This is another under the radar gem. It's one of those games you don't see everyday for a console as the Sim game genre wasn't common for the NES or any other console expect for the computer.
But that one of the things I always liked about the NES system how they weren't afraid of trying something different, seeing what else this system could do, it's the same with gaming seeing where else you can go and what more you can do.
It's true this game is short which can put people off, but that's because this game was built to be a flash/weekend rental game if you feel like a quick breezy play, this game is one of the better examples of one done right as they make it worth playing.
In a way you can say if a licensed NES adaptation of the 70's TV show "S. W. A. T." existed it would be like this game; well almost but for fans of the old show (as well as movie and revival show) it's the closest we'll get.
Because basically you're command a S. W. A. T. unit to rescue the hostages and eliminate the terrorists. That's pretty much the game in a nutshell, let alone the one scenario you play throughout the game but you can adjust the settings and options to amp up the difficulty and brings more sections that were in the previous playthrough.
The game I always thought was cool because it really gave you the realistic feel of being a part of "S. W. A. T" and doing your job in well-coordinated fashion and not daring to make a mistake as it could spell the difference between life and death for the hostages and you.
This is an interesting kind of game as it's a sim game which is made up as a series of mini games kind of like the arcade game "Tron" sort of. Each of the mini kames are interesting, on I really like which is stealth action where you sneak in each of your guys to get to the close approximate position of the embassy. That sequence was always suspenseful as your just finding all different places for cover or even rolling and crawling from point A to B all to avoid the spotlights of death shining on you.
I really love how your character/s move, which is realistic from sneaking, rolling, crawling, but simply jumping and hiding in every place for cover, it was just really cool to me but really gave the mini game a sense of weight as you really felt like your life was in danger and you have to find and take every opportunity to survive, so that your mission will go the way you want it to go and increase your success rate.
Another is the sniper round, which is a pretty good one to, sort of predates the light gun game "Sniper Scope". Where you must aline you scope to the windows and when the enemy exposes himself to the window take them out. This will reduce the odds in the final task you take.
The only bad thing with this round is I wish there was some beeping indicator or some radar map as I had a little trouble finding most of the windows, let alone some quota scale to indicate if I even made progress to move on. Though if they had them, it might of taken away a bit of the realism of the game, so I can let this slide.
The third round is pretty much a physics round where you repel down slowly toward the window without being spotted and then when the time is right you break right though. This round isn't much, but it's still just cool to have the experience of breaking though a window while swing on a rope.
The final round which is the big payoff where you go through inside the embassy, take out the terrorists and save the hostages. This part of the game was interesting as it was one of the very first that utilized the first-person shooter concept, which sort of predated "Wolfenstein" and "Doom" franchises. I thought it was cool and tense as you must move through the maze, spot and take out any of the terrorist that were hiding.
I like how once again there's that feel of realism, despite having the floor plans and radar of the building, once you spot a terrorist you have a split second to take them out, which makes sense because in reality that's all the time you get.
This is a vintage NES classic that worth rescuing.
Rating: 3 stars.