Lots of people make predictions about the future, most of them pretty bleak, painting society as blood-thirsty, inhumane, or just plain crazy. This game is no exception. In the not-too-distant future, Smash TV is the most popular television show going. It features up to two ‘contestants’ going up against and killing a ludicrous amount of enemies in an effort to win fabulous prizes… with heavy artillery. It’s almost surreal to commit what appears to be genocide and pick up a new VCR in the midst of the bloodbath.
That’s the way it goes in this game, kill things, collect cash and prizes, kill things, collect weapons and powerups, and kill things. This game is quite violent, and at one time boasted that it had the ‘most kills per hour’ of any game on the market. But all this mayhem comes at a cost: this game is HARD. Even though your guy is armed to the teeth, he’s still going up against several thousand enemies, often around a hundred or more at a time. It becomes a chore just to keep track of where your guy is in all the carnage.
The controls bear mentioning, it’s actually pretty easy to move and shoot at the same time. This game used two joysticks, one for movement and one for shooting your weapon. This made it much easier to maneuver without having to concentrate too hard.
This game is totally beatable, but if you try, I’d suggest bringing along several dozen dollars’ worth of quarters. Or better yet, playing it on one of those ‘retro arcade game’ collections where you get as many credits as you can stand. You’ll need them.