12 Days of NESmas: 10 Yard Fight, Hyper Olympic, Baseball and Golf (#7)

Game: 10 Yard Fight
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Irem
Release Date: 1985

There are plenty of early American Football games on the NES and other consoles of the time, but perhaps the most often included on multicarts and other collections is 10 Yard Fight. Players take control of the offensive part of a football team who've just received the ball, making their way down field in a formation to get the best possible start for their first down. It's possible to score a touchdown from the off, as the AI isn't the smartest but it's not always guaranteed.

Once players have scored a touchdown on a particular level (there are two halves to each game level, and the game levels are High School, College, Professional, Play-off and finally Super Bowl), they're given one more chance to score again either via a kick or another touchdown, before the game moves on. If players are unable to score in time, then the game is over. Controlwise 10 Yard Fight is very simple; the control pad moves the player with the ball and the two buttons are for passing.

Graphically the game is very basic; with colours and direction of travel being the only ways to tell players from opposing teams apart. The player with the ball has a green jersey and this changes when the ball is passed, but overall it's not too easy to see what's going on. Soundwise, the game features possibly the least enjoyable sound effects I've ever heard from an NES game; white noise is used to simulate just about everything and if you finish a level with more than 10 minutes left on the clock then you're in for what sounds like an alarm adding bonus points onto your score.

Overall 10 Yard Fight is a tough game to give a score to because while it does at a very basic level allow players to have some fun with American Football, the early AI can easily be beaten, even though your players move far slower than the opposing team, the sound is offputting and there's nothing to entice players graphically. With the frustrations and lack of replayability it's not something I can recommend.

Rating: 51/100
Grade: D

Game: Hyper Olympic
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Konami
Release Date: 1985

Hyper Olympic and 'Track & Field' have many similarities, and in some places they are even the same game, however Hyper Olympic was only released on the Famicom and features less events than Track & Field. This version features the 100m Sprint, Long Jump, 110m Hurdles and Javelin throw. After all 4 events have taken place, they repeat again, in order with slightly harsher targets to continue.

For any sort of running, players must alternate between the A and B buttons on the controller, but holding both down at once provides the fastest possible speed with the minimum effort. Any event which requires an action such as jumping or throwing uses the control pad, which sets the angle of throw or jump, unless it's the hurdles event.

Graphically the game is basic and reminiscent of Olympics games on home computers, but the use of a controller is much more convenient than bashing away at a keyboard. Soundwise there's a lot of white noise used as spectator cheering, but there's also quite a few musical interludes between events which are bearable.

Overall Hyper Olympic could obviously be better with more events, and if I'm able to play Track & Field at a later date, I'm sure it'll receive a separate and higher score, but the same fundamental issues will remain that the world records are a little too easy to beat, many events can be beaten by exploiting the issue with holding instead of alternating the buttons, and the difficulty curve is nowhere near high enough.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Game: Baseball
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1985

While I've never had a particular interest in baseball as a sport, I understand the fundamentals and what should be expected of a game featuring the sport. Baseball for the NES is enjoyable in places but also frustrates on some control aspects. Players pick a team and then dive straight into a 9 inning per side game. There's no real indication from the start as to whether you're batting or fielding and I'll admit that I spent the first innings laughing at the incompetence of the fielding team only to realise that they were being controlled by me.

Sometimes the controls work great and you can time a hit or run a batter out with ease, but other times chasing a ball or trying to get your batters to run before the fate of a catch is decided is near impossible and this leads to giving away many runs and outs, usually costing players dearly. Add this to the fact that 18 innings in total is far too long for any game to go on, and you've got a recipe for frustration and boredom for the most part.

Graphically the game is fairly well laid out; it's easy to see which players are doing what, and which team they're on. While basic, the only real complaint I have of the visuals is that when batters are run out, often they seem to be home, and there's no way to tell whether it's a fair call or not. Soundwise there's some more of that good old white noise to simulate a crowd and not much else.

Overall Baseball disappoints as a sports game in many respects; the controls and gameplay don't allow players to be in charge of what their team does as much as they'd like, and the difficulty level rises because of this, often making games far harder to win. In all my time playing the game I never saw a home run, and a baseball video game without at least a few home runs is going to be pretty dull.

Rating: 36/100
Grade: E

Game: Golf
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1985

As part of the basic sports series on the NES, Golf is probably the least exciting sport to make an 8 bit video game out of. Anyone who likes golf can pretty easily go out and play it for real, and people who aren't fans won't be too bothered. My main issue with the game is the lack of help the games gives to players who don't know how to play. Players are left to choose their own club and decide what sort of shot is appropriate. At first I didn't realise this and spent a few holes trying to drive the ball everywhere; even when I rectified the error I had little idea which club would provide the best shot and distance for the situation.

