Paperboy

"An okay re-cration of the Arcade Quasi-Classic"

Paperboy was a fairly big sensation in the arcades with it's zany humor from crazy neighbours, to smashing windows and of course random appearances of the Grim Reaper, it was good news to hear that this game was being brought to the NES. However, there are some mild problems with the game which just don't make it match up to the arcade version in terms of it's fun.

Graphics:
Obviously the graphics in Paperboy can't compare to the Arcade version, but for the power of the NES and giving in consideration of what year the game was made in, this game delivers it's fair share in this area. Some things look well, like the Houses and some of the enemies like the lawnmower and the Skateboarder, but it was hard to tell at times what were criminals and what were actually items you could drive through or over, and what was not.

7/10.

Music/Sound:
Music is a big sinker for the game, although the sound effects were quite nice, (especially the breaking of the glass windows) the music in the game is very very generic and dull. This is easily the biggest low point in the game. Also for a note, this game is missing some of the things that helped Paperboy overcome some of it's biggest flaws (like play control) in the Arcades, like the voices of the neighbors and barking of dogs and other fun sound effects.
5/10

Enjoyment/Story:
The game still had it's gonzo sense of humor, from the people in the sewer, to the fact that the Grim Reaper could still come along and make kill you instantly or Tornadoes could just come from behind at any given second. These are the kind of things that made Paperboy fun and are put here in a good and clean way in the game. Sadly, another thing that remained from the original, is the harsh play control. In fact, i'm pretty sure most players would agree that Paperboy has to be the most un-co-operative video game character ever, as it's very hard to move him around, make him speed up and to make him slow down. This definitely needed to be worked on, but it can almost be overlooked by the game, as the weirdness and originality shines through.

6/10

Challenge/Re-Play Value:
This ia another point where the game falters a bit, the re-play value might be a bit awkward as you'll find yourself having very little space to move in the game, and the movement is a still tricky to do. You'll wish you had more places to move around in the game to escape enemies and obstacles. The challenge level may keep you coming back for a bit more though, so that boosts this game a bit.
6/10.

Overall, Paperboy was a fun game for the Arcades but it just has too many hard pressings to really make you want to play it for the NES as it seems a bit poor in some areas. On a buy or rent scale, if your local arcade doesn't have a copy of Paperboy (which it should!) you may want to rent/borrow this game from a friend. But overall, i can't quite recommend this as an all time NES classic, but at least it's still better then Paper Boy 2 for the NES.

6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/24/04