In case you ever wondered whatever happened to the old NBA Jam, it apparently degenerated into a mess called NBA Hang Time. The box description sounds good, promising five-man rosters, new moves, create-a-player, and codes galore. Sure enough, you get the same arcade-style, turbo-charged, above-the-rim brand of arcade basketball. As in NBA Jam, chaos and razzle-dazzle reign supreme. Expect plenty of acrobatic slam-dunks but don't expect any foul calls. New moves include an alley-oop, a spin move, and a very unnecessary "double dunk". Following on the heels of a great-looking game like NBA Jam, who would have suspected NBA Hang Time would suffer from such shoddy graphics!? The players are poorly proportioned and their heads look stretched out! All players look the same size, and that's no good because you usually want your small guard to take the three-point shots and have your big guy guard the rim. Worse yet, players suffer from unsightly pixelation, especially when crowded together. At times it's hard to tell if the ball passed through the net, and I've witnessed shots counted as threes that were clearly inside the arc. The player pictures only bear a passing resemblance to the actual players. That's too bad because Hang Time contains a lot of old favorites like Tim Hardaway, Dennis Rodman, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, Gary Payton, and Vlade Divac. The audio is limited to generic beats and a repetitive commentator. Even the controls are hard to get used to! When playing with the CPU, you only control one of your two players (no swap mode). I guess the lone highlight of the game is the rooftop court which includes a fantastic night time city skyline. Sadly, you need to enter a code to enable that. Apparently Hang Time was released when "secret codes" were all the rage. I really wish the developers had focused their attention on the game instead! © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.

When my friend Eric and I saw the first screen shots of NBA Jam in a magazine back in 1993, we thought it was the dumbest game ever. The players were soaring ten feet over the rim and performing preposterous slam-dunks. After reading several enthusiastic reviews however, I broke down and bought the game anyway. That turned out to be a major milestone in my game-playing career, because NBA Jam quickly became the premiere sports game of its time. On the very first day I bought this my friends Eric and Tuan played it for six hours straight. This SNES version is an impressive translation of the popular arcade game, with the same crisp graphics, fluid animation, responsive controls, catchy music, and clear sound effects. Jam offered a degree of speed and non-stop action you didn't often see in sports games of the time. At its core, NBA Jam is a two-on-two dunk-fest with no rules. On offense you can shoot, throw elbows to keep defenders at bay, execute bullet passes. and easily perform death-defying dunks. On defense you can steal and block, but the gameplay definitely favors the offense. It's so easy to score that games tend to be back-and-forth affairs, although executing a key steal or block can really effectively turn the tide. One effective maneuver is to fake a jumper to draw in the defense, and then pass the ball to the open man under the basket at the last second. Each player has a certain amount of "turbo power" that adds speed and enhances the dunks. Players that sink three shots in a row become "on fire" and are nearly unstoppable until the opposing team scores again. NBA Jam does have a few minor flaws. The turbo is so plentiful that you can practically use it during the entire game, and blocking shots is nearly impossible. Non-dunking players such as John Stockton can slam, destroying what little realism there is. Lastly, the computer has the annoying habit of making full court, last second shots at the end of each half. Two marquee players represent each NBA team, and since the game was made during NBA's "golden age", you get many all-time greats like David Robinson, Karl Malone, Scotty Pippen, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, and Clyde Drexler (sorry, no Michael Jordan). Records are saved using a password system. NBA Jam enjoyed a string of sequels, and its frantic, smash-mouth style of play singlehandedly created a new genre of "extreme" sports games. © Copyright 2004 The Video Game Critic.

After the ill-advised debacle that was NHL '95 (SNES, 1994), NHL '96 tried to get the series back on track. The pacing is still fast and furious, but at least there's some semblance of control. When you fire up the cartridge you're greeted with that annoying "Yall' Ready For This" song. I wonder how much money EA spent to license that? The biggest selling point for NHL '96 is probably its new moves assigned to the shoulder buttons. Now you can stop on a dime, perform a nifty "spin-o-rama" maneuver, or lay down to block a shot on defense. These can be useful - if you can remember you have them! I rarely do. The new fighting system looks pretty cool until the winner starts jumping up and down like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. NHL 96's player models are much improved and the checking animations are satisfying. It's quite fun to lay out several unsuspecting players on the opposing team - especially after the buzzer sounds. When a player gets injured he looks like a twitching bug sprawled out on the ice. The action unfolds quickly, and it's easier to transport the puck up the ice by yourself as opposed to passing it. Executing a centering pass is no problem, but there's never anybody there to receive it! Scoring is tough, unless you are the CPU, who seems to score at will. The season mode contains a pretty elaborate Stanley Cup red carpet ceremony if you make it that far. Excellent audio effects include realistic player grunts and a scraping sound when you change directions with your skates. I'm not crazy about the voice that announces the teams and intermissions though; he sounds more like a dull programmer than a commentator. Arcade fans will enjoy the pacing of NHL 96, but it's not in the same league as NHL '94 (SNES, 1993). © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.

