WWE Games Review Part 1: The 8-bit Years (1987-1993)

Game: WWF Wrestlemania

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: Rare

Release Date: 1989

The first proper licensed WWF action-based wrestling game ever; WWF Wrestlemania allows players to choose from 6 big names; Ted DiBiase, Bam Bam Bigelow, Honky Tonk Man, Randy Savage, Andre The Giant, and Hulk Hogan. Players use the NES's limited set of buttons to attack in combination with the d-pad. While there's an impressive variety of moves for the time, there's a lot of legitimate wrestling moves missing too, and of course no jumping off the ringposts or anything fancy like that. 

The only mode of the game appears to be in tournament format, but having struggled to win a single match this was hard for me to verify. The reason matches are so difficult to win is partly the game's hit detection, which requires players to be standing directly in front of their opponent, facing them, side on from the screen view. A little in front or behind will mean a missed attack, and when coupled with the fact that opponents continuously move around it's difficult to stay consistently on the attack. Each player has an energy bar which is drained both by attacking and being hit, though the latter drains the bar more quickly. Staying still appears to replenish energy but never as quickly for the player as the opponent. Once an energy bar is empty, that wrestler can be pinned for a 3 count.

Graphically the game doesn't look at all bad for the era, with recognisable wrestlers both in the ring and their top of screen portraits. The open-ring view of the action works well and prevents the game from having too much of a top-down style too. Instrumentals of wrestling themes accompany gameplay, which is fun and likely a better choice than 8-bit sound effects for physical contact.

Overall WWF Wrestlemania isn't much to look at or play thesedays, and it can be incredibly frustrating to even win a single match, but as the very first proper WWE wrestling game it shows a number of ideas which would be refined and improved upon to make later wrestling games. It can definitely be considered the start of an era of wrestling games which played more like fighting games with a wrestling theme added to them.

Rating: 44/100
Grade: E

Game: WWF Wrestlemania Challenge

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: Rare

Release Date: 1990

If you thought WWF Wrestlemania was a bad game then Wrestlemania Challenge from just a year later may well put into perspective how competent of a game the first release actually was. Roster-wise things aren't too bad with 8 licensed wrestlers and an option to play as "yourself" should you wish to. The addition of 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 matches is also welcome, though they're played with 1 wrestler from each team in the ring at any one time.

The real issues begin as soon as players start a match; gameplay has switched to an isometric view meaning that simply moving around the ring becomes far more complex than it needs to be with 8 directions to worry about instead of 4. The hit detection is a little better, and each wrestler has some unique moves but the frustration and difficulty factor remains as it's tough to get consistent hits in before the opponent inevitably recovers their stamina. A successful pin requires stamina to be in the final section of the bar, but once again it's not a game which is easy to pick up and play.

Graphically this is worse than the original WWF Wrestlemania with simpler depictions of wrestlers and basic animation. There's a visible crowd which is nice, but overall it feels like a less enjoyable visual and gameplay experience than the first game. There are more 8-bit wrestling themes which is the only real positive point to the game, everything else is either the same as before or worse.

Overall Wrestlemania Challenge's decision to go isometric was the first mis-step of many which doomed this game to being one of the worst in the early era. It's only forgiveable since it was a second attempt at making a licensed wrestling game. This is the sort of game that you'll find yourself playing only if you're trying to play every licensed WWE game in existence.

Rating: 26/100
Grade: F

Game: WWF Wrestlemania Steel Cage Challenge
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Sculptured Software
Release Date: 1992

Released after the first Mega Drive WWF release, Steel Cage Challenge could have been a scaled down version of the 2D fighting game style adopted by the 16-bit games. Instead it focused a little better on wrestling, adding optional steel cage matches, and including a roster of 10 licensed wrestlers as well as WWF Championship and Tag Team Belt modes where players fight through the roster to lay claim to the titles.

Gameplay is fast and responsive with simple but effective gameplay and enough moves to satisfy most wrestling fans of the era, if not more modern fans. Steel cage matches are a good addition, and slightly more easily winnable than a regular match since the cage needs to be escaped while the opponent is down, rather than a pinfall occuring. In terms of difficulty level, there are 3 difficult options but the controls are also far easier to use and hit detection is much better.

Graphically the game isn't the best with small wrestler sprites and little detail or distinctive features for each. With the cage in the way for some of the matches too, it's potentially the least graphically impressive so far, but with some rocking wrestler themes and one that sounds a little too close to We Will Rock You, it wins back some points for its sound design. Crowd chants are white noise behind matches which isn't ideal, but then music behind matches isn't realistic either so it's hard to please everyone.

Overall what WWF Wrestlemania Steel Cage Challenge lacks in visuals, it makes up for in gameplay which is by far the most important part of a wrestling game, or any other game for that matter. For the first time, players are able to take full control of their wrestler without being hindered by poor controls, and challenge themselves with several difficulty levels and modes. 

Rating: 62/100

Grade: C

Game: WWF: King Of The Ring

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: Grey Matter Inc.

