G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor (NES, 1992)
Graphics-8 Sound-8 Control-7 Challenge-8 Story-5.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-7 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7
+
Basic leveling system (upgradeable HP (three times - collect the badges/ID cards), upgrade either your unarmed or weapon attack up to 4 times by collecting Pow symbols - upgrading unarmed gives you new moves when attacking, -ii- the machine gun gives you a spread beam, etc.)
Character selection screen between levels (rescue characters over the course of the game) - can go in alone or send up to three characters to switch between on the fly via the menu (pick "Decide" - can choose all three team members here instead of two in the prequel)
Most characters have a special ability which lets you explore more of the levels (need to check the manual; Wet Suit can dive underwater in some levels without taking damage, Road Block can crawl through narrow paths, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes can jump higher) and most have different max jump heights as well as max HP stats
You can also call in one support char during a level using the radio consumable item (this is used for either a life restore, ammo restore or revival of a dead char)
Pretty detailed sprites
Some large sprites
Mini-bosses
Spinning orb power up (damages enemies)
Decent cutscenes (somewhat improved overall)
Can try out all rescued characters' moves between levels (can't move around and simulate attacking enemies though)
Password save (kinda long...)
Some hidden items
Basic melee attack combos (Golden Axe?)
Pretty good main bosses
Some added strategy in which characters and weapons you choose to upgrade as you can't quite max everything out
+/-
Dash move and downstab as shadow storm (however while the dash can let you go through enemies if you attack at the same time you can't cancel it nor jump out of it like in MMX, the downstab makes you take damage if the enemy you use it on doesn't die in one hit)
Difficulty options are unlocked via passwords
Jumping is faster than walking
Perma-death on chars?
Can't see mini-bosses' health
Various items aren't explained in-game
Levels are timed (4 mins which seems more than enough for more linear levels, however the 7 mins for the maze levels is barely enough - if you miss one bomb spot/hostage and have to backtrack you'll likely run out)
Rescued characters start with low levels
Shared ammo between the chars
Some maze levels where you set bombs like in the prequel or rescue hostages
Restart from the beginning of the level if one char is wounded/defeated (better to switch before it happens as mini-bosses are also revived)
Lose your items (radio, orb) when using a continue
The laser gun is overpowered if you get it early and upgrade it
Can't grind for resources if you wasted too much before the last levels
-
Some control issues (switching and using items is a bit akward (select+up to switch, select+down to use), very loose vertical scrolling, jump kicks make you unable to steer your jump, the minimum jump height is kinda high), very annoying how enemy drops bounce away from you quickly (especially since enemies respawn immediately when moving backwards in a level and the respawned enemies don't drop anything, you also want to stop and think about who to give an upgrade to which is sometimes impossible) - it would've been much better if you could redistribute stat points in the menu or between levels
Trial & error (can't move backwards in the second to last level, complex where snake eyes is being held - fairly easy to take the wrong path and run out of time here, difficulty spike at the Destro fight unless you upgraded the laser or a later weapon and saved up on ammo - takes very long to take out in melee (same with the final boss), can't switch to a gun if you have no ammo for it which means you can't upgrade it, road black doesn't seem to get knocked back safely like other chars when using an upgraded jump attack, some objects explode when hit, not enough ammo nor hp is given in the levels where you constantly get attacked by airships so you should scout ahead and reload to avoid difficulty spikes since you can't exit a level mid-way, it is apparently better to attack a shot missile in melee than to shoot it, leaps of faith, boss patterns, how to build your chars, some enemies don't get knocked back/stunned while others do, )
No reward from the second mini-boss (leftmost/upper path) and the enemies after him don't drop anything either so it's basically two bosses in a row
Very tough bosses even early on (unavoidable damage from the hammer guys? the whip guys are even worse)
Mostly short and linear levels (some of these have an upper and lower path at least)
Some level layouts and mini-bosses are repeated
The support char animation looks pretty silly
Some slowdown
No usable vehicles here (flight machine, wallcrawler, walker - see the prequel; they only appear as enemies here)
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-7 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7
+
Basic leveling system (upgradeable HP (three times - collect the badges/ID cards), upgrade either your unarmed or weapon attack up to 4 times by collecting Pow symbols - upgrading unarmed gives you new moves when attacking, -ii- the machine gun gives you a spread beam, etc.)
