A conversion of the 1988 arcade game, Atomic Runner Chelnov. Developer/publisher Data East dropped the “Chelnov” part from the title of the 1992 Megadrive/Genesis release, but the gameplay stays more or less the same.

You must shoot and jump your way through seven continually-scrolling stages, only stopping to fight bosses at the end of each.

The main character (still called Chelnov), can move and shoot in eight directions – including backwards – independent of the scrolling screen, and can use six different types of weapons (lasers, fire rings, boomerangs, spiked bolas, spiked ball whip, and missiles). By collecting power-ups, you can increase attack power, fire rate, attack range and jump height.

This console port has been re-worked in places, and the game’s storyline has been changed too. The Japanese version retains the same title as the arcade game, and features fewer changes to the graphics.

Overall, Atomic Runner on the Megadrive is a solid, very challenging, and fairly original run-and-gun platform shooter that is still worth playing today.

More: Chelnov on Wikipedia