Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode
Reviewed by Joey
In the beginning, a helicopter carrying the CIA's newest biological weapon,
called Cassandra-G, was shot down. A shell from an M-16 was found in the
wreckage, and the CIA concluded that it was shot down by the super sniper
Golgo-13 and that he is involved with the KGB. A group known as FIXER believe
that the helicopter was shot down by the Drek Empire. In East Berlin, a man
named Condor received information about Cassandra-G, and now the CIA, KGB,
and DREK are after him.
Graphics 7 out of 10
The title screen and cinematic scenes were done well, but the graphics on the
side-scrolling parts of the game aren't that great. When you talk to someone or
go into a building, you can see a background with the person standing there, but
the graphics aren't too detailed. The graphics in the maze part of the game are
decent, except that everything looks the same (as you would expect).
Music and Sound 6.5 out of 10
The title screen music is good, and everything else is decent, but it does get
annoying after a while. The music fits the theme of the game very well. The
sound effects aren't spectacular, but they aren't bad either.
Game Challenge 9.5 out of 10
This game is very hard, on the side-scrolling stages you be either doing really
good, or will be dead. Your life is always going down no matter what you do, and
when you defeat an enemy it goes up. This game goes on for a ridiculously long
time (and without any save or password) and it can be nearly impossible to escape
from the mazes without making a map, which I have never done and consequently,
have never beaten this game.
Game Play-Fun 6.5 out of 10
Everyone who I've seen play this game seems to enjoy the part where you blow
the guys head off from the helicopter. Even though you don't get to aim on that
part. When playing this game, you won't get sick of doing the same thing for a
long time, (unless you're trapped in the maze). There is a side-scrolling mode,
and underwater mode, a pan/zoom mode where you shoot people (the sequel to
this game improved this mode a lot), mazes, and even a side scrolling shooter
type of level.
Frustration
Getting stuck in the mazes can suck, and can get killed unexpectedly and sometimes
unfairly on some of the walking parts.
Replayability 6.5 out of 10
Since there's a lot of different things to do in this game, you won't always get
tired of the entire game. And it is pretty long, so if you play on winning it you
will have to play non-stop for a long time. You probably won't get tired of finishing
this game, but you probably won't even want to try after playing for 3 hours straight.
Game Value 7 out of 10
It's pretty different than most NES games, I got this at a flea market. I almost got
the sequel to this, Golgo-13 the Mafat Conspiracy, but I wasn't sure which one was
the one I rented years ago. It turned out to be the one I didn't get, but I wasn't
disappointed with this game.
Overall 7 out of 10
It's a hard game, but you do get unlimited continues. (it even keeps track of how
many times you've continued) It's one of the few games I own but haven't finished.
If you want a difficult game, that has a story to tell, and want to shoot people at
the same time, then get this game.