Rescue: The Embassy Mission
Reviewed by Taliesin
The introduction featured in the instruction booklet says it all,
"It's been 11 days since the political fanatics occupied the embassy,
holding the ambassador and his staff captive. You've waited patiently
while government negotiators tried in vain to arrive at a peaceful
settlement. Now it's up to you and your band of commandos to get
the captives out!" Quite possibly the foundation for the game Rainbow
Six as a hostage rescue, and quite possibly Tenchu, for the stealth/timing
needed to beat the game successfully. Rescue: The Embassy Mission puts
you in control of a hostage crisis response team, that has a limited
amount of time to free all of the hostages from an embassy taken over
by terrorists. Among your commando unit are three people, Mike, Steve,
and Jumbo. The object is to place these three into sniping position as
indicated on the map screen, and take out any terrorists that can be seen
through the sniping scope. After that, its on to choosing one of your team
members to bust into the embassy, take out the opposition, and rescue
the hostages in under a set amount of time.
Graphics: 7 out of 10
The side-scrolling spotlight evasion screen that appears when your agent
attempts to make it into sniping position, is filled with hiding spots and
other surprises. You can jump for cover over a hedge, lie flat to avoid the
searchlight and/or gunfire, hide in a doorway, somersault through gunfire,
and still look cool in your SWAT issue blue suit. The sniping screen is most
likely taken from the idea made famous in Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode,
which was released two years before this title. Although the sniping
screen is a little watered down from the true-to-life one in Golgo 13, it
makes for a fun experience. The rappelling screen, the map view, and the
room views are what add and complete the graphics entourage, helped
with the ending photograph, to make this game rate 7 out of 10.
Game Challenge: 6 out of 10
The game is divided into different degrees of difficulty, and it comes
down to how quick you can complete a mission without biting the bullet.
Once you get the hang of how the searchlights move in the sniper positioning
screen, you can pretty much get into a pattern of how to avoid detection.
Game Play-Fun: 8 out of 10
Not overly dramatic, but light enough to play a quick round before
bedtime, Rescue: The Embassy Mission, makes for a fun little package
put together by Infrogrames. Wouldn't recommend it for the younger
audience though (under age 8), as it does encourage shooting.
Overall 7 out of 10