Action 52

"52 signs that the Nintendo seal of quality was too lenient"

Action 52 blends 52 bad games into one cartridge, I don’t know what they were thinking but they blatantly released this game anyway. And the worst thing is… THERES A NINTENDO SEAL OF QUALITY ON IT! This game is garbage. Lets get down to the game now.

1.FIRE BREATHER (looks like we’re off to a bad start)
Firebreather challenges you and your friend to do close ‘1 on 1’ combat with dragons. These dragons shoot mysterious magic orbs at each other. Whenever you hit your opponent with an orb, life is taken away from them, until their life meter reaches zero. All 8 levels are pretty plain. Top down views that look over some grass here, and maybe a castle here or there. Nothing you’ll want to look at for very long. As for sound, you have the “surge” noise that comes out when you shoot an orb. This game isn’t worth playing.
1/10
2.STAREVIL: (this game has two more chances to smarten up)
Starevil is a horrible little ‘Space Invaders’ type game that challenges you to shoot all the space baddies you can. This game got on my nerves right at the start since you have to turn right or left AS SOON AS THE GAME STARTS! what the hell is up with that? That’s one life down, 4 to go. You’ll spend the next four trying to shoot all the space ships around you…fun! Well, at least there is music in this game. You get a catchy little tune and a laser gun noise. If that doesn’t amaze you… I don’t know what will! </sarcasm>
2/10
3.ILLUMINATOR: (Illuminator + Plot + Fun = Resident Evil)
Lets just hope this isn’t the basis of the Resident Evil series. This game is more fun than the first two were combined, but lack of plot and purpose really makes this game boring. AHH! The lights went out! I better shoot aimlessly, hoping there isn’t a zombie nearby. The music is pretty good, but the graphics look like something off of a Commodore 64.
3/10
4.G-FORCE FIGHTER (a side scrolling space invaders!)
This game is just plain crap. I swear anyone with the mental capacity of a three year old could get through the levels in this game. Just sit, shoot, shoot, do some more shooting. There really isn’t a point. You could say our little G-Force fighter was trying to deliver a valuable package to the planet G-spot…or something like that. NEXT!
1/10
5.OOZE: (That name doesn’t give me a very good feeling…)
In Ooze, you assume the part of a little green man. Now lets say what you see is a poor image of Luigi (our character) surrounded by little green jumping beans that shoot bubbles. But fear not! Our fearless hero has a bubble gun of his own. Basically, you just run, shoot, jump, run, shoot, jump(you get the point). By the way, you can only jump UP. No other direction, just up. I’m starting to regret buying this altogether.
1/10
6.SILVER SWORD (Zelda meets green giant)
This game will do nothing more than annoy you. The main character looks like the green giant, waddling around in a forest trying to shoot caterpillars and corn with his crossbow. They tried to add adventurous music… but they failed, just like every other game here.
1/10
7.CRITICAL BYPASS (Whoa.. this is even worse then the last game was)
Critical Bypass places you in the role of a dot… get that, a dot. Now your job is to make it to the other end of the runway, without being bombarded by meteors or Tetris blocks. You ARE armed, but its kind of hard to shoot the meteors since you they bombard you from every angle and you can only shoot them from 4 angles. The music is crap and the graphics are just sad.
1/10
8. JUPITER SCOPE: (where did that power button go?)
This game is just a joke. You take the role of a tiny little spaceship that has to keep meteors from hitting this unknown planet. It doesn’t really matter whether or not they get past you. The only thing you need worry about is your own ship. Oh… yay… that just took the difficulty out of the game.
1/10
9.ALFREDO (This game reminds me of Fade to black by Metallica)
Unfortunately, an explanation of this game cannot be offered at the moment. The game never even loaded. Guess they couldn’t afford game testers. But this game gets credit for being smart enough not to load.
3/10
10.OPERATION MOON: (Sounds like a prank a grade 4 would come up with)
There is no real point to this game either. You are a floating bathtub to the mist ships from early Final Fantasy games. Your mission… who knows! Your floating bathtub can shoot, but it does little more than destroy the sentries throughout the levels.
2/10
11.DAM BUSTERS: (What does this game have to do with dams?)
In this wonderful little game, you are a little round red guy that looks like a cross between a baby and a cat. Now your role as a red baby cat is to run around shooting tomatoes at your identical enemies while they return fire. The music is perky, but that’s not enough to save this game from certain doom.
2/10
12.THRUSTERS (Yet another space invaders clone)
What can I say? This is exactly like starevil in every way! AHHH!!!
0/10
13.HAUNTED HILL: (At least you get to be a chick)
Finally! You get to play the role of a big-breasted woman that runs around killing ghosts and goblins. She can jump, shoot and do all sorts of amazing things. But this is still a bad game.
3/10
14.CHILL OUT: (Insert witty header here)
This game is awful. You assume the roll of an extremely hunch-backed Inuit (correct term for Eskimo) that has a gun of all weapons. He must climb the ladders and shoot the other Inuit people. For what reason, I don’t know. This game has sub-par graphics… Tsk Nintendo for allowing this.
1/10
15.SHARKS: (Does Jaws ring a bell?)
Sharks is a disappointing game to say the least. You are a SCUBA diver with a harpoon gun, and your mission is to kill all the sharks, Every last one of them. Each shark is worth 20 to 40 points, but sadly, high scores are hard to reach because on average, there is ONE shark on screen. Imagine this, you are floating in the ocean. Just floating in the tranquil waters… waiting, just waiting. That’s what you do most of this game. Sharks are hard to come by, and when you find one, you’ll be all over it. Another complaint I have is that the music is EXTREMELY repetitive. The theme song for Mario is around 3 minutes long. The song in sharks is about 3 seconds long. It just plays over, and over, and over…. NEXT!
1/10
16. MEGALONIA: (Yet another side scrolling space invader)
Ahh!! Action 52 is full of these crappy games. Anyway, you are a space ship that resembles a jaw that is out to destroy other space ships that look like cameras, other stationary objects, and the space ship from star trek! I never got a chance to get past the first level because the boss is impossible. This studio light can shoot multiple missiles at you simultaneously, but you cant damage at all.
1/10
17. FRENCH BAKER: (Being attacked by walking hotdogs has never been so fun!)
Grrr. Those damn hotdogs annoy me so much! The way they team up with the orange lollipops, the cupboards, and the chest…and now they’re all against me!!! The point of French baker is to fling rolling pins at these crazy things. The setup is similar to that of Chill out, but this is much easier to move around in. At least I can stand this game.
4/10
18. ATHOS QUAKE: (argh!!! Yet another space invaders wannabe!)
This is really getting annoying! I swear all they do is change the background and the enemies. Oh well, you assume the role of a small spacecraft shaped like the star trek symbol. The gun on your ship is much better than in the other games, but the hardest part is avoiding the endless roadblocks.
2/10