It was largely overlooked in its time of release, but Ninja Warriors is like a slice of 16-bit heaven in 2013. This side-scrolling brawler offers three playable cyborgs, each of which has its own attack style, providing a unique experience. The first character, "Ninja", uses brute force to throw enemies around like rag dolls. Kunoichi is a babe decked out in red who specializes in quick, agile attacks. Kamaitachi is a warrior with metal blades for hands who prefers a slice-and-dice approach. The stages mainly consist of city ruins and industrial facilities, but later stages offer some colorful skylines. The scenery isn't very memorable but the degree of detail is commendable. I just wish certain stages didn't rain bombs, because that got on my nerves. Unlike Streets of Rage (Genesis, 1991) or Final Fight (SNES, 1991), the action takes place on a single plane, saving you the trouble of "lining up" with enemies. You'll face soldiers, robots, martial artists, and monkeys that look extra creepy because they're decked out in little uniforms. As is often the case in games like this, enemies have a tendency to linger off the edge of the screen. I like how you can throw large objects like computers, safes, and even motorcycles. Hazards include giant fans that turn on and off at timed intervals, but since the violence is minimal you don't have the pleasure of watching enemy soldiers getting splattered. Hidden moves add some depth to the repetitive fighting action, and a "blaster" meter lets you charge up smart bombs. Ninja Warriors has the look and feel of an arcade game, complete with the high score displayed on the top of the title screen. The music has a Street of Rage flavor, and that's quite a complement. Ninja Warriors may follow the typical fighting formula, but sometimes that's exactly what you want. © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.

Video games have taught us all that there's only one effective way to keep the peace, and that's by beating the living [expletive] out of anything that moves! This side-scrolling brawler is the third entry of a trilogy that began with Rival Turf (1992) and continued with Brawl Brothers (1993). Although parts of the game feel uninspired and recycled, there's more to Peacekeepers than meets the eye. The opening text crawl describes how a company rose to power "through the damage and ignorance of the economic wars of 2011". That's soon followed by my favorite line: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts better than expected." How wise that is! Anyway, the Peacekeepers are four playable characters including a white guy (Flynn), a black dude (Al), a wrestler (Prokop) and a chick (Echo). Echo is probably the best all-around fighter because her quickness allows her to sneak in extra attacks and evade enemy holds. You can switch fighters between stages, and can actually unlock new playable characters along the way. The first thing you'll notice when playing Peacekeepers is the complete lack of music. All you hear is background noise like the droning of machines in a factory. The game can be uncomfortably quiet at times - especially while creeping through the sewers. The stages lack imagination and some have even been lifted directly from Brawl Brothers. There's a street stage named "Snake Pliskin Ave" which I find hilarious for some reason. The control scheme has more depth than your garden-variety fighter. Besides your normal attack you also get power and dash attacks. You can block and even execute a "reverse" if your timing is right. It's too bad they didn't incorporate a few team-oriented moves. Limited special attacks include wielding lightning (Flynn) or unleashing an ear-splitting scream (Echo). Digitized photos are used in cut-scenes, and it's funny how they reuse the same Asian guy for multiple evil scientists. What I like best about Peacekeepers is its branching paths which take you to different areas each time you play. This increases the replay value substantially. You get 12 continues, and that turns out to be a very good number for a game like this. Peacekeepers doesn't make the best first impression, but my wife said she would play this again, and that's a ringing endorsement. © Copyright 2011 The Video Game Critic.