Character selection screen between levels (rescue characters over the course of the game) - can go in alone or send up to three characters to switch between on the fly via the menu (pick "Decide" - can choose all three team members here instead of two in the prequel)
Most characters have a special ability which lets you explore more of the levels (need to check the manual; Wet Suit can dive underwater in some levels without taking damage, Road Block can crawl through narrow paths, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes can jump higher) and most have different max jump heights as well as max HP stats
You can also call in one support char during a level using the radio consumable item (this is used for either a life restore, ammo restore or revival of a dead char)
Pretty detailed sprites
Some large sprites
Mini-bosses
Spinning orb power up (damages enemies)
Decent cutscenes (somewhat improved overall)
Can try out all rescued characters' moves between levels (can't move around and simulate attacking enemies though)
Password save (kinda long...)
Some hidden items
Basic melee attack combos (Golden Axe?)
Pretty good main bosses
Some added strategy in which characters and weapons you choose to upgrade as you can't quite max everything out
+/-
Dash move and downstab as shadow storm (however while the dash can let you go through enemies if you attack at the same time you can't cancel it nor jump out of it like in MMX, the downstab makes you take damage if the enemy you use it on doesn't die in one hit)
Difficulty options are unlocked via passwords
Jumping is faster than walking
Perma-death on chars?
Can't see mini-bosses' health
Various items aren't explained in-game
Levels are timed (4 mins which seems more than enough for more linear levels, however the 7 mins for the maze levels is barely enough - if you miss one bomb spot/hostage and have to backtrack you'll likely run out)
Rescued characters start with low levels
Shared ammo between the chars
Some maze levels where you set bombs like in the prequel or rescue hostages
Restart from the beginning of the level if one char is wounded/defeated (better to switch before it happens as mini-bosses are also revived)
Lose your items (radio, orb) when using a continue
The laser gun is overpowered if you get it early and upgrade it
Can't grind for resources if you wasted too much before the last levels
-
Some control issues (switching and using items is a bit akward (select+up to switch, select+down to use), very loose vertical scrolling, jump kicks make you unable to steer your jump, the minimum jump height is kinda high), very annoying how enemy drops bounce away from you quickly (especially since enemies respawn immediately when moving backwards in a level and the respawned enemies don't drop anything, you also want to stop and think about who to give an upgrade to which is sometimes impossible) - it would've been much better if you could redistribute stat points in the menu or between levels
Trial & error (can't move backwards in the second to last level, complex where snake eyes is being held - fairly easy to take the wrong path and run out of time here, difficulty spike at the Destro fight unless you upgraded the laser or a later weapon and saved up on ammo - takes very long to take out in melee (same with the final boss), can't switch to a gun if you have no ammo for it which means you can't upgrade it, road black doesn't seem to get knocked back safely like other chars when using an upgraded jump attack, some objects explode when hit, not enough ammo nor hp is given in the levels where you constantly get attacked by airships so you should scout ahead and reload to avoid difficulty spikes since you can't exit a level mid-way, it is apparently better to attack a shot missile in melee than to shoot it, leaps of faith, boss patterns, how to build your chars, some enemies don't get knocked back/stunned while others do, )
No reward from the second mini-boss (leftmost/upper path) and the enemies after him don't drop anything either so it's basically two bosses in a row
Very tough bosses even early on (unavoidable damage from the hammer guys? the whip guys are even worse)
Mostly short and linear levels (some of these have an upper and lower path at least)
Some level layouts and mini-bosses are repeated
The support char animation looks pretty silly
Some slowdown
No usable vehicles here (flight machine, wallcrawler, walker - see the prequel; they only appear as enemies here)