Jackal

"A one jeep army, does it get any better?"

When I hear the words ''Army Game'' I immediately think of this game. Jackal far outdoes almost all games on the NES with only a few exceptions (Contra, Super C, the Mario series). So what makes this game so great you might ask. Well you start off in the title screen where you can chose between 1 and 2 player mode. Pretty generic right? Well that's where all similarities end.

You choose your mode of play, the screen changes to a large helicopter approaching and all hell brakes loose. You find yourself in a nicely made jungle with a couple of little stick people coming at you as you hear the battle music playing in the background. As you continue you find some turret guns, tanks, boats and even other jeeps. Throughout the level you find these small buildings and when you blow them up some green stick people say ''HELP'' and they walk into your jeep (How do they all fit in there anyway?). So has Jackal caught your attention yet? Well that's just the half of it. If you're lucky enough to reach the end of the level you enter a crazy battle where 4 uber-strong tanks come at you simultaneously, and if thats not all they all take 2 hits with your grenade launcher or missiles if you have them. Well there you go, you beat the level... AHHHHH there's 5 more levels!!

Gameplay 10/10

The gameplay of this game is superb. The controls are very basic. You can move your jeep in any of the 8 directions, shoot missiles with A and shoot your machine gun (that always shoots North) with B. The difficulty of this game can be described as easy for veterans like myself, or semi-hard for newbies. It's true that the game can be pretty hectic at times but if you're good enough then you should have no trouble.

Story 10/10

The story is interesting yet believable. As a man of war you must rescue your captured comrades from enemy POW camps while causing enough damage to the enemy fortifications as possible. You go through the levels blowing things up and when you reach a building and blow it up you release your friends. The flashing ones even power up your weapons from Grenades to missiles to missiles that explode making fireballs that go horizontally to missiles that shoot fireballs in all 4 directions. Pretty sweet eh?

Music/SFX 10/10

The music is very nicely done for this game. The sound of the music really sets the mood for the game. It just wants to make you go in and rip off all of the enemy's heads. The sound effects were pretty sweet too. The sound of the grenades and missiles makes you feel like the battle is actually in your house.

Graphics 10/10

The graphics were far above average for an NES game. The bosses are nicely done and the background was especially good (level 3 was the best looking level). The explosions were also nicely done.

Replay Value 10/10

You just can't get tired of this game. I've had it for about 10 years now and it still entertains me. It's just something about going into a war zone, killing everything in sight and saving your buddies while your at it. The multiplayer option also adds to the replayability of this game.

Overall 10/10

This game is truly a gem for the NES. If you can find it get it. I'm sure you can buy it at Funcoland or a pawn shop where you live. If you have a friend that's interested in old NES games then buy it and invite him/her over and should give you loads of entertainment.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/12/02, Updated 11/12/02