Silver Surfer

It took a few months, but I've finally beaten Silver Surfer! I'd like to set the record straight on this game and dispel a few myths: 1) 'The game is impossible': Nope, it's beatable, it just takes a LOT of practice. You basically have to practice until you reach the point where you always have an idea of what's coming next, and that you're never really surprised. (I do have to add that the 'Magik Domain' which is the 6th and final level, is insanely difficult.) 2) The game is 'broken': One thing I realized early on was that the controls are fantastic. There's nothing broken about this game, it's just ridiculously hard. It really does come down to skill, though that skill is very hard earned. 3) 'When you die, you start at the beginning': Nope, there are checkpoints in each section. Also, starting from where you died (like how you do in Contra) would actually have been a bad thing in this game. Often, starting back from a checkpoint allows you to get re-equipped with power-ups, which are quite essential. 4) 'The game sucks/the game is not fun': Nothing could be further from the truth. This is one of the most enjoyable and fun video games I have ever played. It may not be fun when you first start playing, but once you get 'decent' at it, you start to see how great it is. It's intense, has great controls, great graphics and music, and requires precise timing and skills. Also, as another reviewer said, beating this game (and even the small victories along the way), boy is that rewarding.

No body like a video game that's to easy am i right? Video games are meant to provide a challenge to entertain and feel successful after completing. This game however takes challenge to a whole new level, and in this case its not because of controls nor bad programing necessarily its just plain to difficult. There are 5 stages in the game each one can be done at any point in time (kind of like mega man)and each stage has 3 different sections. The goal is simple,or so it seems, to go from either left to right ( a typical side scroll-er) or move with the screen from bottom to top (birds eye view) while defeating enemies and avoiding hazards. Sounds easy enough right? Wrong most things on the screen kill you whether it be a wall or the ground or a platform that looks like its in the background you touch it and your done. The game has no life bar which means one hit and your dead, the game starts you off with 4 lives and you get 5 chances before a complete game over and having to restart. On top of having a one hit death the enemies themselves take multiple hits to destroy and generally have ridiculous moving patterns and while trying to take out the enemies you also have to once again make sure not to touch anything. Beating this game is a challenge but oh boy is it rewarding. If you have some time to kill then this is a perfect game to try to beat, just make sure you're ready for a splitting headache because this game is hard!

Popping this game in the NES, I never expected to be playing something in which I felt stressed out by the time I was done. If the Silver Surfer touches walls, other enemies, certain platforms, or makes one wrong move, it's over. One hit and he dies, and like many other NES classics, it's back to the beginning of the stage for you. Of the five realms, I found Emperor the hardest, but that's not saying much - every stage is hard. Pick this game up if you really want a challenge, but don't be surprised if you end up frustrated in the end.