Release Date: 1993

Released after two of the Mega Drive WWF games, King of the Ring for the Nintendo Entertainment System did a great job of showing just how much better the 16-bit generation was than the outgoing 8-bit one. Featuring 10 wrestlers, and an eleventh "customise your own" wrestler, the movesets featured in the game were identical, with the only differences between wrestlers being their stats, which are the only customisable detail on the create-a-wrestler. 

Gameplay is semi-enjoyable with decent hit detection and flow. As with the other 8 bit games, health is managed via a bar, which allows for 3 count pinfalls when depleted far enough. It seems like the bar doesn't need to go too much past half way for a pinfall to last to a 3 count, but health is so easily taken away from opponents by button mashing that players might as well see off most of their health bar before going for the pin anyway. 

Graphically the game is nowhere near as detailed as any of the 16-bit releases; I had some issues telling some of the more homogeneous wrestlers apart and as their movesets are literally identical, this can be a major issue. The sound effects are one of the least impressive parts of the game, and the only audio which plays during matches is once again white noise to imitate the crowd. 

Overall there's not too much to like about WWF: King of the Ring. Inferior for the time of its release and shackled to the limitations of the 8-bit system, it struggles to provide any coherent wrestling action and instead turns into a button mashing challenge of distinguishing wrestlers from one another. 

Rating: 48/100
Grade: D

So that's all four 8-bit WWE games from the dark ages of wrestling games when it was hard to tell who was who, there were hardly any movesets and more than one game mode was a rare treat. In part two I'll be looking at 4 2D Mega Drive games, and one 2D Playstation game!

Boxing Games Roundup: Round 1

With a large amount of boxing games to take a look at over the next two reviews, I've decided to split them up, with this first review concentrating on the larger than life, cartoon-ish boxing games in the Punchout and Ready 2 Rumble Series, and the second review looking at games which attempted to be more of a sports simulation.

Game: Punch-Out!!
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1990

Punch-Out!! is an NES classic which challenges players to rise through the ranks from minor circuit boxing to the big time, against a variety of racial stereotypes and humourous characters and finally face Mike Tyson himself in a wall-punchingly difficult final fight to beat the game and claim Little Mac's place in boxing history. For every win, the player progresses up the ranks towards a title fight, but for every loss, the last opponent must be faced again to prove your skill.

The controls are simple, with the d-pad used for left and right movement as well as directing punches towards the head or body. The A and B buttons are used for right and left hand punches respectively, and it's through these simple controls that the game justifies its fairly high level of difficulty in the later levels. Each opponent has a different set of moves which must be learned and avoided with the correct timing, in order to counter attack, as this is the only effective way of landing strikes. Once an opponent has been knocked down 3 times in a round, or for 10 seconds at a time, the player wins.

Graphically the game uses basic sprites for its boxers as well as Mario who guest stars as referee. The animations are good and give a clear indication of when to avoid the opponent's strikes in order to land a clean hit. The cardio system works well as Little Mac loses hearts for hits taken and his shots being blocked, and so focuses players on the counter attack. Musically there's a few enjoyable themes included and repeated throughout the game, and that's about all you can ask for in an NES cartridge.

Overall Punch-Out is almost the perfect arcade boxing game for the time; there's strategy in avoiding opponents and waiting for the right moment to connect with a punch, there's a good variety of opponents to beat on the way up through the ranks, a terrifying final boss in Mike Tyson and a guest appearance from Mario. While technology has advanced since the release of the game, the core gameplay and characters appearing the game remain entertaining and fun.

Rating: 84/100
Grade: B

Game: Super Punch-Out!!
Console: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1994

As a follow up to Punch-Out!! on the NES, Super Punch-Out!! succeeds in bringing arcade boxing action to the Super Nintendo. The premise of the game remains unchanged; progress to the title of champion through three ever more difficult circuits, learn your opponents moves and how to avoid them, then counter attack until your opponent is down for good. An added feature to this game is special combos; earned by landing punches and avoiding being hit by the opponent, these can rock opponents and provide an advantage to players if landed at the right time.

The controls remain largely the same with the addition of the special combo button, and the difficulty is much the same as the original Punch-Out!! with a tough curve and many hours of practice needed before the fights are truly easy, though the Minor Circuit isn't too hard to get through. The time limit has been brought down to 3 minutes per fight, forcing the action as players lose instantly if the timer reaches 3 minutes, no matter the number of knock downs or the health bars of both boxers.

Graphically the game is far superior to its NES predecessor and its cartoon-ish sprites and animation bring life to the fights as the fighters react far more obviously to each punch. The special meter at the bottom is easy to glance at and it's obvious when players can use their special combo, increasing their chance of successfully using the system. Musically the game features some remixes of songs from Punch-Out!! which are a nice reminder of the series short heritage.

Super Punch-Out!! is superior to the original in most aspects; its gameplay feels better, looks better and has a few more features to help players, but the time limit can be unwelcome at times, with close fights recorded as a loss thanks to there being only a single round. This does have the advantage of making the game feel more arcade-like, as does the scoring system, but it's equally frustrating. Any time put into learning opponent moves is rewarded and progress can be saved once a circuit has been beaten.