Even with the correct club it can be difficult to estimate how much power to give a shot, and putting is a nightmare also. With so much guesswork involved in the game, it's hard to have a good time, unless you're competing against another human player in a battle to see who does least badly. It's a shame that Nintendo didn't realise at the time that the technology just wasn't around to make a decently enjoyable golf game yet.

Graphically the game shows both an overhead shot of the hole, and the golfer's current position and yet still manages not to clearly show what's going on. The green and any obstacles can be seen in the overhead shot of the hole, but avoiding any bunkers or other hazards is a matter of shot selection and judging the wind, rather than avoiding the hazards by moving in real time. Sound wise there's very little going on, but what more do we expect from Golf.

Overall Golf is probably one of the least exciting games on the NES due to the ease of playing it in the real world. Even so the game manages to omit fundamental features which would have helped it to have more widespread appeal. With a fair amount of practice I'd imagine that things might improve, but there's really little appeal in getting better at such a game.

Rating: 32/100
Grade: E

12 Days of NESmas: Arkanoid, Dig Dug, Joust and Space Invaders (#6)

Game: Arkanoid
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987

Arkanoid is a simple and much loved NES game where players break bricks using a paddle to bounce a ball up to the top of the screen and keep the ball in play, much like a single player version of Pong. I was a big fan of this sort of game in my childhood, and knew of a few different versions of it, including the original 'Breakout' but looking back on the game now, it does seem to lack any real progression and feeling of true control over the paddle.

The game is kept interesting by the inclusion of various power-ups which aid the player such as a larger paddle, the ability to launch the ball each time it hits the paddle, multi-ball mode and a skip to the next level of the game. Sometimes collecting the falling power-ups can turn into a risk/reward situation where players don't want to miss the ball, but also would like to get the power-up.

Graphically the game is basic, with the backgrounds featuring the most interesting graphics in the whole game, since the block are simply coloured rectangles. As is often the case in Taito games, a few of the levels make the shape of famous video game characters. There's no music to accompany, aside from the semi-musical sound effects of the ball hitting the paddle and blocks.

Overall Arkanoid is a simple but effective concept which is hard to expand upon, like many of the classic arcade games. Any sequels would be criticized for either changing too little or changing too much, but there's some fun to be had before the game's lack of true action and expansion on its theme hits home.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Game: Dig Dug
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 6th April 1985

Dig Dug for the NES is a pretty faithful representation of the arcade version of Dig Dug; players dig down into the earth where enemies are hiding in order to inflate them and win the level. Enemies can move freely through the ground and exit the level before the are destroyed by players, and if the manage this, then players will score less points for the level.

Players can also dig tunnels in order to drop rocks onto the enemies, but this is harder to time and also relies on enemies closely following behind the player. The gameplay concept and controls are good, but players must keep in mind what direction they are facing in order to successfully strategise and inflate the enemies.

Graphically the game is basic, as was the arcade version in many respects but there's some classic and recognisable sprites in Dig Dug and his enemies. Oddly, there's only music when players are moving, so there's a fairly sporadic soundtrack as players need only move when hunting enemies and not when when inflating them.

Overall Dig Dug is a better arcade game than it is an NES game as the complexity never really reaches a level which justifies the game being on home console. The lack of weapons and power-ups for beating enemies with means that there's little variation between levels save for changing colours of dirt and this hurts the overall replayability.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

Game: Joust
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Hal Labs
Release Date: 1988

Joust is an example of a game which initially puzzling and difficult to get into but that can be fairly rewarding once players work out what they actually have to do. The aim of the game is to control a jouster atop a large bird, fighting against other jousters on large birds. Players can only defeat another jouster by hitting them from above; if they are below when contact is made then a life is lost.

Once an opponent has been defeated, they drop an egg which is presumably the jouster who was once riding them, as the egg can hatch if left for too long into another jouster who re-mounts a bird and comes back into play. If the egg is collected before it hatches then players score bonus points for collecting. After a few normal rounds there's an egg bonus round where players race to collect many on-screen eggs before any hatch.

Graphically the game is a little basic, and in fact becomes more and more so as the game continues, with platforms being removed from play every few levels. The main technically impressive point of the game is the momentum of the player's bird, which handles much like the ship in Asteroids, but in bird form. Soundwise the game is pretty noisy with the flying and footsteps of birds all represented by various amounts of white noise.

