Anticipation
Reviewed by The Overview
This is my first review using this format so bare with me. I will
be grading on the 0-100 grading scale. Note that I do not use the
"School Grades" System. 50 will be an average game of the time
with 0 being the lowest and 100 being the highest. I feel this
system can best separate how good a game really is from others
like it. Hopefully you will see many of my reviews down the line
but of course that is left to be seen.
Anticipation was one of the first games of the mighty British
company known as Rare well known for its Battletoads and Donkey
Kong series. It was also the first NES board game title. This game
paved the way for monopoly and a few other NES board games. It
was also the founding father of the Nintendo board game. Without
it we may not have such titles as It was not well "Anticipated"
(Heh don't you love those corny puns) but It was not an unhappy
surprise. Though no Battletoads this game sold many copies because
it was family oriented.
The year was 1988 and the company known as RARE was just
getting its foothold in the market. Donkey Kong and Battletoads
(Note i am not completely sure if Battletoads came out before this
as I cant find anyone who has the game and I still have yet to
purchase it) were the Bread and Butter of the company but this
game was an excellent addition to the companies lineup. Titles
like Metal Gear, Dragon Warrior, Ninja Gaiden, and many others
made this game look rather ordinary but it still was an enticing
title like a game such as Mario Party is today.
In the game "Anticipation" a magical pencil draws a picture slowly
accordingly with the clock. The first person to guess what it is
gets a square. The first person to collect the four category color
squares on 3 different level wins. A very nicely done system I
must admit with clues that disappear as the difficultly level
increases such as dots where the pencil is going to connect at.
Also a nice touch is the four player mode that can be used with
two controllers. On the first controller the first player would
buzz in using the directional pad while the third player buzzes in
by hitting a/b. The same goes with the second controller only
with the second and fourth player buzzing in.
Graphics 65 out of 100
Nice colorful graphics. Quite a bit above average I must say. Nothing
spectacular but it was nice to have sharp graphics for the game.
The character pieces were nicely drawn. The character tokens;
High heeled shoes, a trumpet, a teddy bear, and an ice cream cone
were nicely drawn. The introductory screen was also very nice.
The graphics peaked at the end scene. Very well done Rare! Of course
Rare has always been known for above average graphics. Remember
that these are nothing of the Mega Man, Metal Gear, or Contra level
but they are quite nice.
Music and Sound 42 out of 100
The musics nothing to rave over. Its just your average midi
repetitive tunes. Not to say I don't love some midis. Though some
are quite nice it is very annoying that there are not more tunes.
There are like 5 or 6 tracks for the whole game. I think there are
like 4 sound effects also. The music does not detract from the
game but it doesn't help it either. Surely nothing to write home about.
Game Challenge 69 out of 100
The challenge is adjustable which is a nice feature. From an easy
setting which any moron can win at to the very hard which is so
hard to win at its quite idiotic. A good difficultly level is the Hard
setting. Don't even bother with the very hard. The pencil draws for
like 3 seconds and the comp buzzes in. No clues no nothing. I find
that dumb so I took a point off for wasting space on something so
frivolous. In my opinion they should have just had the 3 difficultly
settings and given us more puzzles in each of the categories. Once
you have memorized all the puzzles however (Once you've played
quite a bit on the multiplayer mode) there is no challenge. One nice
thing about the challenge is that some of the puzzles make you think.
My personal favorite category is the Watchamacallit where the
pencil draws a clue such as writing out blue then drawing a moon.
Of course there are some things that are easy such as ball or rake.
A nice challenge level over all and a bit better then the average
crop of NES games of 1988 and below.
Game Play-Fun 76 out of 100
This is a very enjoyable game. Especially with a few friends over.
The Cpus are rather stale and buzz in directly in proportion with
the difficultly level. Fortunately there is an option to turn them off
or on as you choose. With four permanent friends over I would give
this an 85 out of 100 for the 1988 age but the 1 player mode is more
stale worth about a 60 so I think 76 is a very fair grade. This is
one of the most often games I play with my cousins and one of the
only ones that I play with my parents.
Frustration
Oh boy this is a doozie. There are many frustrations with this game
and so many that I will list them in an orderly fashion.
Probably my biggest frustrating is the drawings that are just plain
dumb. First are the ones that are mildly annoying like "Meat Cleaver"
which looks more like a coffee machine. Then their are the ones that
97 percent of the population has no clue what they are (Like a drawing
of a cancer cell). Those are so dumb they make me talk to the game
saying things like "Oh yeah everyone knows what a caner cell is...dumb
freaking..". And then their are those that are so annoying I deducted
a full 4 points for. Like Constellations such as Taurus and Gallio. Note
that these are not in the category Constellations or even space but not
there in science. A circle and a half circle could be anything from a
ring to a tire slot. These just annoy me.
The second most annoying frustrating is the very hard mode. In
this mode the cpus are so stupidly stale that they answer every
time correctly even though no human being would know what that
object was without completely memorizing the game.
The last thing that frustrates me is that you can not choose your
character from a list of characters. I would love to be a car or a radio.
Not the same dumb slippers but oh well I'll get over it.
Replayability 50 out of 100
An average replay value because there are not enough puzzles. Once
you with 10 more puzzles for each category this would have a MUCH
better replay value doubling memorize all the categories you wont
want to play anymore and neither will your friends that you beat
every time. Though for about the equivalent of 1000 hours playing
time the game will be very replayable. And maybe once you've forgot
the puzzles you will be able to play it again. Adding ten more puzzles
would have greatly increased the replay in the game.
Game Value 75 out of 100
For the 30 dollar original price the game was completely worth it. A
great addition to anyones NES library in 1988. The replay value the
party fun and the sibling soother create the game value. Of course
you can now get it at Game Dude for a dollar. Everyone should buy
a copy of this game to add to their growing collection. And don't
tell me your mother wont give you a dollar for a game hehe.
(Note that this rating is for 1988 and not for 1999.)
Originality 90 out of 100
One of the most original ideas combining video gaming aspects
to a board game. One of the best Board games on a gaming console.
It was also a neat idea to let four players play with two controllers.
Another original aspect was letting how you did during game and
not the random dice rolls determine how far you go. This lets you
use strategy to how and when you answer a question. One of the
most original games on the market in 1988 and even today.
Secrets and Hidden level 40 out of 100
It was disappointing that there was only one code/secret. It
is the grey puzzle. On the third level if you keep landing on the
bonus moving squares it will give you a grey puzzle. Even though
it wont give you anything it was a neat idea by Rare. It would be nice
if they had a few more codes hidden levels or puzzles.
Overall 65 out of 100
A very nice game to add to your collection is Rares Anticipation.
Great for parties friends neighbors and even good for playing by
yourself it is a great addition to anyones library. So travel to
your local game trader and pick it up for a buck or two.