Abadox: The Deadly Inner War

"Run-of-the-mill shooter is saved by decent sights, sounds, and control."

If you've played one space shooter (hopefully a Gradius game), you've played pretty much every one on the face of the planet. Abadox doesn't make any attempts to bring anything fresh, new, or exciting to this genre, but it's a damn good game, and what else do you need?
The concept is pretty cool. You're flying around inside a giant alien, and you have to kill him from the inside out. Was there ever a movie with this plot? This creature has an interesting diet, since you come across all manner of strange floating insects, skeletons, flowers, and even some robotic machinery as you're cruising around inside it. There're plenty of bosses and stages to keep even the most experienced player busy for a while. But not too long...
On the downside, Abadox is pretty short. There were six stages (if I recall correctly), which is average, but not lengthy enough for a game of this type. To be fair, the levels are all unique and vary widely. Unfortunately, you're off to the next round before you know it, and the previous one is quickly forgotten.
If there's one memorable aspect of this game, it's the visuals. There are at least a couple of creative bosses in each stage, and most of them have unexpected weak points and forms of attack. Blowing the crap out of them is not easy, but they aren't cheap by any means.
The sound is very well done, too. Most music during the actual game is fitting and does a good job (in terms of NES ability, of course) of setting the mood, although you won't be humming it as you sit in traffic.
Control is extremely critical in a shooter game, and thankfully Abadox doesn't botch it much. Although you move sluggishly at first, the trusty generic power icons take care of that soon enough. Shooting is a bit slow, as well, but a few new weapons make you a lot stronger than the Pez gun or whatever it is that you start with.
Well then, since the graphics and sounds are very good for this particular era of NES history, Abadox goes from being an average shooter to an average shooter that's nice to hear and look at. Don't break your back trying to get it, but if you discover it at Funco, it can be a good investment.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/00, Updated 02/22/01