Unlike the Genesis version, the SNES Pirates of Dark Water is a side-scrolling brawler along the lines of Final Fight (Capcom, 1991). This game is formulamatic to the max but at least it's well programmed. One or two players select between three characters: a dude, a girl, and some big ugly bastard named Ioz (my favorite). The opening stage is set on colorful cliffs with pterodactyls gliding over the sea. Later stages include an underground river, a dead forest, and a quaint village. The scenery is highly repetitive and so is the fighting. You're attacked by the same barbarians over and over sporting imaginative names like "big pirate", "tall pirate", and "lady pirate". I like how that tall pirate waves his sword over his head before striking down with it. That "tattoo man" is annoying because he blocks everything. Your variety of attacks is the only thing keeping the action vaguely interesting. You can execute combination punches, jump-kicks, charge moves, and special moves. Throws play a major role as well. You can grab just about any enemy and slam them into the ground, toss them into others, or fling them into pits. Some stages incorporate traps that enemies walk into, but it's not clear whether they're sustaining damage. In terms of audio Pirates of Dark Water truly kicks ass. The music is edgy and the sound effects pack a wallop. When Ioz strikes down with his sword it's pretty devastating! Pirates is enjoyable for a while but the easy difficulty, endless stages, and overly-generous extra lives take their toll on the fun factor. Like similar games, you'll spend a lot of time swinging at the margins of the screen, whacking enemies before they can even enter. Even on the "hard" difficulty you'll breeze through this game, and you won't even need the five continues. Pirates of Dark Water had potential, but it doesn't test your skill so much as it does your wrist and attention span. © Copyright 2016 The Video Game Critic.

In the early 90's I found myself caught up in the throes of fighting game mania. I was desperate to buy any new fighter I could get my hands on, and Pit-Fighter (Genesis, 1990) was one of those impulse buys. My friends were not very impressed but I enjoyed its easy-to-play arcade style. You select between three fighters (Buzz, Ty, Kato) in some kind of sleazy underground fight club with a bloodthirsty crowd. Since I liked the Genesis game I decided to give this SNES edition a shot. I figured sharper graphics, clearer audio, and extra buttons might add something to the experience. I was dead wrong. I don't know where to begin with this debacle of a game. I guess I should start with the fact that it has zero options! Not even a sound test for crying out loud! You just hit a button and the character selection screen pops up. The controls for selecting a character are ass-backwards to say the least. The graphics look sharper than the Genesis, but only serve to emphasize how blocky and poorly-animated the digitized characters are. It's hard to tell what's happening as the fighters cavort with each other, often falling down without even making contact. The controls feel unresponsive and the collision detection is horrific. One time I scored a perfect zero because I couldn't even get off a punch. Instead of health bars there are numbers that count down as fighters take damage. And where is the lady in the black outfit who tries to stab you in the back with a knife? I miss that crazy woman. After defeating an enemy and progressing to the next level, your life meter doesn't even replenish! How are you supposed to make progress?! The final insult is when your life goes to zero and "game over" appears. That's right - you get a single life and no continues. Wow. The Genesis version of Pit Fighter served its purpose, but as far as I can tell this one has no purpose. © Copyright 2015 The Video Game Critic.

When I first saw the Primal Rage arcade machine in a local sub shop, I was awestruck. As a fan of Mortal Kombat and Ray Harryhausen movies, the concept of stop-motion, clay-mation dinosaurs fighting really blew my mind. It's a wonderful premise that doesn't play as good as it looks. How could it? The creatures include two T-Rexes (Sauron, Diablo), two giant apes (Blizzard, Chaos), a horned dinosaur (Armagon), a raptor (Talon), and a cobra-like creature (Vertigo). The one-on-one fighting action doesn't stray far from the Mortal Kombat formula as creatures execute combos, special moves, and fatalities. Combo percentages are displayed on the screen, which was a first for its time. Primal Rage seems pretty shallow until you get a few special moves under your belt. Diablo breathes fire, Blizzard can freeze an enemy in place, and Armagon can flip his opponent into the air. I love that beating heart at the end of your life bar which bursts into a bloody mess when you lose. In 1995 I opted for this SNES edition (over the Genesis), but felt lukewarm about it. The characters are smaller than the arcade and the animation is slower. The hits lack impact and the blood looks ridiculous. Diablo was noticeably smaller than Sauron in the arcade, but here they're pretty much the same size. The animation could be smoother and the "iffy" collision detection registers some hits that aren't even close. The SNES controller has the ideal four-button layout for the game, but special moves are still hard to execute. The act of eating a native spectator (to regain life) is so complicated that it's not worth the effort. The post-apocalyptic backdrops look good but aren't quite as awe-inspiring as the arcade. The music is sparse but there are some memorable audio effects. I'll give this version a little extra credit for its glossy manual which has a lot of fun illustrations (and a hot babe on page 18). Primal Rage may not have been all it was cracked up to be, but I'm still intrigued by the concept. © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.