Finally!!! Part one is over! But unfortunately…part 2 isn’t any better.
Part 2

19. MEONG (I think they were just adding stupid games like this to get to 52)
Meong is like no other game in this collection. It may look simple, but I don’t even know what the point is. From what I see, you must move along a row of tiles without falling into the holes below. It’s pretty easy at the start, but it gets harder and harder the more you go in. The graphics are crap, and so is the sound. But originality will bring the mark up.
3/10
20. SPACE DREAMS: (This makes Barney seem controversial)
This is another incarnation of Space Invaders, but there’s a new twist on this game. You are a pacifier and the space ships around you are teddy bears, rag dolls, and little numbers running down the screen. This game will really make you sit back in your seat, and think, “what possessed me to buy this game?” The sound isn’t too good, but it’s pretty average when it comes to other games in here.
3/10 for being weird.
21.STREEMERZ: (The low budget Spiderman)
Streemerz felt like some sort of Spiderman audition that didn’t make the cut. From what I can make out, the main character is a pink bunny, and she/he uses some sort of silly string to get to the levels above. There is no jump, or weapon, just a spider rope. The gameplay is extremely simple and meaningless; you just seem to go up and up, forever, and ever. This game gets credits for having funny little guys walking around… and bags of money. Every game should have bags of money.
2/10
22. SPREAD FIRE: (A stationary Space invader)
THESE SPACE GAMES ARE GETTING ON MY NERVES. Basically, this is just a stationary version of all the other games and its much easier because of that. There isn’t much challenge in this game, and for music? FORGET IT! Nothing…zip…nada…kapoot.
1/10
23. BUBBLEGUM ROSIE: (The manly mans game)
Bubblegum Rosie probably isn’t a very appealing name to most gamers, but the great makers of Action 52 went ahead anyway and slapped this silly name on a stupid game. Once again, you must settle for Ooze-like controls and after a while, it’s just meaningless. The music is crap, and I don’t think Rosie is wearing anything.
1/10
24. MICRO MIKE: (Who the hell is mike?)
Micro Mike is one of the worst games here. Not only is it extremely hard to even get 10 seconds into, you have no weapons, AND you look like a little ringworm or something. This game gives you NO incentive to play. You’ll just have to move on to the next game
0/10
25. UNDERGROUND: (The name explains a lot.)
As you can tell, this game takes place underground. I would call it a mix between chips challenge and Lode runner. You DO have a gun to shoot with, but that doesn’t stop enemies from spontaneously spawning behind you and chasing you down. The death animation in this game looks like crap too. As soon as you hit an enemy, the character spins like a bottle in ‘Spin the bottle’. I suggest playing spin the bottle with your friends instead of playing this game. You’ll probably have more fun.
2/10
26. ROCKET JOCKEY: (Now there’s a bright idea!)
Whoever thought up rocket jockey is a genius. That’s right. This game is the wave of the future. Soon everyone in the world will be tuning in to watch jockeys ride a missile with a semi automatic gun stuck on the front, dodging other horses that look like they’ve just come from a medieval fair. Well… maybe rocket jockeys aren’t the way of the future, but the game isn’t bad.
3/10
27. NON-HUMAN: (what… the… hell?)
In this game, you are an old man with a blanket over his head wandering aimlessly around the level, shooting dentures, fuzz balls, everything in your way. Did I mention Ooze controls are back? YAY… NEXT!
1/10
28. CRY BABY: (Another rehash of Illuminator)
Cry Baby is similar to Illuminator in the sense that it’s a 4-story house that you need to kill enemies in, but that’s where the similarities (and the fun) end. In this game, you must shoot the evil secret agents out to get you with a tiny little baby gun, and if they get to you first or if you fall, the baby bursts out in tears, hence the name Cry Baby. In my opinion, the graphics are greatly improved from Illuminator, but that doesn’t save this game from certain doom.