Overall Joust is an addictive game once the main concept and controls have been understood and it grows somewhat on players as they become better. Unfortunately there's not quite enough variation in enemies and attack types for it to be truly classic and replayable, but it's definitely one of the better arcade style titles on the NES, and an early effort of Hal Labs who brought us some great games later on in Nintendo history.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

Game: Space Invaders
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: TOSE
Release Date: 17th April 1985

Space Invaders for the NES, nearly every version of Space Invaders is the same thing; the real points of difference between versions are the smoothness of gameplay, any changes in difficulty and any additional features that have been added. This version sits in the middle of all of these categories; there's everything you'd expect from a port of Space Invaders to home console and nothing more.

Gamplay is standard; you shoot invaders until they either reach the bottom of the screen or are all defeating, starting a new round. Points are scored for hitting invaders and there are a few different shapes, which change colour as they descend down towards the player's bases.

Graphically the sprites are perhaps a little smaller than in some versions, meaning that the top row of invaders can be somewhat difficult to hit, but aside from this its the same game as ever. There's a very basic soundtrack, as with the arcade version but it seems to be even more simplified, sounding hollow and tinnier than normal.

Overall this is Space Invaders on the NES, there's little more to say; it plays like regular Space Invaders, and there's little difference to any other version of the game on any other consoles. I've never really seen the appeal of the game in the modern day, but this is about as good as it's going to get.

Rating: 57/100
Grade: D

12 Days of NESmas: Chack'n Pop, Battle City, Binary Land and City Connection (#5)

Game: Chack'n Pop
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: TOSE
Release Date: 24th May 1985

Chack'n Pop is a platform game of sorts, where players stick to the surface they walk on, allowing for ceiling walking if Chack'n is close enough. The game is considered to be a forerunner to Bubble Bobble due to similarities in both game's enemies and the inclusion of a Chack'n Pop level in Bubble Bobble. I took a look at the arcade version of this game in one of my arcade collection reviews, and gave it a 35/100 and an E grade.

Players try to rescue hearts from their cages before escaping the level, with enemy eggs hatching after a certain amount of time and the enemies inside pursuing players. Chack'n is armed with bombs which have their own momentum when thrown on screen and so are particularly hard to aim, even though they're the only way to kill enemies, and prevent their eggs from hatching.

Graphically the NES version is less colourful than the arcade edition of the game, and because of this it seems particularly bland. There's some basic music behind the game but its not even something you can hum. The controls are strange and the gravity idea doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but bonuses are given to players for either destroying all of the eggs and enemies or none of the eggs and enemies which is particularly clever for the period.

Overall, Chack'n Pop's console version isn't much better than its arcade version as there are various inbuilt flaws in the game. The inability to use weapons effectively, combined with a difficulty in control, aggressive AI and some fairly boring level variations mean that it's difficult to enjoy despite working on a technical level.

Rating: 33/100
Grade: E

Game: Battle City
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 9th September 1985

Battle City is an interesting combat and base defence game where players drive a tank around a maze and attempt to stop enemy tanks from reaching and shooting their base, at the bottom centre of the screen. With 35 levels, some of which are laid out to resemble classic Namco characters from other video games, there's some good variety and players can strategise as to how best to shoot their way through walls and use bushes to hide from enemy tanks.

There are a few different types of enemy tanks which take different amounts of hits to beat, but on the whole there's a creeping hint of repetitiveness to gameplay after the first few levels. It's definitely a good concept but there's not a whole lot more that can be done with tank combat. The game is also reminiscent of Combat for the Atari 2600 with a little more complexity.

Graphically the game is presented from a top down perspective, allowing players to survey everything occurring on the battlefield. The sprites and locations aren't too inspiring, and the action is reduced to simple tank/gunshot combat, but at least its easy to understand what's going on. Music is only featured on the menu, with the game itself only containing the tank and shooting sound effects.

Overall Battle City is a surprisingly fun game with some longevity, until players grow tired of different arrangements of walls, bushes and enemy tanks. There's not too much difficulty in the early levels, and even later levels can be fairly easy to beat. It's the sort of game that holds up well against other early simple NES titles, but can't really compete with the larger and more content heavy releases post 1985.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game: Binary Land
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Hudson Soft
Release Date: 1985

Binary Land is a puzzle game which involves a fair amount of multitasking and keeping an eye on two things at once. Players control 2 penguins, one on the left of the screen and one on the right; the goal of the game is to get both penguins to meet eitherside of the heart at the top of the maze whilst avoiding spider webs and spiders which patrol the maze. Both penguins move upwards and downwards together, but in opposite directions on the x axis.

