Ninja Gaiden
MANUFACTURER: Atari PLAYERS: 1 STEREO: No RATING: 6 (6.5)
TYPE: Chop Suki COMLYNX: No BLINK: No

WHAT: Ninjutsu everybody to death

HOW : In this left-to-right scrolling hack and slay, you are the lone Ninja
against a horde of weird bad guys inhabiting your city. From the basic
punch and kick to the ill-explained ninjutsu attacks, you have a variety of
moves to use against this ill ilk to waste them in classic Ninja fashion.

SOAPBOX: I don't really like this type of game, but this is a passable
version of it. The biggest problem is the short length; I was able to
complete the entire game (while never getting a firm handle on any of the
special moves) in about three days. There is no problem solving or even
thinking involved; you just bang away at the buttons until things are dead.
The graphics are well done, with often humorous enemies (a bunch of
Jason-types, and biker/loggers!). The dreaded Atari instruc- tion "poster"
does a terrible job of hinting how to make special attacks. This game cries
out for a Comlynx ability with multiple players at once.