3/10
29. SLASHERS: (Hey! A pointless beat ‘em up! My favorite kind)
Slashers isn’t a bad game at all! You are dropped on a rooftop and told to kill anyone that gets in your way. Your 2 moves are uppercut, and jump kick. There are 2 types of enemies, there is the thug looking guy, and the foxy lady in a green mini skirt. This is more fun then most of the previous games, but it does get boring after a while. Hey, at least it isn’t just a copy of another game (like some of the others).
3/10
30. CRAZY SHUFFLE: (Its like Pac-Man minus the fun!)
Crazy shuffle is one of the worst games in this entire encyclopedia of bad games titled Action 52. Crazy shuffle is similar to Pac-Man, but you are a carrot with mysterious shooting powers that must pick up blue wrenches that are randomly dropped around the level. Fun! The sound is lackluster at best, considering it repeats itself every 7 seconds.
1/10
31. FUZZ POWER: (uhhhh… okay)
Action 52 just keeps getting worse and worse. In Fuzz power, you are what appears to be a giant, hair covered leg that must get past a bunch of cannons that shoot fuzz at you. The Ooze controls are back, and the music is very repetitive as well. Lets move on to shooting gallery.
1/10
32. SHOOTING GALLERY (Now here’s a first…)
Shooting gallery challenges you to shoot the little farm animals that appear on the screen. There is the horse, the pig, the rabbit, and the iguana. You have unlimited ammo so you can shoot wherever you want. And what’s your reward for beating the first level? Darkness… The game freezes… oh well; at least I didn’t have to put up with more boredom.
3/10
33. LOLLIPOP: (Rambo for kids)
Lollipop is like no other game I’ve seen before. You are a muscle bound action hero pledged to fight the evil… candy? With a lollipop?! Right…this game will probably only take up about 5 minutes of your time before you move on. And guess what? The Ooze controls are back. NEXT!
1/10
34. EVIL EMPIRES: (what does this game have to do with evil? Or empires?)
Evil empires is a strange game that puts you in the shoes of a blue Gumby that’s sole mission is to get the magical blue orb. During your mission, you face enemies like bananas on crazy carpets,
35. SOMBRERO: (If I were Mexican, I’d be pissed)
This game is a disgrace! You are a Mexican gangster that roams the streets, the deserts and other places, looking for anything from pylons to bandanas. In case other Mexican homies come along, you have a gun that you can use. This game is EXTREMELY easy and it gets quite boring after a while too.
36. STORM OVER DESERT: (Even Saddam Hussein would be disappointed with this)
This is the weirdest game I’ve ever played in my life. Your mission is to destroy Saddam Hussein’s army of red tanks in the green desert while invincible Saddam Hussein’s walk around the desert like a bunch of freaks. I don’t want to know what they were smoking when they came up with this…
3/10 for being funny
And that wraps up part 2… at least there’s only one to go....
Part 3
37. MASH MAN: (What the…)
Mash man is one of the weirdest game here, maybe not the weirdest, but it’s right up there. You play the role of a man with an enormous nose and a giant foot. You have no weapon; so basically, you just jump over your enemies. Your enemies range from giant eyeballs to pope hats, to little triangles. There is no sound.
1/10
38. THEY CAME (They saw nothing… they left)
This is yet another galactic shooter. You must grab little space packages while shooting other ships. And as soon as you die, nothing comes up. I must restart the game… AGAIN.
1/10
39. LAZER LEAGUE: (IM GETTING SICK OF THESE GAMES…)
This is yet another galactic shooter. In this game, you are a little space soldier sent out with what appears to be a space flamethrower. There is no music, and little sound so lets just move on to the next game.
1/10
40. BILLY BOB (Who thought this one up?)
Billy Bob puts you in the hands of an American military recruit in a cave that looks like something from Indiana Jones. Unlike the other shooter games, Billy Bob kneels down to shoot, just like any other person would, and his jumping movements look extremely realistic. This is quite a good game compared to the rest. There aren’t many physical enemies, but there are lots of obstacles, such as falling spears and falling rocks. Unfortunately, there is hardly any sound, just the shoes as you run. Oh well…
