Archive for the ‘NES’ Category
Review: Abadox (NES)
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Released: 1990
Developer: Natsume
Publisher: Milton Bradley
Famicom? Yes (as Abadox)
Instruction Manual: Not Necessary – Link
Difficulty: Insane
Played it as a child? No
Value: $0.87 used $34.99 new (pricecharting.com)
Price (eBay): Couldn’t find a listing
Digital Release? No
What are you supposed to do?
You control Second Lieutenant Nazal through various levels in a side-scrolling and top down vertical view shooter. Various aliens and creatures will enter the screen in an attempt to shoot you down with bullets or by colliding with you. In addition the level itself will feature obstacles that jut out of the walls, block your path with destructable walls that regenerate and create small pathways you must navigate. Throughout levels you can collect weapons and power-ups that assist you in overcoming enemies and obstacles.
Review
Review: 1943: Battle of Midway (NES)
What Are You Supposed To Do?
This is one of the earliest versions of the vertical shoot-em-up where enemies approach from the top and sides of the screen and attack the player, who is usually located at the bottom. Your goal is to shoot the planes out of the sky, avoid being shot yourself and prevent your energy from depleting completely.
Review
As a follow-up to 1942, 1943: Battle of Midway places you in the pacific theatre of World War II during the battles at Midway Atoll. I always felt that this was the more popular of the two titles, but in most cases the arcade version was ported and re-released whereas the NES version is a bit different. For starters you get to tweak and improve your stats, allowing you to improve your plane and abilities in future levels. There are also more diverse enemies and bosses that weren’t present in the arcade and I personally feel the levels are longer, although I can’t confirm that. At first it may be difficult to figure out why you fail a mission in 1943 and you will fail missions time and time again because the game is of the hardest shooters on the platform. You not only need to keep up with the planes and bullets, but also your energy meter in the lower right corner – if it depletes, you crash. All kinds of things deplete your energy from what I can tell: it naturally drops with time, every time you get shot and every time you use a charged attack. Like all titles of this genre, power-ups will drop from certain enemies that can restore your energy, give you a new weapon or increase your number of special attacks.
10-Yard Fight Review
What Are You Supposed To Do?
Much easier to understand than most games of the era, 10-Yard Fight is a simple football simulation. Your goal on the offense is to run the punt return as far as possible without getting bogged down by the defense attacking you. During a punt return your players will surround you phalanx-style and allow you to get as much yardage as possible before getting tackled. When on the offense you can run or pass the ball and attempt to score a touchdown. On defense, you select one of two defenders with either A or B and attempt to sack the quarterback or person in control of the ball.
Review
They’re moving at a snail’s pace, but go on, scream “Go! Go! Go!” anyway. You know you want to.
Full disclosure, I suck at football games. Having said that, I understand even the more complex rules and plays in the game so I haven’t had much issue with football titles like Madden, but I’m never any good at them. Thanks to varied difficulties, a surprise for me, I was able to play against a “high school team” instead of the “professional team” or “Superbowl team”. Not only were these descriptors amusing ways to select how hard the computer-controlled opponent would be, but it allowed me to actually win at a football game. Being a very early football sim, the simplicity of 10-Yard Fight is also the key to its addictive gameplay.
Review: Friday the 13th
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Released: 1988
Developer: Pack-In-Video
Publisher: LJN (Acclaim)
Famicom? No
Instruction Manual: Helpful – Link
Difficulty: Hard
Played it as a child? Yes
Value: $2.57 (pricecharting.com)
Price (eBay): $5-$10 (used) $100.00 (new/sealed)
Digital Release? No
What are you supposed to do?
Survive three day/night cycles while attempting to kill Jason. You are given six camp counselors, three boys and three girls, each with one of three template play styles. At random moments throughout the game Jason will attack another counselor, a group of the 15 children you are watching, or the counselor you’re currently playing as. If he attacks another counselor or children, you have to find the cabin they are in and fight Jason. If he attacks you, fight him and stay alive. In order to eliminate Jason each day his life must be depleted, which requires the use of either the machete, torch or axe (technically you could probably do it with the rock or the knife, but it would take so long I wouldn’t recommend it). To assist you on all three days you can find Jason’s hidden lair in the cave, fight his mother and receive a crucial item for the day. On the first day you get a machete, on day 2 you get the sweater (which reduces damage from Jason by half) and on day 3 you get the pitchfork, which permanently kills him. You will need to light fireplaces in big cabins with the lighter to move events forward.
Gaming History 101 