Blaster Master: Enemy Below

"Who Was In Charge Of THAT Lab?"

The Story
Deep within a hidden lab, a cloning experiment was conducted. The experiment awakens and busts out of its capsule. It then goes around busting up the lab until a worker comes in. The creature then attacks the employee (the look on the guy's face is the funniest thing you'll see in this game). The creature escapes.

Now we see our hero Jason. He's an adult now. Not the teen he was in the first game. But he still looks the same. A woman from the lab that clone the Plutonium Boss (for whatever reason) begs Jason to go kill what they created. So, he dons on the armor, starts up SOFIA, and takes off.

Graphics
8/10 - They're incredibly similar to Blaster Master. There are new bosses, but some are old. For example, the green frog is back. Some animations weren't as good as they could have been. For example, in the lobster fight, the lobster just moves from side to side, only moving it's two whiskers to shoot a bubble. It doesn't move its legs or forelimbs or anything as the crab did in Blaster Master. And I don't like how Jason hunches over like he has a hernia or something.

Sound
8/10 - To make a long story short, it's straight from Blaster Master. The music and sound effects are reused. The music was remixed, in most cases for the worse. Sometimes the music is slower than the original (the first area) and at other times faster (the second area). Now, it's not terrible, just not as good as the original Blaster Master.

Control
7/10 - Kind of slow and blocky. My main gripe is that you can't move diagonally. Did you like Startropics' controls? Then you won't have a problem with this. You can still strafe, which is a good thing.

Gameplay
9/10 - Similar to Blaster Master, but with a few twists. You don't go searching for the boss' catacomb right away. You have to locate a key or two to unlock the door to enter the boss' catacomb. There's also bonus items you can grab to help you on your quest such as the Crusher gun (no, you don't get it as a regular item this time around) or, my personal favorite, the Shotgun which is used by Jason in overhead mode to fire bullets in three directions.

Challenge
10/10 - My last game I got all the way to Area 7 without dieing. Sure, it was tricky. That counts for some challenge. I died a couple of times in Area 7. But the real nightmare comes into play in the final area. Finding the keys is hard enough. Then you have to get through the final boss' catacomb with enough life to kill it. I heard a rumor that you were actually suppose to lose to this game to feed into the Blasting Again plot. Area 8 makes you think so. Sure, you have infinite continues, but you only have one life. When you die, you start from either the beginning of the level or the check point if you passed it.

Replay
5/10 - Searching for the bonus items may bring you back. You may also play through the game one more time to see how well you can do.

Pros and Cons
Good Points:
- The hidden items.
- Great game for a long trip.
- You can turn off the Wall function.
- The passwords.

Bad Points:
- Start from the beginning of the level (or possibly the halfway point) if you die.
- The opening and ending cinemas are Blaster Master gone through a blender.

Should I Get It?
It's quite rare because of a short production run, but if you do happen upon it, grab it.

Overall
The game felt slower than the original Blaster Master, but I still recommend it. Going on a long road trip? Better pack this along.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/02/02, Updated 10/13/02