User Reviews

I have played numerous beat em up games the past several games and I can say without a doubt, that this is one of them. A beat em up that really does nothing to stand out from the pack with the exception of kind of short levels as they are more arenas than a standard stage, three random guys to chose from that look like they were made from the typical beat em up maker and completely unfair bosses making sure that if you wanted to win this game back in the day, you were going to have to put a lot of quarters in the machine!

The story, not much to speak of. Like a lot of arcade games it centers around violence in the streets and it is up to three dudes to fight through varying gangs to stop it! There was a bit of a twist at the end as the final boss appears.

The game play is standard and not all that satisfying. It was fun at first bonking heads and throwing people around, but then it gets a bit tedious. The levels are just so small so there is not all that much to look at in this one either. You can throw a few objects left along the way, but no weapon pick ups or health to speak of. It is one of those games where you can put in as many quarters as you want and you can increase your health, a bit like Captain America and the Avengers.

So, not all that great, very short in some ways, but some of the bosses just take too long to kill and are cheap to the extreme waving a weapon around knocking your character down repeatedly. There was another interesting boss aside from the final one in the second stage, a fire breathing one and I have to wonder if it was Karnov who also appeared in his own game and debuted in Bad Dudes.

Nice average game to remember the old times.

not much of quantity, 6 levels. sure there are a lot better games in its genre , the leaders were tough thank god i dont spend real money on my 'coins' . finished it with 50 coins! average game give it a quick try and go on to better ones

This is another of my favorite beat em ups of all time, it has a special place in my heart as this was a game, I played at the Jolly Joker arcade in Yakima, WA when I was about eight. This game came out in 1990 which was a big year as it was just the big start for everything, for video games it was when the beat em up genre finally kicked into full swing and a genre to stay.

Not much to say in plotline, except it's your typical save the city from crime trope. But that's fine by me like in all of these games were all in it for the action which is all I really need from the beat em ups.

But I like the concept of beating up one street gang after the other much like the movie "The Warriors" which was one of the inspirations for this game as well as other beat em ups. It's always a fun thought thinking you alone and even your friends with you can beat the odds and save the day; this game gives you and your friends that opportunity.

It's a little unique from most beat em ups because for one thing, on each level it all takes place in just one area. That's actually good because that's all you really need, in most beat em ups your always going from point A to B while beating the crap out of anyone that dares get in your way. Though sometimes the fundamental problem with this is that it can sometimes mean lots of padding to make the game longer which also means lost momentum.

What I really appreciate about this one area approach is that with this your able to fit in as many bad guys as you see fit where in most beat em ups the bad guys are always stationed in certain parts of the level, which can sort of make the game a bit predicable as you can easily guess when the bad guys are going to pop out the minute you continue approaching. Let alone with having one area it really helps in the pacing of the game, making you not overstay your welcome in each level.

Also, in the usual beat em ups it's always the gradual build up in action where it starts out easy by beating one or two guys and then as you get further it builds up to more. In this game you don't have that luxury in fact each level you can say always starts with a bang, where it just tells you straight up the bad guys are here and have you surrounded.

I like that approach because it's no nonsense, just starts the action immediately, you don't have a microsecond to think your forced to take action now; just simply commence fighting, beat the crap out of everyone around you before they do and don't die. I even like how the backgrounds are designed each of them are different and are the gangs home turf as each have different themes that reflect them.

Another thing that makes the game unique is each gang is different. In most of the beat em ups we always assume it's just simply one gang, and in each level, they would sometimes add in new characters to raise the stakes. This game though just constantly has the stakes raised as each new gang your assigned to beat up are not just completely different, but each have unique abilities.

This makes the game a bit unpredictable and causes you to strategize, just as you've gotten used to beating up one gang one way you have to quickly figure out some new tactics as using the same ones isn't all going to work second time around.

Boss battles are also pretty good, each of them is colorful just as each of the gangs are, you have one punk rocker that is armed with a sledge hammer and on the second stage there is a Karnov like boss as he blows out fire. Though the difficulty in beating them can be just a tad cheap which is inevitable in arcade games, which seems like a common tactic Blip from "You Can't do that on Television" would use to get more quarters.

I even like the designs of the characters from each of the gangs, my favorites are the Demon Clown gang which are like the Red Triangle Circus gang from "Batman Returns" (wonder if Tim Burton played this game) and a roller derby gang that plays for keeps. Those is kind of funny that the gang you fight are slightly small in height compared to your characters. This adds to the humor of the game, this game you can tell doesn't take itself too seriously.

The joke is that the good guy characters you play look and are as built up as 80's action stars like Arnold and Dolph and are one-man armies. Sidenote my favorite character to play is Berserker as he's the most balanced but also looks a little like the action star Dolph Lundgren which makes it all the cooler.

The gameplay is solid, each of the character who have a name that starts with the letter B if you can believe that; anyway each of them have their strengths and weaknesses and each have a special set of moves. You have special default moves you can easily execute when in the right position and time two I like are one which is smashing two heads against one another.

But my favorite is the hammer throw move where just like Cesaro from WWE you get to take a bad guy by the leg and just swing and throw them like a hammer throw, that I always thought was cool and a bit funny. But the major moves are executing when you go into a run and at the right moment press one button or a combo, like with Berserker it's a jump knee strike, Blitz it's a flying jump kick.

Of course, the other highlight of the game is the music it is just awesome it has some of my favorite video game tracks, some that I like the listen to when I workout or practice martial arts. My favorites are the one from level one which just pumps you up for action and just makes you want to beat the crap out of everyone around you. And there are the tracks like level 2 that just has this fun tough vibe to it and level 3 which has that fast fun vibe.

This is a vintage beat em up that is crowded with fun action.

Rating: 3 and a half stars.