Rating: 87/100
Grade: B

Game: Punch-Out!!
Console: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Next Level Games
Release Date: 18th May 2009

Usually when classic franchises are shipped out to third party developers, fans can expect the results to be generally disappointing. While there are some problems with this instalment in the once dormant series, they're mainly with the motion control of the Wii rather than the game itself. Seasoned players will be delighted to find Glass Joe, Von Kaiser and King Hippo waiting for them in the minor circuit of the career mode (though Piston Honda is notably absent, replaced by Disco Kid). For the most part they fight much like their previous versions, though perhaps a little easier overall.

The attacking and defensive options too are very much like those given to players in the first two games; the stamina bar and special move stars make a comeback, and the view is much like that of Super Punch-Out!!. As the game is on the Wii however, two of the three control options involve motion controls; there's the Wiimote and Nunchuk option, a Wiimote, Nunchuk and Balance Board option if you're looking for the optimal amount of excercise, or simply the Wiimote held sideways for a traditional control scheme without motion control.

I opted for the Wiimote and Nunchuk control scheme which worked pretty well, though more than three fights is exhausting, as you're required to thrust the remote forwards for every punch. The difficulty is generally a little easier than the preceding games, while the strategies remain the same, but towards the end of the game things can be just as tough. Graphically the game looks good; nothing truly amazing but it's an update from Super Punch-Out!!'s graphics if nothing else. The music is once again remixes of classic Punch-Out!! tunes and fairly enjoyable.

Overall for a reboot of a classic series on the Wii, Punch-Out!! could have been a lot worse, there's the option not to use motion control which is always appreciated, many nods to the two classic games which came beforehand and a sense of an update on the nostalgia of the series. Although it can be an exhausting experience for those who want to use the motion control, it's a passable reworking of the classic formula.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game: Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
Console: Sega Dreamcast
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 8th September 1999

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing was released for multiple platforms in 1999; alongside the Dreamcast the game came out for Playstation, Nintendo 64 and the Game Boy Colour. What's interesting about this is that the game was a launch title in the USA and followed soon after in Europe, thus allowing gamers to compare the Playstation, N64 and Dreamcast versions side by side and see the next generation of video gaming for themselves. The Dreamcast version is by far the best, and I'd steer well clear of the Playstation version as it looks ugly and plays horrifically compared to the DC version.

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing features a cast of varied boxing characters with a variety of movesets, catchphrases and taunts, all of whom can be guided through championship and arcade mode to climb the ranks and become the best fighter. Arcade mode features a simple run of 10 fights, from 10th place in the rankings to facing the champion and unlocks fighters if beaten a certain amount of times. Championship mode allows players to take control of 10 of the game's fighters, raise their stats, manage their money and fights in order to make it through Bronze, Silver and Gold classes to claim the championship belt. Controlwise, players can choose from 2 types of high and low punches, assigned to the four buttons of the controller. Dodging is achieved with the L+R triggers, and when a punch lands cleanly enough, players are assigned letters of the word "RUMBLE", until it's spelt out and can be used within the round it's earned to do a near unblockable flurry of punches at their opponent.

Graphically the game looks great on Dreamcast, with some of the best looking modelling of human bodies that had been seen on consoles up until that time. Bruises appear on fighters as they're hit, which is a great bonus feature and there's a wealth of animations and moves for each fighter. The sound is a little average, with grunts and hits sounding somewhat lacklustre, but the taunts and personality of the fighter's dialogue makes up for a lot of this. In contrast to the Dreamcast version, the Playstation version looks less than half as good, with gameplay feeling slow and difficult to control, in contrast.

Overall Ready 2 Rumble Boxing has a great mix of arcade boxing action with huge characters, and actual boxing moves to pull off within the 3D space of the ring. The Championship mode is a nice touch, with control over the chosen boxer's stats and fights, but it's perhaps a little too similar to arcade mode in it's progression, as players will find themselves facing 30 fights to beat Championship mode with a single fighter. Remember to avoid the game on other platforms though, as the Dreamcast version is superior.

Rating: 75/100
Grade: B

Game: Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2
Console: Sega Dreamcast
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 23rd October 2000

Just over a year after the first instalment of the series, Ready 2 Rumble returned with more fighters, celebrity fighters to unlock, an overhauled championship mode and a few other extras. While the core gameplay and concept remain much the same, one nice new addition is tiered RUMBLE attacks. Once the word has been earned once (the maximum in the last game), it can be earned again in red for a stronger flurry attack, or a third time for a silver punch which will knock the opponent out of the ring.

The championship mode is now time based; the next prize fight and title fight have a set date and gym training is free, but must be scheduled on the calendar. Players raise their fighter's stats as normal and attempt to fight for the championship belt from 13th position in the rankings. This is preferable to the bronze, silver and gold classes of the previous game. There are many fighters making their Dreamcast debut in the title, including the previously N64 exclusive J,R Flurry, and these add some imagination to the roster of 23 fighters.

