LJN

November 1987

Light Gun

1-2 Players (alt)

I haven't been keeping up with the sport, but apparently there's a rule in paintball which states that you can only fire at an opponent's crotch.  At least, that's the impression I got from playing Gotcha!, an innovative light gun game sabotaged by picky collision detection.  Your paintballs don't make a mark unless you fire directly at your enemies' most tender areas.

Konami

November 1987

Shooter

1-2 Players (alt)

One of the most influential games of the 1980's, Gradius was used as a template for hundreds of other side-scrolling shooters.  With its stark graphics, the game seems rather plain by today's standards.  However, it's important to remember that it was the foundation for many other titles which have built on its basic play mechanics.  Besides, it's still oh-so-fun to play!

FAST FACT:  The origins of Gradius can be traced back to Scramble, a futuristic arcade release from the early 1980's.  In 1985, Konami took the basic play mechanics of Scramble and evolved them, creating the first in a long line of successful side-scrolling shooters.  Gradius isn't as popular as it once was, but Konami still pays tribute to the game with sequels and sly references in its card game Yu-Gi-Oh!

T*HQ

December 1992

Education

1 Player

Where's Waldo now?  Who knows.  We haven't seen much of him lately, but he wasn't too tough to find in this game based on the children's books from the 1990's.  In fact, you'll sometimes spot him the moment you start playing!  Fortunately, it'll take more effort to locate some of the other objects strewn throughout each busy stage.  Not much more effort, but a little.

Virgin

July 1992

Sports

1-2 Players

It ain't pretty, but Greg Norman's Golf Power is a solid and very playable golf simulation.  It features an inventive approach to swinging your club... you hold down a button to determine the strength of your swing, then release it to let the meter snap back like a rubberband.  A final press determines the slice on the ball... time it just right for a perfect swing!

Sunsoft

October 1990

Action

1 Player

It's hard to put your finger on it, but there's something about this overhead platformer that makes it less entertaining than Sunsoft's other games.  It could be the wimpy main character, who has to rely on tomatoes and matchsticks as weapons.  Then again, it could be the sadistic levels, littered with predictable enemies and frustrating bottomless pits.

Broderbund/Compile

April 1989

Action/Adventure

1 Player

Compile proves that two entirely different styles of gaming can work beautifully together with The Guardian Legend.  You're a shapely cyborg assigned to destroy a planet infested with cycloptic monsters.  To accomplish your mission, you'll explore the world on foot, then transform into a jet and battle hideous bosses in the corridors beneath it.

FAST FACT:  Fans of The Guardian Legend will be shocked to discover that the game is an extension of another series.  In Japan, The Guardian Legend was released as Guardic Gaiden, a spin-off of an overhead view shooter for the MSX computer called Guardic.    Guardic wasn't fantastic, but at least it inspired a true classic.

SNK

June 1989

Shooter

1-2 Players

If you like your action fast and your weapons fierce, Guerrilla War is a must for your NES library.  It's an overhead military shooter similar to SNK's Ikari Warriors series, but with much faster gameplay and screen-filling, mind-blowing weapons.  The graphics aren't great, and the game may be too fast for some players, but everyone else ought to give it a try.

FAST FACT:  Fidel Castro, a video game hero?  It doesn't seem  likely, but that's exactly what he is in Guerrilla War.  Originally named Guevara (as in former comrade-in-arms Ernesto "Che" Guevara), Guerrilla War is based on Castro's liberation of Cuba from the Batista empire.  Surprisingly, only the title was changed in the US release.

Nintendo

June 1986

Light Gun

1 Player

Detective Stevenson's on a mission to save his daughter from a kidnapper.  When obstacles like flying liquor bottles, runaway cars, and exploding skull blocks are set in the flatfoot's path, you use the light gun to shoot... well, you shoot Stevenson, actually.  That's how you make him jump.  No, it doesn't make sense to me, either.  Nevertheless, the game is fun, if very tough.