Captain America and the Avengers

" A fun little game, but very very repetitive."

This was a pretty decent game back in the day. It was one of the many games that Marvel Comics was making due to the success of their comic sales and previously released games. Marvel decided to bring their oldest, most patriotic mascot into the video gaming world. The character Captain America was created in the 1940's, and has been an American icon since. He's still going strong to this day, and this was his first video game appearance. This game wasn't the most popular game in the world, but it made good enough sales to keep the Marvel games coming.

Story - 7/10
The Avengers are attacked, beaten, and then kidnapped by one of their foes, and it's up to Captain America and Hawkeye to save them! It's not the most thrilling plot, but it makes a video game.

Graphics - 6/10
In the NES days graphics weren't really expected to be marvelous, and this game's graphics are pretty much average for how it was back then. Some of the scenes get repetitive though. Some stages are the EXACT same layout, the only difference is they make it a different color. There's a few different stage backgrounds they use, and regulate the colors of throughout the game. The sprites look very nice though. For Captain America, he has about 3 or 4 different attack sprites, and Hawkeye has about 2. Most of the henchmen you fight during the stages are soldier who either run at you or shoot at you, and sometimes you get a guy in a red suit who shoots rockets or knives at you. The bosses look cool, and each have their own special powers.

Sound - 6/10
The music gets very repetitive after awhile. The same tracks are often used over and over again. The character sounds are ok. The attack noises differ from each character. Cap's shield being thrown makes a distinct noise on impact, as does Hawkeye's arrows.

Gameplay - 6/10
It's a fun game, but the gameplay also gets repetitive after a short while.You start the game as Captain America, and you can play as Hawkeye later on. You're constantly going through small stages, attacking the same looking soldiers over and over again, with an occasional boss here and there. And unfortunately, this game doesn't have a save battery, or a password system, so you're going to beat this game in one sitting...or not at all. There's also a multi-player mode in which you can be Captain America, Hawkeye, or one of the bosses, and fight against each other.

Replayability - 2/10
There is absolutely no reason to go back and play it over again. Unless you get an urge to play it. Every once in a while I'll feel a hankering to go back and play it, just for old time's sake, but it's the same old stages, so there's nothing new to offer.

Buy or Rent
Well I HIGHLY doubt that there is any video game store on Earth that rents NES games in this day and age. Your best bet is to search used video game stores, pawn shops, or online auctions to find this game. It's probably dirt cheap nowadays since it wasn't considered a classic.

Final Thoughts
This was a nice little fun game to keep you occupied for a little bit. But after awhile it will just bore you. The repetitiveness will eventually make you lose interest after a while. But for a first time playing it through, you'll enjoy it.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/04