Graphically the game looks great on the Dreamcast and is very similar on the Playstation 2. These two versions are by far the best, and are essentially interchangeable. Fighters have more distinguishing features than in the first game, and those who have been carried over have been given a nice update. The sound still leaves a little to be desired but there's some surprisingly good voice acting, especially considering that Michael Jackson features in the cast.

Overall whilst Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 brought few significant gameplay improvements to the table, the increased roster and selection of game modes provide more excitement, and the championship mode improvements give a greater sense of progression for those interested in 'completing' the game. As far as arcade boxing games go, you can't do much better for a roster or the amount of action provided by this game.

Rating: 79/100
Grade: B

Game: Ready 2 Rumble Revolution
Console: Nintendo Wii
Developer: 10tacle Studios
Release Date: 17th March 2009

Ready 2 Rumble Revolution was the inevitable Wii cash-in for the series as Midway, the original developers of the game were going bankrupt. Featuring very few characters from the original games, and far less amusing or even impressive replacements, the game almost instantly fails to connect with existing fans of the series. While the game modes remain much the same, there's the option to play the training minigames independently of the Career Mode.

The biggest problem however is that of control; with only the motion controls available to use, and a huge selection of punches and moves to pull off, the technology isn't advanced enough to distinguish between similar movements, leading to player frustration when the wrong move is executed. In addition to this, players are required to keep their hands up in order to defend themselves (which is very tiring), and the experience as a whole is draining, so play sessions tend to last only as long as players can stand.

Graphically the game is less impressive than anything in the series so far for its time of release. The cartoonish figures of the boxers look almost ridiculous, and there's nearly none of the amusing characterisation that was present on the Dreamcast instalments. It's easy to ignore the sounds of the game as the frustration of getting the correct punch to land on screen usually drowns out any in game audio.

Overall Ready 2 Rumble Revolution is an insult to the series, lacking the enjoyable arcade style gameplay of the first two games and replacing it with hit-and-miss controls which overcomplicate the formula. The Wii saw a lot of series revivals and cash-ins on famous games, but this goes down with the worst of those, due to the general lack of effort to make the game anything like its predecessors.

Rating: 42/100
Grade: E

12 Days of NESmas Finale: Front Line, Tiger-Heli, Magmax and Star Force (#12)

Game: Front Line
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1st August 1985

Front Line is scrolling shooter game in which players make their way through a battlefield on foot to their tank and then drive their tank far enough into enemy territory to make them surrender. After this has been achieved, the game loops and so the total playtime for a single completion is around 3 minutes. For any game this is a very short amount of time to be looping around after, and it's really a shame there's not some more levels included at least with some different terrain.

One of the game's main issues is the lack of ability to aim in a different direction than you are moving; with just the single control pad on the NES, players are forced to turn wherever they'd like to shoot, making progress that little bit harder. As a twin stick shooter this game would have felt far better. Players have a choice of grenades or bullets from their gun to defeat enemy soldiers, which I suppose is better than only one weapon choice.

Graphically the game is very simple with most sprites and objects drawn in what I can only describe as somewhat of a wonky style. Soldiers look odd as they walk, and the tanks are very simple shapes which require a little imagination. As for sound, there's only the noise of the player's footsteps, grenades an gunshots to enjoy which get old pretty fast.

Overall Front Line could have done with some technological advances before its release to improve the playability and amount of content featured in the game. While the idea of battling both on foot and from a tank is a good one, it's not enough without tight controls, good music and sound or even a few looping levels.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Game: Tiger-Heli
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Micronics
Release Date: 1986

Tiger-Heli is a helicopter based shooter game where players make their way through some bland and repetitive landscapes shooting tanks and trying to avoid being shot themselves. There are power-ups which can aid players in their mission, and most non-enemy objects are slightly destructible for some extra points.

The movement of the helicopter is a little stiff, and it can be difficult to avoid the tank shots as they occur, since the screen scrolls continuously. The worst feature of the game is the lack of proper checkpoints, with only a few landing pads where players recover briefly before taking off again and continuing. Because of this, the game becomes a slog and its runtime feels like far longer than it needs to be, and less exciting.

Graphically the game isn't much to look at, with simple effects for houses, water and grass. The sprites are slightly better but still aren't great, even for the NES era. The music which accompanies gameplay is surprisingly good and probably my favourite part of the entire experience.

Overall, a little more excitement would have helped Tiger-Heli to be less monotonous. With NES games it's important to present as many different levels, landscapes and enemy types as possible because with most games looping around after a short while, the enjoyment level will decrease with each replay of the game. Instead, Tiger-Heli is just an average shoot 'em up for the time.

Rating: 58/100
Grade: D

Game: Magmax
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nihon Bussan
Release Date: 1986

Magmax is an interesting shoot 'em up game which takes place on 2 planes; there's the above ground level where players can move freely around on the ground, dodging and shooting enemies and collecting parts to make their robot bigger, or the underground/sea level where players do just the same, but this time able to move around in a different 2 dimensions; up/down and right/left. Neither area is harder per se, but there's the option to swap between them at grey holes, though its possible to stay on a level if desired.

