PixlBit

 

 

To be honest I don't remember much about G.I. Joe. I watched the cartoon. I'm pretty sure I had some of the action figures back in the day. What continues to stand out in my mind, however, are the PSAs and Cobra Commander. At the end of each episode there was a PSA warning kids of various dangers. Don't try to jump bikes over downed power lines. Don't give your address to strangers. If your on fire don't panic! Stop, drop, and roll. Nose bleeds? Pinch it for a few seconds. All of which was extremely useful information. Cobra Commander, despite being an evil leader hell bent on world domination, was an idiot. His often ridiculous schemes where thwarted by the Joes time and again.

Two G.I. Joe games were developed for the NES. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a side scrolling action game that was developed by KID and published by Taxan for the NES in 1991. A sequel titled G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor was released a year later. Atlantis Factor was also developed by KID, but published by Capcom instead.

The plot behind this game is simple. Cobra Command and his thugs have threatened the lives of innocents for far too long. Having gathered enough information about the location of Cobra Command's bases, the Joes initiate a direct assault in the hopes of forcing Cobra Commander out of hiding. That literally sums it up besides a few simple twists later on. Most NES games don't usually have much of a plot and this one is no exception.

It's the action that counts. By the end of this 8 bit journey expect to have traveled through the lush jungles of the Amazon. Encountered frostbite in the extreme temperatures of Antarctica. Fought through mobs of ninja snipers in New York. Navigated the treacherous Black Hills before finally reaching the last base of Cobra Command in the Sahara desert. All the while blowing away hordes of foes, occasionally hitching a ride in vehicles, leveling up, and destroying bases with nuclear bombs!

 

The inevitable sewer level.

Playable helicopters!

This boss is no match for Grid-Iron's (not pictured here) mighty fist!

 

Each Joe has a different kind of weapon. Which vary in terms of effectiveness and power. There's also grenades and a melee attack in case you run out of ammo or feel like showing off. Weapons and life bars can be leveled up by collecting power ups. Armor jackets found scattered about provide a temporary invincibility bonus. Occasionally you will encounter playable vehicles. These range from helicopters to some sort of weird clam thing that climbs all over the walls (Cobra Buzz Boar), and Mechs that can jump really high. As if your characters couldn't already jump high enough.  

Stages are split up into three sections. Initial sections feature your typical NES side scrolling action. AKA: constantly move to the right, kill everything in sight, avoid traps, survive, and reach the end. Then you have more intricate maze like levels where your required to plant bombs at certain spots on the map and perhaps fight a mini boss. Boss fights are quite numerous but shouldn't prove too troublesome. After that it's time to defeat the evil overlord of the base, get the hell out of there before time runs out, and then sit back and watch the explosions. Maybe toast some marshmellows if they're available.

At the beginning of a new stage, certain Joes are assigned as the leader, and you can choose two others to tag along. Switching back and forth between Joes that are low on life is both helpful and sometimes necessary. Characters have different stats based on stamina, jump, punch, and weapon. Duke is the most balanced character. Snake Eyes can jump absurdly high. Captain Grid-Iron's fist will demolish almost everything in sight. Rock and Roll's weapon is ridiculous once it's fully leveled up. As for Blizzard.... well, he kind of sucks. Sorry Blizzard fans.

 

A football grenade launcher? Only in 'Murica!

G.I. Joe isn't without it's quirks. For one thing, ammo is limited, and shared between characters. Could you imagine playing Contra with limited ammo? Enemies randomly drop ammo power ups upon defeat, but these power ups bounce wildly all over the screen. Falling into a pit means instant death. The ever annoying flying backwards when hit is present and that could lead to some cheap deaths. In that case say goodbye to all those levels you've painstakingly acquired. They are gone.

Infinite continues and a password system help to alleviate these annoyances. I wouldn't exactly say that this game is "NES Hard". There might be a few tough sections here and there, and it might require a little practice and patience to master, but on the whole this game is easier than other similar action games on NES.

That said, if you want to see the true ending, expect to have to beat it three times in a row. Yep. You read that right. The second time your limited to two characters, and the third... well, enemies do double damage. This kind of cheap crap pisses me off. As much as I love the NES, I'll be the first one to admit there was a TON of garbage released for it, and a TON of questionable design choices. 

 

 

My Score: (7/10)

G.I. Joe on NES is a solid action game. Despite a few annoyances, I enjoyed my time with it, and would recommend it to those that like these kinds of games. I probably wouldn't recommend going for the true ending though. Unless you just love the game or are super hardcore. If nothing else it deserves props for allowing you to destroy giant aircraft and tanks with your bare fists.

That's my opinion anyway....

Thanks for reading.