelease|NA|March 1994|EU|May 1994}}'''Windows 95'''{{vgrelease|NA|November 13, 1995<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sega ships CD-ROM titles. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+ships+CD-ROM+titles.-a017632290 |access-date=2023-06-03 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}</ref>}} |genre = Interactive film<ref name="allgame" /> |modes = Single-player |platforms = Sega CD, Windows }} '''''Tomcat Alley''''' is an interactive movie FMV video game developed by The Code Monkeys for Sega CD. It was the first Sega CD game to feature extensive full screen, full motion video.<ref name=TA@Moby>[http://www.mobygames.com/game/sega-cd/tomcat-alley Tomcat Alley on MobyGames]</ref>{{better source|date=December 2025}} It was later released, with higher quality video, for Windows-based PCs.<ref name=TA@Moby />{{better source|date=December 2025}} A 32X version was also in development,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Gaming Gossip|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=66 |publisher=Ziff Davis|date=January 1995|page=56}}</ref> but never released.

==Storyline==

The player controls a United States Navy pilot who has to bring peace and stability to the world after the cash-poor former Soviet Union sold off some of its military equipment to an unfriendly government.

The game takes place in a full screen, full motion video, first-person perspective, and the player has to move quickly to launch missiles at enemy aircraft.

==Critical reception== {{video game reviews |Allgame = 4.5/5 ({{abbr|SCD|Sega CD}})<ref name="allgame" /> |EGM = 7/10, 6/10, 5/10, 5/10 (SCD)<ref name="egm-rev" /> }}

''GamePro'' named ''Tomcat Alley'' the best Sega CD game at the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show, commenting, "The demo at CES was stunning. It still had that grainy Sega CD look and feel, but you actually felt like you were flying inside the Tomcat."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=CES Showstoppers|magazine=GamePro|issue=57|publisher=IDG|date=April 1994|pages=74–81}}</ref> They later reviewed the game and gave it a perfect score, stating: "''Tomcat Alley'' uses actors, sets, and outstanding aerial footage to create a breathtaking aerial battlefield."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=ProReview: Tomcat Alley|magazine=GamePro|issue=58|publisher=IDG|date=May 1994|pages=52–53}}</ref> Four reviewers in ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' commented on the game, with two reviewers complimenting that the FMV sequences use the whole screen instead of a small window, while another dismissed the game saying: "Aaargh, another full-motion video game! If you've played ''Night Trap'' or ''Double Switch'', then you've played ''Tomcat Alley''. ... the video [is] very blocky and often hard to see".<ref name="egm-rev">{{cite magazine |last1=Semrad |first1=Ed |last2=Carpenter |first2=Danyon |last3=Manuel |first3=Al |author4=Sushi X |title=Review Crew |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Sendai Publications |location=Lombard, Illinois |issn=1058-918X |oclc=23857173 |volume=7|issue=5 |date=May 1994|url=https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/e7358f22-6697-4e0c-8c5a-aff2b10a7f5e|accessdate=December 23, 2025|via=Video Game History Foundation|p=34}}</ref> In a retrospective review, Christopher Baker of Allgame wrote that the phrases and scenes are not as repetitive compared to other Sega CD games and praised the gameplay being fun and praised the game's challenging difficulty without being too frustrating.<ref name="allgame">{{Cite web |first=Christopher Michael|last=Baker |title=Tomcat Alley Review |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=12715&tab=review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115042924/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=12715&tab=review |archive-date=November 15, 2014 |access-date=August 4, 2022 |website=Allgame}}</ref>

In 1995, Flux magazine ranked the game 81st on their Top 100 Video Games summarizing: "A full-motion video game that doesn't suck, thanks to decent interactivity, semi randomized gameplay, and the hot pilot babe."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=April 1995 |title=Top 100 Video Games |url=https://archive.org/details/flux-issue-4/page/n31/mode/2up |journal=Flux |issue=4 |pages=32}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.mobygames.com/game/sega-cd/tomcat-alley ''Tomcat Alley''] at MobyGames

Category:1994 video games Category:Cancelled Sega 32X games Category:The Code Monkeys games Category:Full motion video based games Category:Interactive movie video games Category:Sega CD games Category:Sega video games Category:Single-player video games Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom Category:Windows games