Players have an attack which dissolves webs and beats spiders, but it can still be tricky to keep an eye on both penguins at once, and finally line them up correctly within the allotted time. There's a good number of levels for players to work through, and the difficulty curve seems bearable unlike some NES games. A nice feature of the game is that at the beginning players can choose to be the right hand or left hand penguin, thus setting the controls in the best way for themselves.

Graphically the game is once again fairly simple, as most maze style games on the NES are, and while the penguins featured in the game are cute, the spiders and their webs don't really seem to be a natural enemy for penguins, or really fit with the style of the game. It'd be a more relaxed experience without enemies, and perhaps could then have been developed as more of a puzzle title.

Overall Binary Land is a pretty fun and challenging puzzle game which makes players think a little more than they usually would about their movement and strategy for getting from place to place inside the maze. The bonus rounds which appear every third round are cute, and somewhat more akin to the type of puzzle game this could have been without the enemies, which tend to increase the pace and tension of the game, for better or worse.

Rating: 66/100
Grade: C

Game: City Connection
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Axes Art Amuse
Release Date: 1988

City Connection is a strange little game where players attempt to prove they've visited countries by painting the entirety of their roadways white whilst avoiding the police, cats and spikes. The car cannot be stopped, but instead can do instant 180 degree handbrake turns as well as high and low jumps in order to reach each level of the roadway. The controls are tricky to get used to and don't really seem to work consistently.

There's a good variety of locations for players to visit, but with only three lives it can be difficult to paint the entirety of the roads in any given level, as the very ends usually remain unpainted where jumps have been necessary to clear a gap. As such, a large portion of gameplay time is spent trying to make very specific movements in order to paint a very small section of road. Interestingly the driver of the car was changed from female to male as the game was released in America, from Japan.

Graphically there's some nice shout-outs to landmarks and famous monuments in the featured locations, but the cars and levels are very basic and sometimes flicker when quick movements are made, or when there are many cars on the screen at once. It's also particularly easy to drive into cats and spikes as they appear fairly unexpectedly and seemingly at random. Musically the game features different tracks on each level, which is probably my favourite feature of the entire game.

Overall City Connection is a little too strange as a concept, and its controls too unwieldy to be a true classic, despite releases on the Virtual Console by Nintendo. It's a little bit of fun, which is soon cut short by either the difficulty of avoiding all of the police cars and mice placed on the level, or the frustration of a single square remaining unpainted.

Rating: 54/100
Grade: D

12 Days of NESmas: Wild Gunman, Hogan's Alley, Bird Week and Duck Hunt (#4)

Game: Wild Gunman
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1984

Wild Gunman has a wonderfully simple concept; using the NES Zapper Lightgun players must shoot outlaws before the outlaw has a chance to shoot them. In the game's first 2 modes, the amount of time each outlaw will shoot in is displayed and it's up to players to hit them within this time. Game A features a single outlaw per turn, whereas Game B features 2 with differing reaction times. Game C mimics a shooting range with 5 possible outlaw locations, and a little more time in which to react initially.

Assuming that your NES Zapper is functional (because many issues with Light Gun games stem from the guns themselves), there's a good amount of content within the game, and although its a simple concept, and each Game Mode is fairly similar, the idea has been taken to each logical conclusion in each. As each mode progresses it becomes harder and harder to out-react the outlaws until players lose all their lives and reach a game over.

Graphically the game appears almost like a cartoon in its style with a range of characterised outlaws and a desert backdrop. While the screen must flash briefly for the lightgun to operate, it doesn't get in the way of gameplay at all, and players are free to concentrate on nailing their shots. The music is sporadic and almost builds up to each shot, but fits the game fairly well.

Overall Wild Gunman was an impressive game for its time, and is probably about the best version of a gunslinger duel you're likely to get, at least in a light gun style console game. The imagery of the game has become classic for many, including references in Warioware, and it's still a viable choice as a party game with friends.

Rating: 70/100
Grade: C

Game: Hogan's Alley
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1984

Alongside Wild Gunman in the range of NES shooting games was Hogan's Alley; a game which elaborated on the Lightgun formula and offered even more content. Game A sees players taking shots at bad guys on a shooting range; there's a limited amount of time to pick off any bad guys who appear in a line-up of 3 suspects. There's policemen, as well as innocent civilians who players must refrain from shooting or they'll lose the round, and gain penalty points for each target missed or incorrect target hit.

Game B is more like a mobile shooting range, with the screen scrolling between locations and bad guys/civilians popping up and moving around behind walls and buildings. This is probably the best mode of the game and shows off the Zapper very well. Game C is trick shot mode; another thing referenced by the Warioware series, where players attempt to shoot barrels to land them within zones at the end of the screen and gain points based on the difficulty of the shots.