There's a boss which appears after a while, only requiring some persistent shooting and dodging to beat before the game loops. While it's fairly easy for a shoot 'em up of it's kind, whilst playing Magmax, you get a sense of fun that's often absent from far harder games of the genre. The upgradability of the your robot, added to the different game levels which occur concurrently make for a fresh experience for the time. A nice feature is that the parts of the robots which are collected act as extra lives, disappearing when they take a hit from an enemy.

Graphically the game isn't much to look at, with the overground level somewhat reminiscent of Exitebike, but the underground sections look much more like a contemporary shoot 'em up. The music isn't the best either, with some fairly experimental and ultimately grating tunes to listen to, but it's nice to see a different accompaniment for both the underground and overground sections as well as some boss music.

Overall Magmax is a breath of fresh air when compared to most other NES shoot 'em ups and as such is more enjoyable as a game today. Whilst there's not a huge amount of replayability and the game loops after an easy boss, the time I spent playing was far more pleasing than many of the other games I've played in the past 2 weeks on the NES.

Rating: 70/100
Grade: C

Game: Star Force
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Hudson Soft
Release Date: 1987

Star Force is the final game I'll be looking at in this NESmas feature; a shoot 'em up with plenty of enemies, bases and bonuses to target, but one where the colours chosen for the player's ship and the background were too similar causing difficulties with actually being able to see the ship. The game features areas, each with their own boss which can be pretty easily dispatched with a few seconds of shooting and dodging.

Unlike many shoot 'em ups, it's hard to tell quite what you're meant to be doing, apart from shooting everything in sight. There are capital letters in boxes, and small letters in boxes which appear from time to time, and get counted at the end of each level. I assume the goal is to pick up all of them, but they don't seem to make a huge amount of difference to gameplay.

Graphically the game is pretty good, aside from the main issue of terrible visibility. The sprites of enemies, and general locations featured behind gameplay are interesting and work well with the space theme. As you can probably see from the picture above, this isn't much good when you can't see enemies or bullets flying towards you.

Overall the game is ruined by one of its few flaws, as game overs occur far more quickly when players can't see what they're doing. It's a shame that no-one in the development team caught this issue before the game's release, as it could have been far better of a game.

Rating: 49/100
Grade: D

As a final round-up of the games I've played in the last 12 days, here's a table featuring everything that's been reviewed, in score order. There's been some great games, and a few that were shockingly bad, but overall most games had at least some promise or sense of unique gameplay and fun.

#1	Adventure Island					B	80.05
#2	Balloon Fight					B	75.20
#3	Joust					C	73.38
#4	Hogan's Alley					C	73.02
#5	Pac-man					C	72.02
#6	Wild Gunman					C	70.35
#7	Magmax					C	70.15
#8	Mario Bros					C	68.80
#9	Binary Land					C	66.05
#10	Excite Bike					C	62.85
#11	Arkanoid					C	62.50
#12	Nuts & Milk					C	62.30
#13	Yie Ar Kung Fu					C	62.05
#14	Hyper Olympic					C	62.02
#15	Battle City					D	61.95
#16	Devil World					D	61.85
#17	Dig Dug					D	60.95
#18	Kung Fu					D	60.27
#19	BurgerTime					D	59.10
#20	Tiger-Heli					D	58.80
#21	Space Invaders					D	57.35
#22	Road Fighter					D	57.10
#23	Life Force					D	56.50
#24	Mappy					D	55.30
#25	City Connection					D	54.60
#26	Popeye					D	54.10
#27	10 Yard Fight					D	51.60
#28	Duck Hunt					D	50.90
#29	Circus Charlie					D	50.90
#30	Star Force					D	49.50
#31	The Legend Of Kage					D	49.30
#32	Flappy					D	46.85
#33	F1 Race					D	45.95
#34	Galaga					D	45.30
#35	Donkey Kong Jr.					D	45.30
#36	Karateka					D	45.05
#37	Spy Hunter					E	40.00
#38	Exerion					E	39.30
#39	Baseball					E	36.60
#40	Donkey Kong 3					E	34.20
#41	Zippy Race					E	33.60
#42	Galaxian					E	33.60
#43	Chack N Pop					E	33.60
#44	Golf					E	32.20
#45	Bird Week					E	31.10
#46	Bomberman					E	31.10
#47	Front Line					E	30.55
#48	Urban Champion					F	28.50

12 Days of NESmas: Balloon Fight, Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr. and Pac-man (#11)

Game: Balloon Fight
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1984

Balloon Fight is a classic NES title which is almost instantly recognisable, and is incredibly easy to pick up thanks to its concept. In the main game, players face-off against opponents with their own balloons, in an attempt to collide with them from above in order to pop their balloons and eliminate them. Once popped, enemies parachute down to the nearest platform and if they're not intercepted begin to take off once again with another balloon. In this respect, the gameplay is somewhat similar to Joust, but it feels far easier to control.

Balloon Trip mode is also very interesting, presenting a one hit game over journey through obstacles in the same vein as the main game. This mode has been featured as a Warioware microgame and is at least as fun, if not a little more than the main game, even if it gets pretty tricky very quickly. One of the best things about playing Balloon Fight is that each time I lost a life, it felt like it was truly my error, rather than bad game programming or design.

