Recycled Gaming

This relentless vertical shooter is similar to 1943, but far more intense!

Your P-40 fighter plane has modest firepower initially, but is also equipped with bombs that can decimate large areas at a time.

The jungle and sea scenery are plain but attractive, and the music is absolutely terrific.

The action begins slowly but ramps up in a hurry, with enemy missiles approaching from land, air, and sea.

Shooting down a squad of eight red planes produces a power-up that incrementally increases your firepower.

Going after these power-ups is a risky proposition, and some might even call it “glory seeking”. Freedom!!

One good piece of advice is to avoid the corners at all costs!

Sky Shark is difficult but not insurmountable, and it keeps you coming back for repeated punishment.

The only thing lacking is a two-player simultaneous mode.

Say what you want about the flickering graphics and the blocky, goofy-looking monsters, Wizard of Wor delivers some serious maze-shooting action. You can even play simultaneously with a friend!

The object is to exterminate all the monsters in each dungeon. The maze changes in terms of layout and color as you progress, and a scanner on the bottom of the screen helps you track invisible monsters!

There can be up to six creatures crawling around the dungeon at a time and some can even shoot at you! There are two escape doors on either side of the screen, like Pac-Man.

After clearing out the normal monsters, a winged beast called a “Worluk” flies towards an escape door, and you can blast him for bonus points.

Next you engage the Wizard of Wor himself. This guy teleports all over the place, usually vanishing before you get a chance to pump lead into him.

Sometimes it takes a lucky shot to nail him, so keep shooting. Wizard of Wor plays much better than it looks.

For best results, set the difficulty to A, and don’t forget to use the right joystick for the single-player game.

This one-man-army shooter is a total Commando (NES, 1986) knock-off, and it’s a damn good one!

This game kicks so much ass, they might as well call this Heavy Mother [expletive] Barrel.

You can team up with a friend as you attempt to infiltrate a series of well-fortified strongholds.

In addition to legions of troops, you’ll face tanks, helicopters, and a robot on rails with extendable claws.

Unlike most games, your default weapon is pretty effective, allowing you to shoot rapid-fire in any direction with good range. (more…)

The NES edition of 1942 was pretty lame, but this sophisticated sequel improves upon its predecessor in every way.

Before each mission you’re allotted a certain number of points to configure your plane based on offensive power, defensive power, energy level, and special weapons.

1943’s graphics are noticeably improved, with clouds in the sky and a better variety of enemies on land and sea.

Several effective power-ups are also available, including a devastating five-way shot.

In addition to your normal cannon, you can fire an extra powerful shot, or unleash a “smart bomb” that obliterates every enemy on the screen.

The “evasive maneuver” is performed by pressing both buttons simultaneously.

Unlike 1942, taking a hit won’t instantly destroy you - it just drains your energy. Upon meeting your demise, a password is provided, along with an option to continue.

Do you remember that incessant beeping of 1942… doot doot beep beep. Gah! It makes me want to break the cartridge into pieces.

But there is hope because 1943 features some nice upbeat music without all that freaking beeping… and there was much rejoicing… yay!

A satisfying shooter with surprising depth, the game’s only real disappointment is the lack of a two-player mode.

If you own an NES then you should definitely have this game in your collection. You will not be disappointed.

You can usually find it on eBay for less then $8.00 USD or you might get lucky and find it for less at a garage sale or thrift store in your local area.

Coming from HAL and Nintendo, Kirby’s Dream Course is a Super Nintendo game that was released in America in 1994 and then 1995 in Europe.

Though it’s coming from a familiar pink dude, this game is a very unique breed.

While many games can be considered evolved forms of past games, this Kirby game was its own exclusive style.

Imagine the world of Kirby colliding with that of mini-golf, and that is this game in a nutshell. (more…)

First Person Shooters. You gotta love them, but have you ever wondered where it all started? Wolfenstein 3D.

This great PC game was the biggest thing to hit the video game market in the early 1990s.

Most older, retro and classic gamers will remember back to the days when Wolfenstein 3D was king.

The only question that remains is whether an old computer game makes a good Gameboy Advanced game?