Graphically the game isn't too advanced, but the bad guys and innocents can be differentiated between pretty easily; although not so much so that it doesn't take a moment to process who is who. This element of the game is what keeps the difficulty and excitement on a challenging level. The music featured fits the game well, though much of the time it is obscured by the shooting sound effects.

Overall Hogan's Alley is almost the ultimate NES light gun shooting game, featuring 3 different and fun game modes, great ideas and elaboration on a simple concept and high tension and excitement as players try to react as quickly as possible to what appears on-screen.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game: Bird Week
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Lenar
Release Date: 3rd June 1986

I have to admit I made a mistake here; I was under the impression that Bird Week might well focus on shooting birds of out the sky with the NES Zapper. It turns out that it's nothing of the sort, and players take control of a bird on a mission to feed its young. Nevertheless, I might as well review the game whilst I'm here before finishing on something a little more violent to avian creatures.

There's not really a whole lot to the game; the bird controlled by the player flies around collecting things for its young to eat, and avoiding a bigger bird. When the young birds are hungry, players can feed them with anything they've caught. Once they're satisfied, it's time to move onto the next level with more birds and a different layout. The screen loops, so it's possible to fly in a single direction and get back to the nest if desired.

Graphically the game is pretty crude and basic; the birds are probably the best drawn things in the game, with the trees close behind. Everything else is a simple shape without much shading or definition of any kind. The game's music has about a full minute of loop, but I'm not a massive fan of it as there's barely any relation to the actual game and it's grating after a while.

Overall I think I'd have preferred it if you were allowed to shoot the birds in this game; the concept is boring, the levels are uninteresting, the music is grating and the difficulty is beyond easy. Maybe it was intended as a kids game, but children would tire of this kind of thing even faster, so I'm not sure that's an excuse.

Rating: 31/100
Grade: E

Game: Duck Hunt
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 18th October 1985

Finally a game where you can shoot ducks; Duck Hunt doesn't quite have the scope of modes featured in Hogan's Alley, but it's somewhat similar to Wild Gunman, in that there's 1 duck mode, 2 duck mode, and a Clay Shooting option. The regular game sees players attempting to shoot 10 ducks out of the sky, and progressing by hitting 50% or more of them per level. 2 Duck mode features 2 ducks at a time with the same idea. The Clay shooting mode launches discs for players to hit, and is a similar concept which has been featured as an unofficial separate game on many pirate multicarts.

Out of the 3 lightgun games featured in today's reviews, this one gets boring the most quickly. Before Round 1 was even finished, I wondered what more there could be to the game. It turns out that a second player can control the ducks via the NES gamepad, which is pretty fun and does make for more of a multiplayer experience, but other than this, Duck Hunt is as slow as it seems. Until you miss enough shots, you'll be playing round after round with slightly faster ducks and that's about it.

Graphically the game is simple and has only the backdrop you see above, and a slightly different one for clay shooting. There's a dog who mocks players for missing shots who is famously annoying but other than this, it's a straightforward game, visually. The only music featured is menu music, and a short interlude between shots, which isn't really long enough to rate as being good or bad; the sound effects are fairly average and overall I found the presentation of the game harder to enjoy than either of the other two light gun shooters.

Overall Duck Hunt may well be an oft referenced classic for the NES, but in practice there's not a whole lot to do, as it's a very basic light gun game which only adds the challenge of rapidly moving targets when compared to other games for the console. The Clay Shooting mode is a nice addition, but nothing that elevates it above a game which entertains for under 15 minutes.

Rating: 50/100
Grade: D

Game Review: Japanese Rail Sim 3D: Journey to Kyoto

Game: Japanese Rail Sim 3D
Console: Nintendo 3DS
Developer: Sonic Powered
Release Date: 24th December 2015

I had my eye on this game before it was released; a rail simulator on the 3DS through beautiful Japanese scenery was sure to be interesting at the very least, so you can imagine my excitement upon visiting the eShop a few days later to find it reduced by 92% in price to £1. The original asking price of £12.99 was perhaps a little steep, but this reduction rendered the game a bargain and a must-buy. it's on offer until the 7th of January, so grab yourself a deal if you think there's even a possibility of enjoying this sort of game.

The game begins with only Single Journey mode unlocked, showing players the controls and tasking them with making each individual journey on the line, being graded on arrival using the distance from the end of the platform and arrival time as marking criteria. To get an A grade, players must be within 1m of the platform marker and arrive within 5 seconds either side of the scheduled time. This is pretty realistic when you consider how efficiently the Japanese railway system runs, and players are provided with as much help as is needed to achieve A grades.