Graphically the game looks nice in both modes, despite its simple character sprites and black background. The music of the game however is almost unbearable in the main mode, between the almost random sounding bleeps and bloops and sound effects there's no semblance of a tune, and it'd be better off without most of the distracting sound. The music for Balloon Trip mode suffers no such issue, and has great music with balloon pop sound effects which are maybe just a little too loud.

Overall Balloon Fight is a solid and enjoyable NES game which deserves much of the praise and recognition it has had over the years. With two equally enjoyable game modes, great controls and classic music in the balloon trip mode it's certainly one of the best games of its type.

Rating: 75/100
Grade: B

Game: Mario Bros.
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1983

Mario Bros. marks one of the earliest appearances of Mario in video games. It's a simple title where he faces off against various enemies and defeats them by bumping the ground underneath them, to flip them upside down before kicking them off screen. Some of the elements in the game influenced parts of Super Mario Bros, the classic platformer released just 2 years later.

The game is very much in an arcade style and presents its levels and bonus levels as such. There's a few different types of enemies which appear throughout the game levels, and can become enraged if not dealt with quickly. Mario also collects coins for defeated enemies; yet another snippet of game which was later turned into a Warioware microgame.

Graphically the game is very much in the style which we recognise today as "Super Mario"-esque, but obviously was yet to be coined and ingrained into the public conciousness at its time of release. The music is generally pretty good, and with the big deal that Mario went on to become, it's not hard to see why Mario Bros. is considered a classic NES game.

Overall while simple, the game does play very well with only a slight bit of refinement needed on Mario's jumping, so that his momentum carries over properly. Other than this though, it's one of the better arcade style platforming games, and is definitely easy to pick up and fairly addictive.

Rating: 68/100
Grade: C

Game: Donkey Kong Jr.
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1983

The original Donkey Kong was a fun, albeit short platformer which saw players controlling Jumpman, later known as Mario across three levels in order to rescue his girlfriend. Donkey Kong Jr. turned this concept on it's head as players control the titular character in a bid to rescue Donkey Kong himself from Mario's grasp. There are a total of four levels in Donkey Kong Jr., each of them featuring a single screen with vines to climb and platforms to jump across.

The main issue with the game is that the climbing and overall moving speed of Donkey Kong Jr. is so slow that three enemy attacks can be launched by Mario whilst climbing a single vine. His small crocodile minions are at least twice as fast as the player controlled character. The levels aren't particularly hard to figure out, but putting your plans into practice with the control as it is isn't so easy.

Graphically the game is simple as can be, and eschews the early NES style of a black background with simple shapes and sprites. There's simple mono style music behind gameplay, with the first level's soundtrack being bearable, the second and third levels not so much, and the final actually resembling better music, despite being super repetitive.

Overall Donkey Kong Jr. is somewhat of a disappointment compared both to its prequel and the masses of better games that it was succeeded by. In the NES era, it wasn't long before this sort of game had an unacceptably low level of content and so represents the earliest period of NES gaming.

Rating: 45/100
Grade: D

Game: Pac-man
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 1984

Pac-man on the Atari 2600 was a hugely destructive blow to the game industry in America, with such a poor resemblance to the arcade original that millions of copies went unsold. Pac-man on the NES however is almost an arcade perfect port of the game, and plays really well. Everything from the way the game feels to how it sounds and looks is impressively similar to the original game.

Players make their way around the maze, collecting all of the power pellets and attempting to get a high score. There's a cutscene after every few levels which shows a plot of sorts, but really it's the arcade gameplay that players are after. Personally I've always found Pac-man somewhat repetitive after a while, but that's more of an issue with the game itself.

Graphically the game is almost identical to the simple but iconic stylings of the arcade version, with the instantly recognisable blue maze, coloured ghosts and fruit power-ups. There's not a lot in the way of music, but once again the sound effects are pretty classic and are reproduced well.

Overall if you're looking to play Pac-man on console, the NES version is as good a choice as any, since earlier versions didn't quite have the power to play like the arcades and later versions tend to overcomplicate what is a simple and enjoyable, if somewhat repetitive formula.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

12 Days of NESmas: Donkey Kong 3, Popeye, Spy Hunter and Burger Time (#10)

Game: Donkey Kong 3
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1986

Donkey Kong 3 is an arcade style NES game with very little content for a title of its time. Players control Stanley the gardener as he looks to take care of some plants, with only a giant ape and swarms of insects in his way. The game plays like a mix between a platformer and a shoot 'em up, with players able to move Stanley around the level and shoot upwards only.

The goal of each level is to force Donkey Kong up to the top of the vines he's hanging off before he comes down to attack Stanley. If any insects make it to the bottom of the screen, they can change one of the flowers into a flying enemy. The insects must be avoided whilst this is going on, and there's a shot power-up which makes Stanley's shots significantly more powerful. There's a few level layouts which repeat endlessly until players lose, as the speed of the game increases.