I'll be the first to admit that my original review of Rival Turf was entirely too harsh. Evidently my bias for Streets of Rage got the best of me. Rival Turf may be a poor man's Streets of Rage, but hey - it's at least as good as the Final Fight games. The unintentionally hilarious box cover shows two young teenagers trying hard to look tough. The game itself is a generic side-scrolling brawler that lets you clash with criminal clones in different colored outfits. The predictable cast includes martial artists, skinny freaks, and the obligatory fat guys who attack with a belly flop. There's also a muscleman named Arnold who looks a lot like your favorite Terminator. You can choose between two playable characters - the brawny Oozie Nelson and the more agile Jack Flak. I would definitely recommend Jack because Oozie is just too damn slow (his bodyslams feel like slow-motion!). There aren't many weapons lying around, but occasionally you'll find a brick or rock to throw. Some enemies toss sticks of dynamite, but their explosions are awfully wimpy. Rival Turf's gameplay is uninspired but still fun thanks to responsive controls that let you easily dish out the whup-ass. Throwing one enemy into others is especially effective, and I like how they all land with an emphatic thud. Holding a shoulder button is supposed to let you run, but instead it looks like you're walking really fast. Pretty cheesy! Another odd (and annoying) aspect of the game is the pronounced delay between the time you hit an enemy and when the damage is reflected in his life meter. It can be confusing. I enjoyed most of the urban scenery (like the bus ride), but a few areas are boring (like the locker room and parking garage). You'll see some nice city skylines, but in later stages the action moves south of the border where the scenery is exceptionally bland. The mediocre audio features repetitive tunes and muffled sound effects. The two-player mode exhibits some slow-down, but the single player action is highly playable. Rival Turf is as derivative as they come, but if you're okay with that, you'll have a good time. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

In the early 90's graphic technology had advanced to the point where cartoon characters could be pretty faithfully rendered in a video game. Players were intrigued by the prospect of controlling their favorite Saturday morning personalities, and Death Valley Rally generated a lot of buzz for this reason. Heck, its screenshots looked like a freakin' TV show! The characters are rendered using large sprites, and Wile E. Coyote can be seen using all of his famous contraptions like his gliding suit, steamroller, and rocket ship. No doubt about it - this is one impressive-looking game. Sunsoft was somewhat less successful when it came to recreating the frenetic action of the cartoon. The idea is to guide the Road Runner to the end of each stage while avoiding the coyote's wacky antics and other obstacles. Flags can be gathered along the way to earn bonus points. Some stages feature long stretches that allow the Road Runner to zip around, but there's a lot more precision jumping than I expected. Even in the early stages you're often required to carefully hop between narrow platforms. The floaty jumps provide some room for error, but when the screen scrolls upwards it's hard to tell where you're about to land! The coyote enters at random intervals, and he's often hard to avoid due to his size. Locations include desert cliffs, mineshafts, construction sites, and even a space stage with a cameo from Marvin the Martian. The scenery isn't very interesting, but it's always fun to see what kind of new contraption the coyote has rigged up. Watching him meet his demise is amusing, especially when he goes into that classic free-fall sequence (ending in a puff of dust). The stages are relatively short but the lack of a password feature is glaring. Road Runner's Death Valley Rally has a lot of eye candy. Too bad it looks so much better than it plays! © Copyright 2010 The Video Game Critic.

This has to be good; it's packaged in a molded black plastic box for Pete's sake. Oh wait - the back is cardboard. So how does this Robocop Versus Terminator stack up to the Genesis version? It's a major letdown. After a cheesy comic-book style intro featuring some kid with a bowl haircut, the opening stage shows a lot of promise. The red evening city skyline looks magnificent and the thunderstorm is a nice touch. You control Robocop, whose body is surrounded by a cheesy colored outline. His clanking walk conveys a nice sense of mass but he feels a bit sluggish and doesn't easily latch onto pipes or ladders. Your oversized weapons include plasma guns and rocket launchers, and thankfully you can't run out of ammo! Enemy projectiles move very slowly that you can often outrun them. Robocop Versus Terminator packs plenty of rapid-fire shooting action, but there a lot of unnecessary annoyances. One bad guy blasts craters in the streets, and Robocop has a tendency to fall right into them! It's not a pretty sight to see Robocop defeated at the hands of a pothole! Enemies in the first stage tend to be chicks, and it doesn't feel right walking down the street pumping slugs into a bunch of screaming women. The platform jumping action feels tedious because the ledges are so narrow. And when you stand still a freakin' girder falls on your head! Who's bright idea was that? In advanced stages you contend with crawling bombs and soldiers with shields. Impressive bosses include a terminator "tank" and a pretty amazing hologram face. Compared to the Genesis game, the violence is tame. When you shoot an enemy he basically goes up in smoke. When you shoot a sniper in the window, black tar is splashed across the curtains. Robocop Versus Terminator isn't bad, but once you play the Genesis version there's no turning back. © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.

