Awesome Possum... Kicks Dr. Machino's Butt

Mad scientist Dr. Machino has sent his robots to pollute the earth and endanger the wildlife. Aided by Killer Bee and Rad Rhino, Awesome Possum sets out to destroy the robots, put a stop to the mad scientist and save the world.[2]

Awesome Possum includes environmental activist elements, with the character collecting empty bottles and cans, and answering questions about the environment to earn bonus points in his fight against the evil Dr. Machino. There are also various other animals located within levels which the character can ride to activate their ability, such as a bee which allows the character to fly or a rhino that catapults the character. There are a total of four worlds which together consist of 13 levels all together plus 12 bonus stages alongside the quiz which the character must collect as many recyclables as possible before the time expires.

On April 1992, Richard Seaborne was hired by Tengen to do a concept for an environmental game. Seaborne came up with the character "Awesome Possum" and by July 17, 1992, presented his proposal "Rad Rhino and Awesome Possum" to Tengen and they approved it. Development for the artwork was underway by Fall, but animations were unsatisfactory. Tengen hired Jules Marino on January 18, 1993 to polish the game character's sprites. The final title of the game was made official on May 13, 1993. The development team included a 12-page comic in the manual. When Time Warner Interactive took over Tengen in 1994, they also got the rights of the video game.[3]

On June 20, 1997, Time Warner Interactive was charged with copyright infringement by Paul A. Roginski, who claimed that the game copied his comic book concept and character name for his manuscript. With Roginski lacking evidence to prove his claim, the case was closed and the defendants were acquitted.[3]

Awesome Possum currently holds an average score of 42.50% on review aggregator GameRankings based on two reviews: Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game 6.2 out of 10, and Sega-16 gave the game 2 out of 10.[4] German magazine Video Games gave the game 67%.[8] GamePro praised the sound and speed, though they were somewhat critical on the graphics.[9] Electronic Games, however, gave the game 93% and remarked "There are very few games that can produce this level of headbanging thrills."[6] Brazilian magazine Ação gave the game an orange picture (the third level rating) for graphics, challenge, and fun; and a pink picture (the fourth and top level rating) for sound.[10] Italian magazine Game Power gave the game 89[11]

• Awesome Possum at MobyGames