Jackal (NES) Review
System NES
Developer Konami Publisher Konami Genre Top Down Shooter # of Players 1-2 Release Date September 1988 |
Pros
Game handles well. 2 player is fun Cons Game is short |
Review
by Thonos
6/4/2015
The NES had a lot of great two player games during its lifespan. My brother and I spent many evenings playing these games and we still play some to this day. Jackal is one of those games that we still play today when we get together. While I call this game a commando clone with vehicles, the game has its own charm that makes me come back and play it now and again. However, this may also be a great example of how nostalgia effects people.
Jackal is a top down shooter from Konami. The premise of the game is that you are part of a small Green Beret task force that specializes in using highly mobile attack jeeps to complete missions. Your mission is to go back over to Vietnam border, go through enemy territory and rescue American POWs still over there. In each of the games six stages your goal is to go through the level, rescue hostages and beat an end boss. It's an interesting setup for a game and in this case it works.
Your jeep comes equipped with a machine gun and grenades. Collecting certain POW's and rescuing a certain amount of POWs upgrades your grenades to a missle. This can be upgraded two more times to create a plus shape explosion. While the fully upgraded missle is your best weapon, the grenades are not bad weapons either since they can go over walls and barricades while non upgraded missles won't. It's worth noting that the machine gun is pretty much worthless.
The jeep handles well and you can usually dodge enemy fire if you are quick enough. The level designs were good but pretty straight forward since your only option is to go forward. Graphically I feel Jackal looks good for a NES game. The player and enemy sprites look good while the stage graphics look decent and get the job done. I felt the games music was very good while the sound effects were passable.
While the game is very playable solo, the real fun I had was with a second person. And this is were nostalgia becomes a factor. Looking back at this game and recently playing it again solo and cooperative for this review, I can say that if I never played this game back when I was younger I would say today that the game is alright. This is a game for someone who likes games similar to Commando.
by Thonos
6/4/2015
The NES had a lot of great two player games during its lifespan. My brother and I spent many evenings playing these games and we still play some to this day. Jackal is one of those games that we still play today when we get together. While I call this game a commando clone with vehicles, the game has its own charm that makes me come back and play it now and again. However, this may also be a great example of how nostalgia effects people.
Jackal is a top down shooter from Konami. The premise of the game is that you are part of a small Green Beret task force that specializes in using highly mobile attack jeeps to complete missions. Your mission is to go back over to Vietnam border, go through enemy territory and rescue American POWs still over there. In each of the games six stages your goal is to go through the level, rescue hostages and beat an end boss. It's an interesting setup for a game and in this case it works.
Your jeep comes equipped with a machine gun and grenades. Collecting certain POW's and rescuing a certain amount of POWs upgrades your grenades to a missle. This can be upgraded two more times to create a plus shape explosion. While the fully upgraded missle is your best weapon, the grenades are not bad weapons either since they can go over walls and barricades while non upgraded missles won't. It's worth noting that the machine gun is pretty much worthless.
The jeep handles well and you can usually dodge enemy fire if you are quick enough. The level designs were good but pretty straight forward since your only option is to go forward. Graphically I feel Jackal looks good for a NES game. The player and enemy sprites look good while the stage graphics look decent and get the job done. I felt the games music was very good while the sound effects were passable.
While the game is very playable solo, the real fun I had was with a second person. And this is were nostalgia becomes a factor. Looking back at this game and recently playing it again solo and cooperative for this review, I can say that if I never played this game back when I was younger I would say today that the game is alright. This is a game for someone who likes games similar to Commando.