Most 16-bit baseball games tend to fall into the same generic mold but not Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball. Its intro sequence features "the Rocket" hurling a fastball to the plate and you're along for the ride. Trust me - it's awesome. Upon setting up an exhibition game the possibility dawned on me that MVP Baseball may not have secured an MLB license. Maybe it was seeing teams like the Seattle Pioneers, the Chicago Red Birds, and St. Louis Dragons. The New York Rebels even have a Confederate logo. If this was released today there would be riots in the streets! The players look generic with vaguely real-sounding names like T. Stemper, A. Huffy, and P. Griffith. The semi-realistic graphics are appealing, with a clean, well-designed pitcher-batter screen. Sometimes you might even notice the batter chewing dip or blowing a bubble. It's easy to hit the ball if you swing early, and once the ball's in play things get very interesting. Most baseball games maintain a behind-the-plate view, but MVP positions the camera behind the fielder. It absolutely makes you feel "in the game" but it takes practice to figure out where the ball is going to land! Then there's the challenge of throwing to the correct base. The throwing controls remain consistent from any angle (left for first, up for second, etc) but it's still disorienting. That said, when you throw out a runner it's remarkably satisfying. Also dramatic feature are the close-ups of runners sliding into a base. Not only does the high angle look cool, but the runner can slide left or right to avoid the tag! If there's one visual disappointment it's the home runs. The fielder angle doesn't even allow you to see the ball going into the stands. The baserunning is complicated; I counted 13 different button combinations in the manual dedicated to controlling runners. Between half innings you're treated to a digitized image of a ballpark, which would be neat if it weren't always the same ballpark. MVP Baseball has a steep learning curve but wrangling with the controls is part of the fun. The first time I played I gave up ten runs in the first inning but only one in the second. I'd recommend shutting off the annoying music via the options menu, except that leaves you playing in complete silence. Someone forgot the crowd noise! Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball is a strange bird, but that's what I like about it. For all its flaws, I'll take this over a garden-variety baseball title any day. © Copyright 2020 The Video Game Critic.

I hate getting an inferior version of a Japanese game just because the guy in charge of localization decided to change more than the language or title. Rushing Beat Ran was released as Brawl Brothers in America, and the name change is understandable. Less excusable was the decision to turn the sewer and gym stages into confusing labyrinths. You need an FAQ just to find your way out, and that's just awful. Fortunately the Brawl Brothers cartridge contains the complete Japanese version accessible via an obscure code. You hit BAXY continuously during white Jaleco screen, and when garbage appears you press Start, down three times, and Start again to bring up an options screen. Quit out of that and feast your eyes on the Rushing Beat Ran title screen! There are five playable characters including a green ninja, a blonde female, and a red dude who looks like M. Bison of Street Fighter 2 fame. The characters you don't pick are bosses, but as you defeat them they become selectable between stages. Prior to each stage you're presented with a colorful map, a la Final Fight. One thing I love about 2D brawlers is their layered illustrated scenery, and the early stages here sport a lot of interesting detail. The controls are crisp and hits are punctuated with emphatic symbols like "Spak!" and "Crash!" You get a lot of mileage out of throwing people. The only thing better than tossing goons into each other is tossing them off of moving lifts. One aspect of the game that sucks is the weapons. A bat with nails sticking out of it might be effective if only I could hit somebody with it! The bosses are pretty cheap, always grabbing you from out of nowhere. I'd recommend playing on easy just to compensate for that. The upbeat music is great and a score is displayed after each stage. Rushing Beat Run is standard beat-em-up fare, but a big step up from the tainted version we were originally served. © Copyright 2015 The Video Game Critic.