"What Rainbow Six would've been if released in 1991"

Based on the movie of the same name, 1991’s Navy Seals for the Gameboy is a profoundly average game. Oddly enough though, when returning to this game after a hiatus of several years, my opinion of it improved.

Graphics: 6/10-- The game is trying to depict an assault on terrorist hideouts in various locations, but the impression given is Arabic men walking mindlessly back and forth on iron bars and grey cubes floating in the air. To its credit, the animation is surprisingly smooth for a Gameboy game.

Story: 3/10—Surprisingly, an 11 year old story is very relevant today, with your main opponent being, as previously mentioned, Arabic terrorists. The terrorists have gunned down a helicopter, and the Navy Seals are sent in to save the day. This has little bearing on the game, as you are a one man shootin’ team, killing many a terrorist unaided.

Gameplay: 6/10—There are 3 main actions in Navy Seals; walk, jump and shoot. These actions are used to move throughout large unrealistic levels. (No terrorist hideout would require members to jump over numerous pits, climb up level upon level of iron bars and then enter a door with a large flashing arrow hovering above it) In perhaps its weakest moment, the game doesn't require the terrorists to actually hit you, instead they need only touch you to cause instant death.

Control: 7/10—This aspect of the game is quite well done, with instant reaction times to your input. Being able to turn quickly is vital when dealing with attacks from the rear, and the fast accurate controls enable this very well. My main gripe with the control is the fact that while jumping, shooting is disabled, making some situations trickier than need be.

Sound: 5/10— Navy Seals is surprisingly strong in the music department, with several memorable tunes. On the other hand, the games sound effects are rather weak, but it isn’t much worse than the standard Gameboy repertoire of beeps and blips.

Replay Value: 4/10—The game has a total of four levels, none of which are particularly interesting or different from each other. You’ll either like the simple style, or you’ll hate it, but either way you won’t be playing long.

So in conclusion, Navy Seals is not a bad game, but it can’t really be called a good game. If you like mindless shooting games, this might be a good one for you, but otherwise, you’ll find nothing to captivate you here.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/04/02, Updated 08/04/02