Taito

March 1991

Action

1 Player

Taito's tribute to the third Indiana Jones movie follows the film closely, and is loaded with attractive digitized images of Harrison Ford and the rest of the cast.  Fans of Indy's adventures will be impressed... but gamers won't be won over so easily.  There's a diverse selection of action scenes, but most suffer from awkward animation and frustrating levels.

Ubisoft/NMS

December 1993

Action

1 Player

Ubi Soft's limp adaptation of The Last Crusade traps Indy in a dimly lit cavern without his trusty whip.  You're forced to frequently collect torches if you want to see where you're going.  However, Dr. Jones and his adversaries emit a strange orange glow that makes them visible at all times, even if their immediate surroundings are not.  Spooky!

Mindscape/Tengen

December 1988

Action

1 Player

It's not just based on a movie... it's also based on an arcade game!  The Temple of Doom casts you as Indiana Jones, on a mission to save kids held hostage in a mineshaft.  Finding the kids is easy... it's surviving the traps, the lava, and the perilous mine cart rides that's tough.  Sadly, rough graphics and a confusing perspective make this less exciting than it sounds.

Mindscape/Gray

January 1990

Flight Sim/Action

1 Player

Perhaps Chris Gray was asking too much of the NES when he designed this helicopter combat simulation.  You're so overwhelmed with options that it'll take you five minutes just to figure out how to leave the ground!  Things only get more complicated from there, making the humorous dialogue a welcome respite from the frustration of learning to play the game.

SNK

July 1988

Shooter

1 Player

Because it's so much fun to drive the tanks in Ikari Warriors, SNK decided to make a shooter where you never have to leave one.  Of course, since you've always got a tank of your own, so do most of your enemies... and you don't even want to know what the bosses are driving!  Iron Tank is a solid military shooter, compensating for its slow pace with crisp graphics.

NTVIC/Vap

February 1991

Shooter

1 Player

Nothing brings video game artwork to life like an isometric perspective.  It adds depth to characters and their surroundings, and it's what makes Isolated Warrior one of the best looking shooters on the NES.  Of course, a slanted view of the action also makes the location of your enemies more ambiguous.  This makes Isolated Warrior less fun to play than it is to watch.

Tradewest/Rare

April 1990

Racing

1-4 Players

It's a slow racing game, but an accurate arcade translation... so I guess it all works out in the end.  Super Off-Road drops you and three other racers on a series of dirt tracks full of jaw-rattling bumps and holes.  When the going gets tough, the tough get their trucks going with a blast of nitro.  To ensure victory, you can purchase costly accessories after every race.