Dr. Doom's Revenge

"The Hardest and Most Unheard of Marvel Game of All-Time...WHY?"

With the current healthy resurgence the popularity of comic book characters (at the time of this review, X-Men was a major hit and the Spider-Man film was not yet released), all things Marvel and otherwise are beginning to go up in value and demand. Wolverine's first appearance, once a mere $30.00 for a decent copy, is now an astronomical $400.00.

But why, in this day in age, is there a computer game based on Marvel characters that is as unappreciated today as much as it was 10 years ago on its release?

That game, my friends, is Dr. Doom's Revenge.

Released circa 1991 for multiple computer platforms (of which I own and enjoy the Amiga version) has a plot outlined in a comic book included with the game. However, for those completely unfamiliar with the game (or, like me, you got an official bought copy of the game with the comic book 'conveniently' left out), allow me to explain. Dr. Doom, one of Marvel's most influential supervillains, has decided he has had enough of democracy and plans to launch a nuclear missile at New York, hoping to demoralize the United States enough to surrender to his will. The Army, in typical comic book fashion, is helpless to stop him.

But America is not without hope. Enter not one, but two heroes to save the day: Super-Patriot Captain America (remember him, kiddies?) and Web-Slinging Spider-Man. Both are enlisted by the U.S. to stop Doom and his vile plans before it is too late for us all. Each takes a separate mission route: Spider-Man enters Doom's castle through secrecy and tries to disarm the nuclear warhead. The Cap takes it upon himself to go through the front door and eventually duke it out with the evil Doom himself. Win, and Doom is stopped. Lose, and you're treated to a scene every American fears: New York bombed to smithereens.

Dr. Doom's Revenge lays itself out in a way quite unique to games of this type. Gameplay alternates between the two superheroes (finally, a game where you play both guys at once instead of picking one path or the other!), starting with Captain America. The first thing that shows up after the intro is what appears to be panels of a comic book, except that while the first panel shows Captain America engaged in battle, the rest are blank. From this screen, you are warped to a Street-Fighter-esque battle scene, where you take direct control of the Cap in a one-on-one battle with a villain of some sort. With a multitude of battle techniques that put Capcom to shame, you duel with an enemy to the death. If you win, the game takes you back to the comic book page, with some of those empty panels filled in with your triumphant victory over the enemy. If you lose, the game ends. You fight with Captain America until the 'page' is filled, at which point a new page allows you control of Spider-Man.

As you progress, expect to see numerous notable Marvel villains, such as the Rhino, Electro, and Boomerang crop up to give you trouble, along with a few extra problems such as sentry robots and side-scrolling 'traps' (action sequences where you must jump or roll over various obstacles).

GRAPHICS: 9
This game was made for a variety of computer platforms (Amiga, IBM, and C-64 to name a few), but the Amiga really shined in the graphics department. Not only are the graphical comic book page interludes beautifully rendered, but the sprites used for the characters in-fight are big and faithful renditions of their paper counterparts. The Rhino in particular is very intimidating, as he is at least twice as big as you are. There are some notable differences between versions, as are outlined in the game addendum (IBM owners see every comic panel at once, for instance, and the Amiga replaces one of the villains. Who is it, you ask? I won't say, but you probably never heard of him anyway).

SOUND: 7
The intro and ending music is a bit odd for a comic book game (the choices just don't seem right). No other music in-game. The sound-effects are great, though. The villain Machete (Hands up those of you who remember him? None of you? Ah, good!) throws sawblades from a distance, which make a less than heartening (but very effective) sound as they spin rather quickly towards you. The only truly 'weak' sound effect that comes to mind is the sound your character makes when hit, a quick ''Uh!'' sound.

CONTROLS: 6
A compromise score, I'm afraid. An 8 for the sheer variety of moves your character can pull off (everything from shield-tossing and jump-kicking to web-shooting and gut-punching), but a 5 for the ability to execute them. Oh, the moves are easy to do, but the game has a slight delay in pulling off the move, making it all the much easier for a villain to sneak in that one move. Because of the reach it gives you, you'll most likely be throwing your shield or firing web blasts.

GAMEPLAY: 8
The game is a blast to play, save for two things: slightly cruddy control and an extremely high difficulty rating. Why so difficult, you ask? Well, imagine that the game is one, gigantic survival match. When you get hit by an enemy, your health goes down (obviously). However, your energy level does not go back up after you win. Only by completing a 'trap' successfully do you gain back a needed (but small) amount of health. This makes the game increasingly difficult further in, as you'll constantly be battling harder and harder foes at full health while yours remains the same.

Another setback in the difficulty department is unfortunately attributed to Spider-Man. In order to add some realism (Realism? In a comic book?), Spidey is only given a limited supply of health-damaging web blasts. Since these are Spideys most effective weapon, it seems rather harsh to limit them, mostly in part that his foes are harder than the Cap's. Ah, well, at least it's realistic, right? But, Spidey does have the advantages of hanging from the ceiling, avoiding enemy attacks completely.

In all, although the game is exceptionally difficult (as are many Amiga games, in fact), if you can find it anywhere, it might be worth taking a look. It wasn't much appreciated in its own time, but who knows, now that comics are coming back? If only it were Wolverine's first gaming appearance...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/01/01, Updated 09/01/01