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| Elevator Action: Old and New GBA review | |
| developer | MediaKite |
| publisher | Taito |
| author | Marcin |
| date | Dec. 23, 2003 |
| graphics |   |
| sound | |
| gameplay | |
| value | |
| reviewer's toast | |
| overall | |
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| pros: Nostalgia value for the Old; neat improvements in the New. | |
| cons: Repetitive gameplay; New version somewhat weak. | |
Chromehounds
NA Review by Marcin
Oblivion-The First 3 Hours
PC Quicktake by walTer
Comic Quick Takes January 25, 2006
Feature by Mike
Elevator Action was perhaps the first up-and-down scroller in an era where sidescrollers were king. This approach, along with some amazing new techniques such as interactive environment, vehicle code (well, sort of) and dynamic lighting (again, sort of) added flavor to a rather plain activity - riding an elevator.
The "plot" is simple. You are a secret spy sent to retrieve briefcases of secret spy stuff from an assortment of (presumably) secret buildings. You get in via the roof, and must reach your getaway car on the ground floor. The builldings consist mainly of doors, escalators and elevators - oh yeah, and bad guys who are trying to off you. At your disposal is your trusty pistol, the ability to duck and jump, and amazingly responsive elevators - that's where the up-and-down scrolling comes in. You can use the elevators to crush your enemies, or you can shoot out lights to create darkness, or to drop lights on enemies' heads. See, lighting and destructable environment, years ahead of its time! Finally, the elevators' smooth response (that's the vehicle code) is excellent for dodging the slow-moving bullets.
The Old
Allright, so the classic version of the game will probably not win any converts. The graphics are considerably under par for the GBA and the gameplay very unforgiving, in the manner of classic arcade games. You can only be hit by a bullet once, your character's walking speed is dreadfully slow, and most of the animations are crude. Still, it's a game known more for its addictive qualities than anything else and since it is a direct port of the arcade game, it feels and plays just fine. The pace accelerates quickly as you get near the bottom of the building (fewer doors, lots of elevators), and the difficulty ramps up quickly after the first level as well. Your enemies learn to duck and jump, and will frequently follow you down escalators and elevators - it quickly gets crowded and running away is often a better solution than staying to fight it out. This portion of the game alone is well worth playing, classic bleeps, bloops and bouncy soundtrack included.
The New
The updated version plays a lot like Elevator Action 1.5 - there are no real changes, but there are better graphics, smoother control, some powerups, more enemies and updated building layouts. It's now a lot easier to jump over elevator wells, and running speed is higher. In addition, your characters (there are three that you have access to from the start: weak but fast girl, strong but sluggish guy and a middle-of the road guy with all stats balanced) can take more hits than just one, adding a bit of strategy to the game as you can fall down a floor without dying immediately.
The powerups include health restoration, extra ammo (it's no longer infinite), a machine gun that fires faster, an extra health container and a disguise, which makes enemies ignore you for a length of time. Buildings are now far more tricky, forcing you to frequently backtrack and plan your route ahead of time. Enemies start easy, but eventually evolve into baddies that can take multiple hits, and there's even an occasional zombie that will get up even after taking a beating. There are also cops which will not shoot you, but will go get help - they're perhaps even more dangerous because of this.
Fortunately you also have new tricks up your sleeve. As mentioned, you can disguise yourself or get a better weapon, but that's only if you find the appropriate powerup. However, you can now enter any door in order to hide - your character will come out after a while, or you can step out yourself, but this is a great tactic for avoiding a lot of concentrated opposition (in the original, you could only go into the red doors). You can also shoot out lights, and this time it actually means something - the enemies will not be able to see you in the brief time that the lights are out, and you can cover a lot of ground in those few seconds. These neat new moves add a good bit of strategy to an otherwise straightforward game.
Perhaps one new element is the VS mode; you can play either vs. the CPU or a second player. Basically, the other player in-game is trying to do the same thing you are - get away with the documents. This adds a lot of pressure and speeds up the pace even more, as you are fighting someone armed with the same moves as you (as opposed to the sluggish guards). The CPU is no pushover, either.
Not rocket science...
Elevator Action was never a particularly complex game, and neither is its new incarnation. Having both versions on one cartridge is a very nice bonus, however. As a fan of the old game, I would consider this almost a must-have, but its simplistic, one-trick action may not appeal to all. As the new version does not really add anything particularly groundbreaking to the mix, Elevator Action's appeal will probably remain firmly rooted to fans of the 80s arcade. Add to that the fact that it has to be imported from Japan (no current US release date is given, and little hope that will change) and it truly will stay out of the hands of most. For those that do manage to track it down, happy retro-gaming.
Note: This is not Elevator Action Returns, the Contra-like original sequel for the Saturn. It is a completely different remake - I have not played EAR, so I cannot comment on gameplay differences.