G.I. Joe

"Blah..."

I remember days of playing with the little G.I. Joe figures and creating little wars in which everyone was fried to death with hair spray and a lighter. Then I came across this title on the NES, and decided that I would take a look and see if it was as much fun as the little wars that I used to have, only to find that it didn’t quite hit the mark! Featuring some of the better known characters from the Joe world, you must stop the evil forces of Cobra and save the world from a terrorist plot. Even though the game really isn’t any different that the rest of the action genre that the NES has to offer, there are instances of fun and excitement, even though they are short lived. If you’re a fan of the Joe world, watched the cartoons and saw the animated movie, then you’ll find that this game is up your alley. However, if you’re looking for a game that has depth and moderate challenge, then you’re looking at something that doesn’t hit the mark and is rather a fill in for games such as Ghosts and Goblins!

The game play is your standard side scrolling action game in which you take control of one of the Joe team and try to stop the forces of Cobra from some fiendish plot. The story line is so overdone that you really don’t pay attention to it while the action is going on during the game. However, the action here is more or less being able to get through the various stages while going up against boss characters, and keeping your team alive! When I say team, you have control of five characters, each of them with their own strengths and apparent weaknesses {even though I can’t find them} and you’ll find that the game is about as hard as you make it depending on how you tackle the stages. The game stages really don’t have any other mission to them other than make it from one end of the stage to the other, and the enemies that you encounter throughout are nothing more than pop up and shoot them. There are power ups scattered throughout the stages, and once you’ve collected enough for one particular character, then he becomes a badass killing machine and you don’t have to worry about getting iced for the rest of the game! I’m not sure about the rest of you, but this seems like something that is way too easy to accomplish through successful exploration and you’ll find that there is nothing more than generic action thrown in as an after thought.

Controlling your characters takes little more than some practice and patience with the NES controller. You attack with one button and jump with another, with nothing special that you have to do throughout the game! As far as action games go, you won’t have anything too complicated that you have to figure out or perform, but you’ll find that the game also lacks some sort of specialty that action games need to separate them apart from one another. You’ll find that jumping and maneuvering the game throughout the stages can be a test in patience with the Ghost Control that the NES offers up. This is a common element of problems with the interface, and although it doesn’t appear constantly, it appears enough in the wrong places to make you take notice.

Visually, the game is flat and lacks the amount of visual detailing that you would expect out of a good action game. Giving the NES some credit, you’ll find that the stages are expansive, although slightly less detailed, and the characters seem to have some difference between them. However, you’ll find that the game has a color scheme that is hard on the eyes, and really doesn’t do the game justice in the way that the characters you use, and the enemies you fight against, look! This is something that will stick in a gamers mind if they are looking for a good action, and even though the game features some of the better known characters in the Joe world, it just doesn’t do the series any sort of justice. In some cases, there is noticeable slow down and image break up, so be prepared for that when the action becomes a little too intense for the NES hardware to handle.

Audio wise, the game fails in trying to deliver the feeling of action and adventure by leaving you with audio tracks that really don’t variate from the original theme. Although this is an example of a second generation NES game, there is still plenty to be said for giving the gamer something a little more than generic action music! The audio effects also fall to the wayside with the generic gunshots and explosions, so you’re really not hearing anything that you haven’t heard before. If you throw all of this together, you’ll find that the game doesn’t offer much other than the standard, and in my own view, doesn’t give me the ability to truly experience the world of GI Joe.

Overall, this is a standard action game that doesn’t offer much to the gamer other than a different set of characters. There are some different aspects of the game that allow you some variation from the norm, but they are so few and far between that you’ll probably miss them your first time through! The control needs work, as well as the dulled visuals and uninspired audio to make for a rather average game that doesn’t leave you with anything that you’ll remember five minutes after the game has been shut off. If you’re a fan of the GI Joe series, then you’ll find that this game is a massacre of the theme, and if you’re an action gamer, it’s nothing that you haven’t played before and won’t play again. Collectors should be wary of picking up this title, but if you’re into collection games and you already have Atlantis Factor, then you might as well pick this one up to add to the pile as well!

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/01, Updated 12/13/01