The controls are simple but a little tricky to master; the d-pad controls the engine, which can be fired up and cut back to control acceleration. The A,B,X,Y buttons control the brakes which can be applied in 7 increasing measures of severity and finally as an emergency brake if needed. There are speed limits which should be adhered to, otherwise a time penalty is incurred, affecting the overall time remaining in top left of the screen, but mostly the game will tell players what speed they should be going to run on schedule.

Once the single journey mode is complete, full course mode allows players to run the entire 14 station route, being marked at the end on how many A, B and C grades they received before being awarded a rank. An A grade on day mode unlocks night mode, which has some stunning new scenery in many places, and an A grade at night unlocks free mode where players don't need to worry about time limits, speed limits or even stopping at platforms.

Graphically the game features many lovely shots of Japanese railway locations, and the 3D works with these well when used. While the pictures aren't exactly HD, they are clearly footage shot on location and they're clear enough for enjoyment to be had without the need to see every last leaf. The game's sound effects are spot on for train travel and it's clear that a lot of hard work has gone into making the atmosphere of driving a train believable. I wasn't a huge fan of the optional background music tracks that are unlockable as they detract from the game's realism whilst driving, but they're nice enough on their own.

Overall Japanese Rail Sim 3D is a fairly impressive and feature packed game which combines the appeal of Rail Sim games with true representations of actual rail routes, and simple controls to present a fulfilling and interesting experience. While I was able to unlock everything there is to unlock within 4 hours or so, I'd definitely return to the game for some relaxation in any of its modes, and there's still challenge despite my hours of practice. The depth and detail of information provided about the route, sights, and trains is a nice addition and really ties the package together well. For £12.99 I'd say it was a solid buy, but at just £1 you honestly cannot go wrong.

Rating: 83/100
Grade: B

12 Days of NESmas: Zippy Race, Road Fighter, Excitebike and F1 Race (#3)

Game: Zippy Race
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Irem
Release Date: 18th July 1985

Zippy Race is a top-down checkpoint racing game where players start in 90th place on the road from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. On the way, the main objective is to avoid and overtake other cars to advance into first place and make it through all five stages on a tour of the USA. The minimum speed of travel is 59 km/h (attempts to brake at this speed will have no effect) and the initial maximum is 180 km/h until the game loops.

The main issue with the game is the extremely aggressive AI cars who will almost mirror player movements from both behind and in front, meaning attempts to pass must be timed very carefully and executed with precision. I found it far easier to travel the entire course at the slowest speed, letting opponents pass from behind and remaining in 99th place than to accelerate at all and crash out, losing valuable fuel and getting the Game Over screen before reaching Las Vegas.

There's a short section of the game which isn't top down; if players manage to get near enough to Las Vegas, the 'action' switches to a Hang-On style from behind view and players will have a far easier time dodging cars coming towards them. Once this section is over, the new stage begins and players once again face the impossibility of making their way past more AI cars on a harder course. Graphically the game is pretty basic, and the cars aren't too much better than those on the Atari 2600. If you like 20 second music loops though, you're in luck because that's the only soundtrack you'll be getting.

Overall Zippy Race is an early and basic game which had the potential to be fun with less aggressive and mirror-based AI, courses which weren't full of turns that gave opponents the perfect chance to box players in, and perhaps some more imaginative scenery. There's hardly any fun or replayability, especially since I did best taking the courses as slow as possible.

Rating: 33/100
Grade: E

Game: Road Fighter
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Konami
Release Date: 11th July 1985

Road Fighter features a very similar top-down racing concept to Zippy Race, though there are no positions as the race is against the fuel meter which is essentially a clock, ticking down to a game over screen. Contact with AI racers isn't an immediate fuel penalty as it is with Zippy Race; players get the opportunity to either slow down or counter-intuitively steer into the spin and self-right. Unlike Zippy race, there's no minimum speed and players may stop if they wish, though the car accelerates very slowly, with 20km/h on the speedometer being stationary also.

There are two set speeds controlled by the A and B buttons, but to reach the goal within the time limit, players will want to use the faster of the two almost exclusively. Different types of traffic cars are featured throughout levels; yellow cars are simply moving in one lane at a set speed, blue cars steer across lanes, but don't necessarily target players, and red cars attempt to get in the way. There are also multicoloured cars which provide extra fuel, though this is never really made clear since they look like any other car you're meant to avoid.

Graphically the game is more zoomed out that Zippy Race, giving a greater range of movement and a better sense of speed, though the 400 km/h top speed feels more like 160 or so. The screen scrolls pretty fast at top speed, meaning that other cars and oil slicks can be hard to avoid without learning the courses beforehand; almost a necessity to reach the goal in each one. There's different themes to each level, if you can reach them but it's only the scenery featured at the side of the road that changes in any noticeable way.