5/10
41. CITY OF DOOM: (Spiderman meets king Kong meets trash)
This game is garbage. You climb up the side of a building, trying to dodge birds and things being thrown down at you, but you cant go in or over the windows or else you die. There is a perilous tune while you play, but its nothing special.
2/10
42. BITS N PIECES: (reminds me of kibbles n bits)
This is just plain wrong! In this game, you are somewhat of a vampire/graveyard robber looking person that jumps above enemies like Satan, green things, blue 6-legged things, and skeletons. It all takes place in a graveyard, but for a graveyard, it doesn’t have very creepy music. It’s more like perky. Oh well, its basically the same as every other game here.
1/10
43. BLEEPS AND BLIPS (Running out of names eh?)
Bleeps and blips challenges you to scoot around a square level in your square ship, trying to get lives while partially eaten pizza ships come after you. Bah… I’m sick of this galactic trash.
2/10
44. MANCHESTER: (This game makes me want to get my Winchester)
Manchester is a music related fighting game. The music isn’t too bad, but what annoys me the most is the little tune you get when you jump. It gets REALLY annoying after about the 20th diddle doo! You seldom meet another enemy, and when you do, they go out in one punch. The hardest part is the little fireballs that venture across the screen. Touch them and your dead.
1/10
45. BOSS: (This has nothing to do with a boss)
You play the role of a green lizard man thing that runs extremely slow and jumps extremely slow. About 5 seconds into the game, you will come across a giant green thing. Its no biggie, but the person above who is constantly dropping bombs is a pain in the butt. There is no possible way to get past, you cant jump, you cant run, its impossible. Next game please.
1/10
46. DEDANT: (what’s a dedant?)
You are a pink bug, trying to similar bugs. The other bugs are trying to get to where you are, so you must defend your territory while they shoot little pigs at you. Look, just don’t ask okay? I don’t know what they were thinking either.
1/10
47. HAMBO: (Great name, bad game)
Hambo, I would discuss how interesting the name “Hambo” is, but that’s not necessary at the moment. Hambo is a pig with a mullet, who cant jump worth beans, that must make it to the door at the top of the level, If you are a good player, you will make it to the second level. I still think that the game doesn’t live up to the name.
2/10
48. TIME WARP TICKERS: (Err…okay)
Time warp tickers is a freaky game. You assume the role of 2 fingers trying to figure out the time. They venture through the levels asking tapeworms, bracelets and rolling pins if they know the time. The levels are EXTREMELY easy. I am pretty sure that anyone with half a brain will get through this game in less than 15 minutes, without a hassle. The music isn’t bad either. So this game won’t suffer from a bad mark.
4/10
49. JIGSAW: (YAY!)
Well, I don’t need to take up space… this game didn’t load
2/10 For not loading
50. NINJA ASSAULT (Kung Fu action!)
Ninja Assault is a pretty fun game; you are a blue ninja killing other ninjas and animals on the Great Wall of China. Its pretty fun for about 5 minutes and then it gets boring… 2 more to go!!!
3/10
51. ROBBIE ROBOT: (But he’s a human…)
I don’t know how they got the name Robbie robot, but its pretty weird. This game isn’t too bad; except for the fact that the kid is fat… he shoots robots…just skip this game altogether.
52. ACTION GAME MASTER: (LAST ONE!!!)
Gasp, there’s a story behind this game! It’s pretty lame but what do you expect? The Cheetah men have agreed to help you in your quest to vanquish all the villains.

The game itself stinks. There’s nothing to do and the enemies are too easy, you’ll find yourself beating it in 15 minutes.
2/10

I'll keep the conclusion small. Dont buy this game.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 06/23/02, Updated 06/23/02