I’m hear to tell you that Wolfenstein 3D for the GBA is awesome and totally rad. How’s that for a classic reaction?

Listening to the sounds of Wolfenstein 3D you might think you were back playing on your old 486 computer with your shareware version.

The sound is an exact recreation from the original. From the bark of the German Shepards to the “Halt Stop!” of the guards every detail of sound is recreated perfectly.

As for how the game plays, it’s exactly like the original. You’ll go around killing various types of Nazis while collecting ammo, treasure, and keys to make it to the next floor and do it again.

No matter how great the port is of the game, no matter how well they stick to the original, there is one question that will have to be answered for this to work.

That question of course is “How are the game controls?” (more…)

Like most normal people, I’ve always been terrified of clowns. The main character in Mr. Do is a clown, and on the box cover he looks like one of those evil clowns that hide under your bed with a knife!

After summoning enough courage to review this game, I found Mr. Do to be pretty good after all.

This game originally appeared in 1982 as a fast-moving Dig Dug clone. To its credit, it does have some original elements.

Instead of inflating monsters, you destroy them with a magic ball that bounces around the maze until it hits something.

Instead of having to eliminate all of the monsters, stages are cleared by collecting all of the fruit, giving the game a Pac-man flavor.

Mr. Do’s graphics are colorful and vibrant, but I could barely tolerate its circus-style music. A fun head-to-head two player mode is also included.

Just be sure not to leave this game on overnight, or the clown could potentially escape from the television screen and kill you in your sleep. That’s just common sense.

This sequel expands upon the first game in every way imaginable, and is arguably the best game in the series but before I get into the review, take a moment (1:33) and check out this video of the Mega Man 2 intro:

Mega Man 2 (MM2) kicks off with a fancy intro that reveals Mega Man to be a robot, and the evil Dr. Wily has created eight robot villains for our hero to defeat.

The lineup includes Wood Man, Clash Man, Quick Man, Heat Man, Metal Man, Air Man, Flash Man, and Bubble Man.

MM2’s graphics and sound are far more sophisticated this time around. The stages are imaginative and multi-layered graphics, and your adversaries are larger and more interesting.

For example, the frog-like “Croaker” spits out smaller frogs, and the huge Hot Dog breathes fire. To aid him on his mission, Mega Man can use special items like levitation platforms, elevators, and even a flying sled.

The scoring’s been done away with, but that’s no big loss. Sega fans might noticed MM2’s uncanny resemblance to Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis). The traps, robotic enemies, and general style of play are incredibly similar.

My only reservations about this game concern the preponderance of “fatal falls”, thanks to high altitude platforms that your adversaries can easily knock you off of.

I much prefer the ground-based levels, but Mega Man 2 is still first class all the way.

Just yesterday I did a post about the NES version of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse.

In that post I mentioned that I felt Simon’s Quest was a misstep and a loyal reader Luke commented saying:

I’m guessing you don’t like any of the modern Castlevanias either.

So I figured that it would be a good time while it’s fresh in my mind to explain with a brief review of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. (more…)

When it comes to NES side-scrolling action, it doesn’t get much better than Castlevania III. After a brief misstep with Simon’s Quest, the series gets back on track with this action-packed gothic adventure.

As vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, you’ll journey through a village, swamp, forest, clock tower, and ghost ship before finally arriving at Dracula’s huge castle.

The graphics are remarkable, from the vine-laced ruins in the foreground to the soaring mountain peaks in the distance. Unlike most NES titles, the characters here actually look somewhat realistic.

An amazing variety of creatures include floating medusa heads and pesky little hunchbacks. The controls are responsive enough, but navigating stairs takes a little finesse.

The difficulty is fair, and a password feature allows you to save your game. Unlike Castlevania II, no separate status screen is required since all the vital information is displayed across the top of the screen.

Perhaps Castlevania III’s most innovative feature is the ability to play as boss characters you defeat along the way - an ingenious concept.

The stages are separated by branching paths, adding even more replay value to an already extraordinary game. The first-rate musical score brilliantly captures the flavor of the game.

Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse is a “must-have” NES game if there ever was one.