Graphically the game is simple but stylistically enjoyable. It's easy to tell that the game is set in a garden, but some insect sprites, and Stanley's own sprite aren't very detailed. There's music resembling Flight Of The Bumblebees at one point, but it's fairly standard for the NES. The sound effects can be a somewhat repetitive, as can the game as a whole, but each play session tends to be fairly short so it's not too much of an issue.

Overall Donkey Kong 3 seems to be a bit of a cop out when compared to the original Donkey Kong and especially when compared to later Donkey Kong games. Even its arcade style can't can't excuse the short length of the game; it's lack of content would be more highly criticised in any other franchise.

Rating: 34/100
Grade: E

Game: Popeye
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1986

Cartoons which got their own NES games are often unlucky in that during the NES era it was difficult to make a game which truly featured the events and concepts of the cartoon. Platformers were common in that it was easy to include characters from the series, and work with the simple concept of getting to the other side of the screen. Popeye however, is an arcade style game set on a single screen for each level.

Players attempt to collect various items dropped by Olive Oyl, whilst avoiding Bluto unless a spinach can has been collected, allowing Popeye to punch and stun him momentarily. Once all of Olive's items have been collected, the level ends and the game moves on. Moving around isn't particularly easy; there are stairs at the edges of most levels, which can't simply be climbed by pressing a directional button; easily trapping players if they're not careful.

Graphically the game doesn't look particularly inspired by the Popeye cartoon. Despite having the characters, the levels aren't based on any locations from the cartoon and are generally simple. A platformer might have been a better option for inclusion of more recognisible items. The music is very simple and bassy, with dissonant sound effects when items are collected.

Overall Popeye is a particularly average game which needn't have really featured the characters from the Popeye cartoon. The concept is generic, and the audio and visuals are fairly uninteresting and so as such the game becomes of interest only to hardcore Popeye and NES fans, who want to experience everything their chosen medium has to offer.

Rating: 54/100
Grade: D

Game: Spy Hunter
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Sunsoft
Release Date: 1987

It's no big secret that I'm not a big fan of the Spy Hunter games. I gave the arcade version of Spy Hunter II a score of 8/100, but what about the original game on the NES? The concept of Spy Hunter has been seen in many other games and it's hard to say which game first featured the "drive fast and avoid cars coming towards you" formula, but there's certainly better examples. Granted that in Spy Hunter you can shoot at cars that are in your way, but one hit won't clear them from your path, and some are even indestructible.

The main problems with the game are that the car moves way too fast onscreen with any application of the accelerator. The only alternative to this is to let off the gas and move at a snail's pace which is hardly exciting. The other cars on the road are divided between non-aggressive traffic, indestructible enemies who'll try and force you off the road and a variety of trucks, most of which have no effect, but some of which players can enter for a bonus.

Graphically the game is pretty average; the car sprites are fairly tiny and with the speed the game moves it, it's as good as impossible to tell what's actually going on. Soundwise there's not much to enjoy either, as turns don't tend to last particularly long, and there's very little in the way of music or good sound effects.

Overall Spy Hunter is a poor example of it's game type, with Road Fighter and Action Fighter being far better examples of the concept. Although the game was popular and well regarded in its time, it's aged pretty badly and can be consigned to the group of NES games that are more disappointing with each passing year.

Rating: 40/100
Grade: E

Game: Burger Time
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: SAS Sakata
Release Date: 1987

The concept of Burger Time is a good one; you're a chef traversing platforming levels, knocking the components of burgers down a floor each time you pass over them. Enemies run about the level too, who can be stunned with a quick shake of pepper, or beaten by trapping them underneath an ingredient. There are 6 levels in total, and a level is won when all burgers are completed at the bottom of the screen.

Unfortunately the game suffers from a few big issues; firstly getting on and off ladders can be very tricky; sometimes it'll look as if you're at the right level to dismount a ladder, only to get stuck and lose a life as an enemy makes contact. Secondly there's way too many enemies running about the levels; at one point I was being pursued by 8 enemies on level 1, and there's really nowhere to hide on any of the levels. Lastly the pinches of pepper used to stun enemies are finite and run out after a certain number of uses, leaving players effectively defenceless.

Graphically the game is pretty boring and definitely has a home computer feel to it, rather than the exciting look of a dedicated games console. I understand that the game came from home computers, but with the added power of the NES, something could have been done to spice things up a bit. Soundwise the game is decidedly average, there's no classic theme to keep players enticed or anything that'd make the game stand out.

Overall Burger Time could have been so much better as a game, despite having a solid and original concept. The difficulty level ends up being far too high as players are chased by many enemies from the outset, and the levels are set up in such a way that there's little room for error. It's a shame that these flaws drag down a game with such potential, but they clearly get in the way of player enjoyment.

Rating: 59/100
Grade: D

12 Days of NESmas: Nuts & Milk, Flappy, Devil World and Bomberman (#9)

Game: Nuts & Milk
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Hudson Soft
Release Date: 28th July 1984

As the first third party game ever released on a Nintendo console, Nuts & Milk had a lot to live up to. It's a puzzle platformer where players control Milk (oddly the latter character in the title), on a quest to collect fruit and then meet up with his girlfriend, Yoghurt. Only his rival, Nuts and some small airships can stop Milk in his quest. Also there's a level editor which is a pretty nice feature.

