Garfield: Caught in the Act

Garfield: Caught in the Act is a Platform Game was released by Sega in 1995 for the Genesis to cash in on the success of Jim Davis's comic strip. The sprites were hand drawn by Davis and his group of artists.

Backstory: Odie sneaks up and scares Garfield while he is watching television, causing him to break it. They work together to fix it before they face the wrath of Jon. What is left is definitely NOT a television. Garfield throws away the 'spare parts' that were left upon completion. These parts come to life, becoming The Glitch, which throws Garfield into the world of television. Each level is a different TV genre. Collecting TV remote pieces lead you to win the game.

The game is filled with plenty of Hollywood Science. Whether it was intentional or not could be debatable.

The levels are as follows:


 * Count Slobula's Castle: A haunted graveyard Dracula-inspired level. Particularly annoying are the bats that you can. Not. Hit. Even. If. You. Try. The boss, "Count Slobula", is hard and glitchy.
 * The Curse of Cleofatra: Ancient Egypt. The boss is a large statue of Jon, complete with evil eyes.
 * The Revenge of Orangebeard: Pirate themed, this level contains many references to Pirates of the Caribbean (the ride, silly - the movie came out eight years later).
 * Cave Cat 3,000,000 B.C.: Prehistoria. Garfield is a sabre-toothed fat cat. Highlights include jumping up to avoid the broccoli falling down a cheese waterfall. The boss is an Odiesaurus, naturally. (arguably inspired by "Cave Cat" segment of Garfield His 9 Lives, in which the dog is named... Big Bob)
 * Catsablanca: Film Noir-themed level. Name is a pun on Casablanca.
 * Alien Landscapes (PC version exclusive): Sci-fi level set in outer space.
 * Bonehead the Barbarian (Game Gear version exclusive): Slippy Slidey Ice World based on Norse Mythology.
 * Slobbin Hood (Game Gear version exclusive): The Lost Woods with references to Robin Hood.
 * Season Finale: Garfield faces Glitch. Who only gets hurt by his own beams.

Every level gives Garfield a new outfit, as well as different short- and long-range weapons. In the Game Gear version, the variety is limited to just long-range weapons.

Garfield: The Lost Levels, a pack of downloadable extra levels, was available through the Genesis online service, called the Sega Channel. Chances of seeing them again are dim by now.

Tropes:

 * B Movie: The manual explains that Garfield must venture through endless bad B-movies and commercial breaks.
 * Feelies: The game (at least the Genesis version) came with a free booklet of Garfield cartoons.
 * Game Breaking Bug: Occasionally, the third boss would walk offscreen and never return, forcing the player to start over the game.
 * Gang Plank Galleon: "The Revenge of Orangebeard"
 * Guilt Based Gaming: When the player loses all of his or her lives and has continues, they will be treated to a screen of Garfield clinging to the TV screen, desperately wanting to get out of the TV World. He watches with a frightened look as the player makes the choice between "Yes" and "No" and the countdown decreases. When the player chooses "No", the TV forms a mouth and closes on Garfield, snickering. This means that Garfield will never return to his home to see his friends and family again.
 * Prehistoria: "Cave Cat 3,000,000 BC"
 * Trapped in TV Land: The main premise.