Overall Road Fighter is marginally better than Zippy Race, but has its own issues which make it difficult to enjoy. Without any real music, players are left to listen to the drone of the car engines, and the game's replayability seems to come solely from the difficulty of making it through stages without having previously seen and learnt them.

Rating: 57/100
Grade: D

Game: Excitebike
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release: 18th October 1985

Excitebike is quite rightly one of the best known NES racing games; there are three game modes, the first of which is essentially a time trial mode where players aim to beat the best time on each of the game's five tracks. The next mode is a racing mode where there are other bikes on the track, though lap times are still used to rank racers, rather than positions. Finally there's a circuit design mode where players can place any types of obstacle and ramp on tracks that they desire and then race on their created circuit.

On each track there are four lanes that players can race in, with different obstacles appearing on each as well as ramps and gaps which span all four lanes. Players must balance the angles of their landing with high and low acceleration; the former heats up the bike's engine, which past a certain point will overheat and incur a time penalty whilst the engine cools back down. In modes with other racers on track, it's possible to fall off your bike from hitting them, but usually its if you're trailing them.

Graphically the game is simple with a repeating pattern for the crowd, and fairly basic sprites for both players and opponents. That said, it's easy to see everything happening on screen, and there's virtually no confusing as to what's coming up ahead. Musically there's only a short interlude on the title screen; otherwise players are left with just the sounds of the motorbike engines.

Overall Excitebike offers far more than many NES games of the day, with 2 contrasting game modes that don't simply vary in difficulty, 5 tracks to race on and a track editor. While it's not the most advanced or impressive game, the concept and controls and simple, with a hint of strategy to avoid engine overheats. There's a lot of fun to be had here for a game released 30 years ago.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Game: F1 Race
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 2nd November 1984

One of the older games on the Famicom that didn't make it over to the NES, F1 Race is a pretty straight forward racing game featuring 3 different sets of circuits for the 3 different skill levels on its menu. Players control a Formula 1 car and can accelerate at a medium or high rate, with high and low gears to choose from. These can be useful when cornering as a lower rate of acceleration is needed to keep the steering consistent whilst overtaking opponents.

It can be fairly difficult to advance beyond even the 2nd race in Skill Level 1 and near impossible to advance in either of the other skill levels. Whilst this does give the game the old fashioned replayability of practice making perfect, it's frustrating to have to play the first few races over and over again for even a hope of progressing to the later stages.

Graphically the game is pretty basic; it still looks like the sort of NES game we know and love, but having been released in 1984 there's some rough edges that likely would have been improved later on, had the game been enhanced for western release. The racing style is reminiscent of Hang-On and Outrun though obviously existing before them. There's little in-game music, but the menu and game over screens have some nice harmonies in their short interludes.

Overall F1 Race isn't the sort of game that'd have been a classic, even if it had been brought over to the west. With a high difficulty level, basic graphics and a lack of music it'd have definitely struggled to compete with 1987's crop of games when the NES was finally released in the UK, but that's not to say it's a bad game all things considered.

Rating: 45/100
Grade: D

12 Days of NESmas: Urban Champion, Karateka, Kung Fu and Yie Ar Kung Fu (#2)

Today I'll be looking at some fighting games for the NES; most of these titles are pretty simple with only a few modes of attack, but some of these games laid the foundations for our modern idea of a fighting game. 

Game: Urban Champion
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1984

Urban Champion is a one-on-one fighting game based on Game & Watch boxing where players fight an attempt to knock their opponent down a manhole by forcing them backwards across 3 screens. After winning a fight, the next fight will begin straight away and players will have earned a symbol at the bottom of the screen for winning. On average fights take around a minute or so to complete, sometimes less. After winning 145 fights, the player will be declared the champion, although why anyone would want to play for that long, I'm not entirely sure.

At their disposal, players have a heavy and a light punch. The first is more difficult to land, but does more damage and the second is easier to land but won't knock the opponent back as far. Players must choose carefully between these punches as well as practising a good defence themselves in order to win. It's a shame there's not more ways to attack, as after a while it's pretty repetitive. Every now and then a flowerpot is thrown out of a top window towards the fighters below, which will stun them if it hits.

Graphically the game isn't particularly innovative; the buildings behind the fights swap only in colour and name, and the two fighters are palette swaps of one another. Musically it's also pretty dull and while the game has been released on many virtual console type platforms, and is generally considered a classic NES title, there's really little substance to like about it.

