This Week in Defunct Games - Dec. 7, 2010

What Is It? Part 2D shooter and part platformer, SonSon is one of my favorite Capcom games from the 1980s. At first glance it looks like nothing more than a Mappy clone, but SonSon is so much more. You play an adorable monkey/boy creature who shoots small bullets and can jump up, down and all around the multi-tiered levels. At any given time the player can jump between four and five different layers, a move that comes into play when trying to avoid pesky bad guys and pick up helpful items. Can you make it through the game's dungeons and meet back up with your tribe? Find out when you play the best Virtual Console game to be uploaded in ages.

Does It Still Hold Up? The graphics are clearly outdated and the enemy patterns are painfully predictable, but that doesn't stop SonSon from being awesome. You jump from layer to layer by simply pushing up and down, leaving the face buttons to trigger your weapons. As you travel through the levels the enemies become more challenging and the game speeds up. It's an original concept that still holds up a quarter century later.

Is It Worth The Money? With games like Magical Drop, Spin Masters and U-four-ia: The Saga, the Virtual Console line-up has been surprisingly strong lately. But none of these games come close to matching SonSon. This is a simple concept that manages to mix a few original ideas with tried and true 2D shooter gameplay. The mix is nothing short of a must-buy. My only complaint is the price tag, which seems a bit high for a 25 year old arcade game. You can buy a full package of Capcom arcade classics (including the two Virtual Console games released this week) for a mere $10 on the PSP and PlayStation 2, there's no reason these games should run you $8 individually. SonSon is worth the price, but frugal gamers may want to track down a compilation for a more reasonable price tag.

What Is It? This is an overhead action/shooter starring a shirtless, muscle-clad Arnold Schwarzenegger type killing every enemy in sight. Although you wouldn't know it from the unassuming 8-bit graphics, Commando is an incredibly influential release that spawned two must-own sequels. I'm a big fan of both MERCS and the 2008 Commando 3. Unfortunately, this first installment is showing its age. You play a slow moving character that shoots in only the direction he's facing. To make matters worse, he can only take one bullet before dying. Thankfully the game gives you unlimited credits and a cast of predictable enemies. The Wolf of the Battlefield name may not mean much these days, but it's nice to look back at the feeble beginnings of a great arcade series.

Does It Still Hold Up? Apparently one thing that didn't hold up was the original name. When this Capcom classic was first released in American arcades, it was simply called Commando (just like the Schwarzenegger movie). Now? It seems like the game has been reverted back to a version of the original Japanese title, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando. Observant Defunct Games readers will remember that the same thing happened to the Genesis version of MERCS.

Is It Worth The Money? After recently playing through Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 and MERCS, I had completely forgotten how simple the original Commando was. From the moment I was dropped out of the helicopter, I knew that I was in for an outdated trip. The game does reward players who stick with the punishing difficulty, but it's hard to justify the staggering eight dollar price tag. If you can stomach the high price, you're in for a good (albeit dated) action game.

What Is It? It feels demeaning to call Blockids a Breakout clone. But there's no other way to put it, Blockids is the original PlayStation's answer to Breakout, one of this industry's most enduring action games. The idea is simple; you control a small paddle at the bottom of the screen. Your job is to keep a bouncing ball in the air long enough to hit (and delete) each of the colored blocks on the playing field. Successfully manage to destroy every block in the level and your off to the next challenge.

There's nothing new about this concept. Let's face facts, this is a concept you've seen countless times already, from Arkanoid to Alley Way to Shatter. What sets this PlayStation game apart is the brand new 3D perspective. In fact, it's not just one 3D perspective, but many. On top of being able to see the action from a half dozen different camera angles (from first-person to standard 2D), gamers will discover that the various tiles are now stacked on top of each other, giving just about every element of game a 3D makeover. You can call it a gimmick if you want, but the end result is an arcade-style action game that's hard to put down.

Does It Still Hold Up? Had this been an arcade game, Blockids would have incorporated some sort of spinning control. Thankfully this started its life as a console game. I was worried going in that the PSP's D-pad wouldn't be up for the task, but I was impressed by the tight gameplay and amount of content this game provides. Blockids isn't very original, but it holds up even after nearly 15 years.

Is It Worth The Money? This is yet another good example of how a great price point can make all the difference. While I certainly enjoyed Blockids, this is hardly the must-buy game of the week. But at six dollars, this obscure Breakout clone is worth your time. There are some fresh ideas tucked away in this challenging action game. Too bad the rest of the game is so derivative.

What Is It? Ignore the tongue twister title, all you need to know is that Dezaemon Plus is an import PlayStation 1 game that lets you create, draw, assemble and (best of all) share your own 2D vertical shooters. That's right; you get to design your own games, from the artwork to the incidental music. As you might imagine, this custom editor has its fair share of limitations. The game offers a surprising amount of user friendly options (all in English), so creating your own shooter is relatively painless. But don't get too excited, because creating a true masterpiece is going to take a lot of time and patience. The game makes it easy for you, but assembling a must-play game is still a time consuming process.

Being able to create your own levels is great and all, but what happens if you don't have a lot of time or aren't very creative? Thankfully Dezaemon Plus comes packed with a bunch of already developed shooters. Test your skills at some of the best entries from a user-created contest held by the developers. These games include Scarecrow, The Heart of Dark, Justice Under the Sun and many more. The game also features two different versions of Daioh Gale, a fully realized 2D shooter that uses nothing the assets found in this game's custom editor.

Does It Still Hold Up? There are two ways to answer this question. The gameplay itself is solid enough, though there's nothing about the 2D action that's going to blow you away. The act of creating ships, enemies, backgrounds, bosses and full levels is a much tougher endeavor, but certainly rewards anybody who gives into the steep learning curve. Being able to share levels is key and makes this 14 year old PS1 game feel fresh.

Is It Worth The Money? Even if you never touch the game editor, you'll still have a strong line-up of user-created shooters to play around with. None of these games are worth the price of admission individually, but it's hard to argue against the quantity of this package. At six bucks I say this is a no-brainer, especially if you intend to make, play and distribute your own levels. Speaking of which, any gamer who decides to pick up Dezaemon Plus should email me, I'm dying to play all of your custom levels.