G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (NES, 1991)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7 Control-6.5 Challenge-7 Story-5.5
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
+
Password save (one per mission, 2-3 sub levels per mission)
Six different playable characters (choose between three to switch between on the fly during a mission (need to pause though), sixth char/captain hawk is only available in the final mission)
Shoot while moving
Very good bosses overall (some with 2 phases)
Pretty good variety in some ways (bosses, enemies)
Vehicles in some levels (helictoper, crawler (works like the ball in Metroid 2)) - these have unlimited ammo
Upgradeable weapons (spread and more damage) and lifebars
Hidden paths (breakable walls)
Cutscenes between missions and even sub levels
Temporary invincibility power ups (can't save them for later though)
+/-
No life refill after bosses
Press Select to switch between melee and ranged weapon (game would've benefited from more buttons so you could swap characters without going into the menu)
Ammo-based ranged weapons (except for snake eyes'?)
Time limits (pretty lenient)
Life drops are fairly rare later on but refill all health
Walk in water without taking damage or dying (no effect on movement either)
Jump to shoot downwards
No female chars
Somewhat slow falling speed when jumping (can be good and bad)
Optional grenade attack if you press up and attack while in melee mode (poor aim unfortunately so it's only good vs. a few enemy types)
Climbing (pretty stiff, ninja gaiden 1-style)
Rock 'n Roll's weapon is a bit overpowered (he also takes a lot of damage from enemy attacks though)
-
Shared ammo (it does refill to 150 after each sub level though)
Can't shoot up/down or backwards while climbing
No dodge move
A bit slow paced and repetitive (can't run, the bomb planting missions, lacking ammo in some parts makes them a lot slower)
Lacking mission briefings and you can't review them
Need to press a button combo to enter doors, no maps (mostly small levels though)
Some cheap hits (boulder boss and the vertical level after him (can't look up/down), hawk guy boss)
Trial & error (can't choose team leader, boss patterns, some surprise enemy attacks)
Life is wasted if the character picking it up is at full health (isn't distributed to damaged team members)
Sometimes poor color choices
Very similar character abilities overall (snake eyes jumps higher and has a wider melee attack, mini-gunner/rock & roll has a strong ranged weapon with spread, general hawk has a jet pack)
Can't move while crouching (character starts walking instead like in Contra)
Blizzard is underpowered at full level
Enemy drops bounce away and disappear when leaving the screen
Some in-game graphics cutscenes look so-so
Poor jump animation when targeting upwards
Can't see bosses' lifebars
Sometimes uneven difficulty (some easy bosses, some areas lack specific power ups like ammo or health)
Some slowdown and flicker
Mostly generic looking environments
The music resets every time you plant a bomb
Easy final boss (playing as general hawk)
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
+
Password save (one per mission, 2-3 sub levels per mission)
Six different playable characters (choose between three to switch between on the fly during a mission (need to pause though), sixth char/captain hawk is only available in the final mission)
Shoot while moving
Very good bosses overall (some with 2 phases)
Pretty good variety in some ways (bosses, enemies)
Vehicles in some levels (helictoper, crawler (works like the ball in Metroid 2)) - these have unlimited ammo
Upgradeable weapons (spread and more damage) and lifebars
Hidden paths (breakable walls)
Cutscenes between missions and even sub levels
Temporary invincibility power ups (can't save them for later though)
+/-
No life refill after bosses
Press Select to switch between melee and ranged weapon (game would've benefited from more buttons so you could swap characters without going into the menu)
Ammo-based ranged weapons (except for snake eyes'?)
Time limits (pretty lenient)
Life drops are fairly rare later on but refill all health
Walk in water without taking damage or dying (no effect on movement either)
Jump to shoot downwards
No female chars
Somewhat slow falling speed when jumping (can be good and bad)
Optional grenade attack if you press up and attack while in melee mode (poor aim unfortunately so it's only good vs. a few enemy types)
Climbing (pretty stiff, ninja gaiden 1-style)
Rock 'n Roll's weapon is a bit overpowered (he also takes a lot of damage from enemy attacks though)
-
Shared ammo (it does refill to 150 after each sub level though)
Can't shoot up/down or backwards while climbing
No dodge move
A bit slow paced and repetitive (can't run, the bomb planting missions, lacking ammo in some parts makes them a lot slower)
Lacking mission briefings and you can't review them
Need to press a button combo to enter doors, no maps (mostly small levels though)
Some cheap hits (boulder boss and the vertical level after him (can't look up/down), hawk guy boss)
Trial & error (can't choose team leader, boss patterns, some surprise enemy attacks)
Life is wasted if the character picking it up is at full health (isn't distributed to damaged team members)
Sometimes poor color choices
Very similar character abilities overall (snake eyes jumps higher and has a wider melee attack, mini-gunner/rock & roll has a strong ranged weapon with spread, general hawk has a jet pack)
Can't move while crouching (character starts walking instead like in Contra)
Blizzard is underpowered at full level
Enemy drops bounce away and disappear when leaving the screen
Some in-game graphics cutscenes look so-so
Poor jump animation when targeting upwards
Can't see bosses' lifebars
Sometimes uneven difficulty (some easy bosses, some areas lack specific power ups like ammo or health)
Some slowdown and flicker
Mostly generic looking environments
The music resets every time you plant a bomb
Easy final boss (playing as general hawk)