Paperboy

"A unique concept and a fun game"

Paperboy puts you in the role of just that, a paperboy, and your job is to deliver papers to the houses on your street, by throwing them on the doorstep, or even better, in the mailbox. You have a certain number of subscribers. If you miss a subscriber's house, you lose them. The game consists of seven "days", from Monday to Sunday, and these are the levels of the game. To finish the game you must have a certain number of subscribers remaining by Sunday. Each day obstacles stop you from delivering papers, including cars, dogs, angry women, breakdancers, fences, grates and tornadoes. As well, you can lose a subscriber by breaking out their window with a paper. After each level is a bonus round that lets you fly ramps and hit targets for points. There is a two player option, but play is not simultaneous.

Graphics: 7/10

Average at best. The houses look OK, but nothing else is particularly detailed.

Sound: 7/10

The sound effects are OK, but the music gets old fast.

Gameplay: 8/10

This is a pretty fun game to play. Control is decent, and simple. Your biker just steers and throws papers. The screen is always scrolling, so you can't stop. Sometimes you can't move out of the way of objects as fast as you'd like, so that's a negative. On the plus side, breaking stuff and hitting people is fun, even if it does eliminate any chance you have of finishing the game. The bonus game is not a bad addition, as is the two player mode. However, the game is not very difficult. Still, the concept is interesting.

Replay: 6/10

Not much to do a second time around.......except have some fun.

Overall: 7/10

An above average game for the NES that is also one of the most unique. Worth a rental, just on the concept alone.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99