Rambo
Reviewed by Bob King
With the name Rambo, you expect a shoot em up in the style of Contra.
What you get instead is a poor game which isn't even close to the action
packed movie. NES movie to video game translations have been poor, and
this continues the trend.
Graphics: 75 out of 100
The graphics of this game are decent. However, some of the characters
seem to miss eyes, noses, and things like that. The hands don't look hands
sometimes and such like that. However, some of the backgrounds and such
are detailed in NES standards and have some colors. However, like most
NES games, the graphics could be much better, but they are decent enough
to be able to distinguish things.
Music and Sound: 78 out of 100
The sound in this game is your typical NES affair. You get the bloops
and beeps of using your weapons, killing the bad guys, and the sounds
are kind of the same for each. Sometimes it sounds the same using a
knife and a gun. However, the soundtrack on this game is pretty upbeat.
It has some good tunes and music to get you pumped up. Too bad the game
isn't good enough to have this kind of music, but for an NES game, a pretty
good soundtrack nonetheless.
Game Challenge: 68 out of 100
This game is so challenging and confusing, which is why it gets a low
score. You can easily get lost in this game and get confused on what
you are suppose to do. When it seems like you are suppose to do this,
you do that. One minute your in the town, the next minute your in the
forest AND you don't even know how you got there! The game doesn't
give you a map, so you have to explore this vast world of confusingness
off your own memory. Not only that, when you do encounter bad guys,
you have this little dagger that is darn near impossible to kill them
with. You are going to have a fun time cursing your NES out. There is a
difference between a good challenge and an impossible, confusing
challenge. This one unfortunately gets the latter.
Game Play-Fun: 57 out of 100
I put the game in thinking I was going to get a Contra-like game with
John Rambo. Boy was I wrong. You don't get a gun in this game until the
near end of it! NO GUN UNTIL THE NEAR END! And the gun you get is so
weak that you wonder why they even put it into the game. And you fight
animals and creatures? NO NO NO! This is Rambo, the tough guy fighting
the solders of the enemy side. What a rebel this guy is, going into fantasy
worlds fighting animals and creatures. The game is so darn hard and
confusing that getting far into it is almost pure luck. It also tries to make
it a chose your own adventure in choosing which road you want to take,
but if you take the wrong one, its basically "sorry, your wrong" and you
have to chose the right one. Why even have the choice if thats all its going
to do? Ugh, this game is no fun and I recommend avoiding it at all cost!
Frustration
Oh, there is lots of frustration. You don't get a gun until near the end, so
you have to fight enemies with a measly dagger that does nothing to them,
so they can kill you with ease while you have to struggle to kill them. The
world is vast and no map to help you out, so you can easily get lost. Your
John Rambo and you don't have a gun, fighting animals and creatures in a
fantasy world... It just isn't right! This game is going to have you cursing
more than Eddie Murphy, so yeah, its frustrating.
Replayability: 62 out of 100
You play it once and it kicks your butt, plus it sucks. Why play it again?
Whats the point?? Its no fun at all. However, if you do somewhat get
lucky and into it, you might want to try it again to see if you get further,
but that is like 2% of the population that plays this piece of trash. Do
yourself a favor and rent the video or DVD and watch that. That is more
replayable than this heap of junk.
Game Value: 80 out of 100
I got mine for about .50 cents, so I think that was a good deal for any game.
Movie to video game translation : 40 out of 100
Expecting the trigger happy, tough as nails John Rambo, P.O.W. who searches
the bad solders and makes them pay? Well you definitely aren't going to get
that! You instead get a Rambo who can barely fend for himself, fights animals
and creatures in a fantasy world, and gets killed almost every time! Its no
fun at all and its such a poor translation. Not even close to the movie, not even.
Overall: 69 out of 100
Rambo is not a game to get by any means. It does not follow the movie and
its not fun. Its so challenging and confusing that you will curse more than
you need to and you will end up turning it off after the first time you play
it and never play it again. The soundtrack is pretty good, but buy the movie
soundtrack if thats all your in it for. The only thing I would say is get it if
you are a NES game collector and can get it for $2 or less. Otherwise skip it
and stick with the movie. Its much better.