While the home computer versions of Nuts & Milk featured a top down view, Hudson Soft went all out on the Famicom version, as it's a full 2D platformer. Milk has the ability to jump across platforms and climb ladders to get to his fruit. Nuts and any other obstacles must be avoided or jumped over in order not to lose a life. It's pretty simple stuff, but across the game's 50 levels it works nicely.

Graphically the game looks nice for 1984, though the characters are essentially just coloured blobs. The screen is wrapped so that going off the left hand side will result in appearing on the right, which can be useful in evading Nuts and his allies. Musically there's not only a theme before and after levels, but to accompany gameplay also which is rare for such an early game; the tunes are enjoyable and add to the playability.

Overall while Nuts & Milk isn't technically or visually impressive, it does a lot of things right and would definitely have stood out as one of the better games of the time. To have 50 levels, even if they're just single screens is impressive and the bonus levels offer a nice change of pace every 3 or 4 main levels. For the cuteness factor and for being ahead of its time, Hudson Soft did very well with the little game.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Game: Flappy
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: dB-Soft
Release Date: 14th June 1985

Flappy is a simple puzzling platform game that's notable for having 200 levels, far more than nearly any other NES game I can think of. Despite the simplicity of most levels, there's a good difficulty curve throughout the game, and codes to continue to progress once all lives have been lost. The aim of the game is to get a blue boulder to the blue platform, avoiding enemies and using regular boulders to your advantage to transport and protect the blue boulder or to squash the roaming enemies.

While there's probably too much of an AI presence in later levels to adequately solve the ever more complex puzzles, the game starts out fairly simple and those who enjoy this type of problem solving have plenty of work to do here. Personally I got a little bored after 10 or so levels, thanks to the single screen nature of the game and little attempt to change the visuals as the levels progress.

Graphically the game is dominated by the brickwork, with its repetitive colour and pattern. While its clear enough to see what needs to be done, there's definitely a hint of home computer style graphics rather than those of a dedicated console. There's looped music of a decent length behind the levels, although it's a little high pitched for my tastes, and the sound effects are fairly inoffensive.

Overall Flappy fits into the early category of games before the NES had really found its feet with blockbuster titles, back when the world was starting to move on from home programmed titles and small software companies releasing games. It's stuck inbetween the two worlds and perhaps a little too puzzle based for my liking.

Rating: 46/100
Grade: D

Game: Devil World
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 15th July 1987

Devil World is a game that's as simple as you want it to be. If you can accept that it's a bit like Pac-man, except that players collect a cross to shoot enemies and at some point jam bibles into a central thingy then that's that. If you're looking for a deeper meaning behind it all then I'm afraid you'll have to come up with your own theory as to what's going on. The devil at the top of the screen points his finger in the way he wants the maze to go, and his minions shift it, meaning players must consider their movements so as not to get squashed.

Once all of the dots have been eaten in the first stage of play, there's then a round where 4 bibles, or books of some kind must be pushed into the central column. If this is done successfully then players move onto the bonus round where they collect more artifacts before the whole process restarts on a slightly more difficult level. The gameplay itself is pretty nice and easy to get used to, but there's no clue as to what we're trying to achieve.

Graphically the game is bright and colourful, with lots of things going on in all corners of the screen. At the top the devil directs the direction in which his minions (at the bottom) move the maze. Inside of the maze enemies patrol, and the light blue dots and crosses are there for collecting by the player who hatches from the green egg into a Bubble Bobble looking character. Soundwise the game has an interesting introductory tune, but sadly no music behind gameplay.

Overall Devil World is an interesting and somewhat unique game which incorporates many concepts and is, at the very least more fun than Pac-man. That said, there's still not a large amount of things to do and after a few levels the gimmicks will tend to wear off.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game: Bomberman
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Hudson Soft
Release Date: 1987

If you're a fan of slow and methodical gameplay which repeats over and over, then Bomberman is the game for you. I'm aware that this is where the Bomberman series started and that it's a popular games series, but I've honestly never seen the appeal. If the gameplay wasn't simply methodically bombing everything until you can find an exit, then trying to eliminate all of the enemies, then it might be more exciting, but the action here is almost non existent.

The controls aren't a problem; they're exactly as you'd expect, but the enemies are so slow and predictable in their patterns, it's almost too easy to avoid them. There are powerups for the player's bombs which make their range a little better, but even with the upgrade there's hardly any improvement in game speed.

Graphically the game is an unappealing mess of green and grey with a few red blobs moving around to signify enemies. There are unlicensed games which look better, and even Bomberman's own sprite is fairly unimpressive. The musical accompaniment develops somewhat as time continues, but the level doesn't end when the timer hits zero, so there's little point in building up to it.

Overall there's not a lot of reasons to enjoy Bomberman; the game is slow, the action is boring, the graphics are some of the least interesting on the NES and to complete the game takes at least half an hour at the slowest, and around an hour and a half at normal pace. This would be a good amount of content if there was actually something to enjoy.

Rating: 31/100
Grade: E