Overall Urban Champion is a disappointment as a fighting game, with an obvious lack of attacking and defensive options, even for the NES, the same opponent each time, a repetitive concept and no real incentive to play through 145 fights other than to be crowned champion. The stamina system only really serves to stop obvious button mashing, but in doing so slows down any action that was there in the first place.

Rating: 28/100
Grade: F

Game: Karateka
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Jordan Mechner
Release Date: 1984

Karateka is an interesting fighting game; firstly it was developed by a single student of Yale University, secondly players make their way through the game towards the boss as fast as possible, stopping only to fight enemies with their karate before continuing, and lastly because a single defeat means starting all over again. The game can be finished in around 6 minutes if players are skillful enough to finish their fights quickly.

With each dispatched enemy, a short cutscene is shown as they come into range of the player's character. As far as I can tell there's an infinite amount of enemies who will come at you, until you reach certain points in the game, so the best strategy is to keep moving as fast as possible. Players can move into a regular stance which is best for running, or a fighting stance which allows them to not die instantly when hit. Attacks can be landed on the head, body or legs, and consist of punches and kicks.

Graphically the game has some nice 3D effects with its buildings and gates, but the backgrounds and fighters are very basic and lack detail. There's some pretty awful music that starts the game, but other than this it's only sound effects. Progressing through the game becomes a little harder as the skill level of enemy fighters increases, but there's a nice little bonus where players can damage a hawk, sent by the boss with well timed attacks and in turn do damage to the next opponent before they arrive to fight.

Overall Karateka has some good ideas, and the flow of enemies lining up to fight is fairly unique for the time. It can be frustrating when the game sends you back to the start, after a good run, or when getting hit in the standing position for an instant death. Having been developed by one person, it was never going to be the most polished game ever, but it's a good effort in many respects.

Rating: 45/100
Grade: D

Game: Kung Fu

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: Nintendo

Release Date: 1985

Kung Fu has a fairly interesting origin story, as it was originally an arcade game called Kung Fu Master, which was then ported to home console as Spartan X, a tie in to the Jackie Chan movie 'Wheels on Meals' which had been retitled Spartan X in Japan, and was finally released as Kung Fu on the NES. While the game had no real ties to the film, as with most NES movie-tie in games, as long as it looked vaguely like anything that might have happened in the film, it could be licensed. 

Players fight their way through five floors of a building using punches and kicks, with the ability to crouch and jump if needed. Several different types of enemies stand in their way including knife throwers, enemies who grab on and drain health, and on even numbered floors, falling pots, dragons and other fantasy style creatures. At times the game can be a little challenging, but the controls are pretty great, and overall it's a fun, if slightly basic concept.

Graphically the game isn't the most complex thing ever, and about 1/3 of the screen is taken up with the player and boss health bars, overall progress meter, lives, scores and time remaining, but nonetheless it works well enough. There's some simple music behind gameplay and it works well with the Beat 'em Up style of the game as the player makes their way through the building defeating enemies.

Overall Kung Fu is a tight game control and concept-wise, featuring a range of enemies and enough attacks to implement at least a little strategy. There's not too much difficulty in the initial stages, and things only really get harder on the even numbered stages with falling pots and other hazards to deal with. For the NES this is a pretty enjoyable and replayable game.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

Game: Yie Ar Kung Fu
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Konami
Release Date: 1985

Yie Ar Kung Fu is a one-on-one fighting game which pits players against 5 opponents, each with a different style and surprisingly good AI. Players have use of kicks and punches which can be used in conjunction with jumping and crouching as well as jumping off walls and over their opponents in order to win. While the controls can be a little temperamental, when they do work it's a pretty smooth experience and definitely one of the better fighting games for the NES, and something that was influential to later fighting titles.

Enemies have a range of attacks, depending on the level being played; in the first round there's a bo staff wielder, later there's a guy who shoots fireballs and even someone armed with an extendable chain weapon of some sort. This is a great contrast from games with multiples of the same enemy or simple palette swaps.

Graphically the game is pretty clear with some nice detail on the environments. The fighters have distinguishable features, and are animated nicely. There's some generic 'asian fighting' sounding music, but after a while it seems to accompany the game well enough. Getting to the end of all 5 stages is fairly tough and should require a few tries at least, but it's more rewarding than most games of its time, though the game simply loops once players win the last fight.

Overall Yie Ar Kung Fu impressed me as a fighting game with its range of player movement, attacks, enemy variation and programming and general appearance. Perhaps if this much effort had been put into all the fighting games of the day, the genre in the early-to-mid 80's wouldn't have been so hit and miss.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C