Title: Elevator Action Deluxe
Developer: Taito/Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Side Scrolling, Platform, Puzzle
Console: Playstation 3 (Network Download)
Release: Out Now!
Special Thanks: Square Enix for providing me with a review sample of this title.
The year was 1983 and I was not born yet. However it was the year when the main source of entertainment was the local arcade, as it was no doubt the best means to enjoy games with your mates – without needing to worry about being forced to play another game of E.T The Extra Terrestrial on the Atari 2600 with your parents who were addicted to the series (I am going to assume fanboyism was around then…. the birds and the bees still hadn’t happened to me yet). It was also the year that Taito introduced the game Elevator Action to the arcade scene, as one of the first puzzle games out on the market that seemingly proved successful for many years.
It is now the year 2011, and except for those who would want to purchase the game for nostalgia, it would have been a hard task to sell many units of this game. However, both Square Enix and Taito had an answer for that,… publish a brand new version of the game that is suited to the consoles of today – with HD graphics, new gaming modes and the ability to play the arcade version of the game – they have crammed so much into this game at one low price of $9.99. Do keep in note that you will not get hours and hours of gameplay for Final Fantasy XIII graphics at this price – but how does it fare to my expectations? Well….
There is actually not much of a storyline included with the game other then to achieve the objective of going through red doors and escaping in your bright red sports car conveniently parked in a garage at the end of the level. However, the official storyline goes that you are Agent 17 “Otto” (or whatever female name you would like if you choose that gender) and tasked with infiltrating buildings that have inconveniently placed elevators, and must steal documents through conveniently coloured red doors whilst avoiding the ever increasing number and skill of the henchmen standing in your way. What did you expect from an arcade game? Award winning writing?
To best appreciate the design quality of this game, you need to start off playing the arcade version of the game which is your classic pixelated game with 8-bit music, which is actually quite a lot of fun to start off with but you will begin to crave the HD graphics version. The graphics are not award winning but at the same time, for a port of an arcade game I was more then happy with what they provided. The buildings had different themes and all the “guards” in the building had that generic but quirky appearance to them that made them feel appropriate both to the genre and the original intention for the game. The recycling of things like doors might get on the nerves of some after the third or fourth, but it does the game justice overall.
Music and sound effects are a bit of a grey area for me in this game. First of all, the sound effects of the game were a great aspect of the game. To keep inline with the arcade release where sound effects for everything from steps to a rope flinging down were implemented, they have chosen to keep the sound effects for everything and made them more modern from the 8-bit sounds. Most of these you most probably will not notice after one or two towers, but they are a nice touch. Unfortunately however, the music tracklist is very limited and would have benefited from a little more diversification every tower.
The overall gameplay is relatively easy to pick up and go. You navigate through the side-scrolling world using the control pad whilst using the X button to jump and use the other buttons to use various forms of weapons to thwart your enemies. The objective is to travel around the section of the building, dodging or attacking the secrurity and making your way to the elevator which leads you to your car or another section of building (and yes, these elevators can go sideways).
Fortunately, even if this is the first game you have ever played on the console, you will not be left unknowingly in this game. The first thing you complete is a tutorial level which teaches you how to use most of the equipment and weapons you will have access to in the first half of the game at least. The number of weapons and enemies increase every time you clear a building – so for example, whilst in the first tower you are against men in black suits with your normal gun, in the next building you are against men in red suits who can call an alarm when they spot you, but also allows you to use machine guns provided through “Sneakily?” labeled doors. Other equipment such as bombs and homing missiles do add a nice diversity, and the increase in enemy skill more then compensates for Otto’s new toys.
There are no lives in this game, so if you die it is not game over but it is still not advisable if you are in it for a good score. Every action you do in this game gives you cash, which you trade in at the end of the level for a medal from Bronze to Gold. Simply completing the level will yield you a Bronze, but having enough cash and fulfilling other criteria will unlock you Silver and Gold medals with trophies obviously associated with them.
The difficulty in this game is okay. It is by no means easy and you will most probably die countless times by the time you finally manage to put the controller down, but when you have no restrictions on the number of times you die and a respawn which can be very close to where you died, you will find yourself willing to take the risk in completing the levels – which may limit the time need to take a strategic approach. The game should keep you entertained for a couple of hours, but I found myself doing it in 15-20 minute batches, as I felt it did need more of a challenge sooner on (The difficulty only builds in small increments) and there is still only so much they were able to do with the genre.
The other extra inclusions in this game are nice. Whilst I was not able to test it, the four player local multiplayer looks like a creative way of enjoying the game like you would be if it were in an arcade (Would be boosted if you had some Arcade pads), the inclusion of original game pamphlets unlockable through receiving gold medals in the stages and of course, the arcade mode which sets you in the original version to see how games really were like in 1983. Despite these inclusions, you are likely only going to play through the game once and most probably not return to playing it anytime soon.
Personally, it was a game of good value at $9.99 and anything higher, I would personally be slightly reserved about it – but it is sure to give you a few hours of enjoyment at least and has the design quality of a game of higher value. Alongside their normal console releases, Square Enix seems to be releasing many more downloadable releases such as this, so I am excited to see what they manage to throw at us next.
Final Score
Design: B+
Music: B-
Gameplay: B
Replayability: C
Personal Opinion: B
Overall Score: B
