This Week In Defunct Games - April 19, 2007

What Is It? It's the sequel to the TurboGrafx-16's one and only real mascot character (unless you count Johnny Turbo), Bonk. While some complain that the original Bonk's Adventure didn't hold up so well, Bonk's Revenge is a slightly better game with more original level designs, bosses and power moves. The story remains the same, it's all about Bonk saving the princess, but at least the game play is fun and you'll probably have a good time getting from point A to point B. Bonk's Revenge may not redefine the genre, but it will deliver a solid action game that shows off why this character was so popular in the first place.

Does It Still Hold Up? Surprisingly Bonk's Revenge holds up better than Bonk's Adventure. The problem with the original game was that the level designs were boring and the game play was a little too simplistic. In this game Bonk has been given a few new moves and the levels are far more interesting. Some may complain that the game is still not as deep as Super Mario Bros. 3 or other 2D sidescrollers of the time, but that shouldn't keep you from having a good time with it.

Is It Worth The Money? If you were buying it for $40 or $50 then this game would definitely not be worth the money, but at $6 Bonk's Revenge is a solid investment. Bonk isn't going to make you change the way you see 2D action games or anything, but it is entertaining enough to warrant a few dollars and some of your time. I would argue that Bonk's Revenge is worth it if only to see somebody climb their way up a waterfall ... think about that for a minute, when was the last time you actually saw somebody climb up a waterfall? Never, that's when. And that's why you should check out Bonk's Revenge!

What Is It? Well, I can tell you what it's not. It's not Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!, the game we said would never make it to the Virtual Console! Instead this is Punch-Out!!, the Mr. Dream edition that was released soon after Iron Mike had his run-ins with the law. The good news is that this is still the great game of boxing you remember, even if it doesn't have a certain pugilist who is a little too into biting his opponents. This version includes all of wacky characters you've grown to love, the insane difficulty and that nice cameo from none other than Mario himself. And that's not all, at $5 this version is a steal ... even if it doesn't come with the one character that everybody wants. Thankfully you will hardly even notice Mike Tyson's absents, so if that was the one thing keeping you from buying this NES sports game then forget about it and get those Nintendo points ready!

Does It Still Hold Up? While a lot of early sports games end up being too rudimentary for their own good, Punch-Out!! works remarkably well because of the way it was built. The original Punch-Out!! wasn't just about beating up your opponents like Fight Night and other boxing games, instead it required you to actually watch for patterns and strike only when your opponent was vulnerable. This gimmick required that you had a good eye and a lot of skill, something that ultimately gave the game a whole lot of depth. It's still fun to go back and play through these characters and re-learn their patterns, which makes this game easy to recommend even twenty years later.

Is It Worth The Money? At a mere five dollars it's hard to go wrong with the Punch-Out!! While I would have liked to have seen Nintendo get the license back and do a Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, I can certainly understand why they opted to just release this Mr. Dream edition. If you've never played through Punch-Out!! then what are you waiting for, and if you already love the game then chances are you've already spent your $5 to buy it. No matter who you are, Punch-Out!! on the Virtual Console is a great deal.

What Is It? It's a 2D port of one of the greatest 3D fighting games of all time. When you hear a name like Virtua Fighter 2 you probably think of the arcade game or maybe even the Saturn port, but that's not what you're getting for your $8. Instead you get the somewhat obscure 16-bit Genesis version that took the famed 3D experience and turned it into a bizarre 2D mess. The good news is that all of your favorite Virtua Fighter characters are here, including Akira, Kage, Jeffry, Sarah and Lion. And that's not all, all of the levels you remember being impressed with back in the arcade have now been redrawn as 2D sprites. You can also expect a lot of hard to pull off combos and ring outs, everything you could want from a Virtua Fighter game is present in this Genesis title ... well, everything except the 3D. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a morbid fascination with this game since most people haven't played it on the Genesis, but don't slow down too much to look at this highway accident or you're going to get rear ended.

Does It Still Hold Up? Believe it or not, this 2D Virtua Fighter 2 isn't nearly as bad as you might think. The game still has that Virtua Fighter feel and the graphics aren't terrible, if you were forced to make a 2D Virtua Fighter game this is probably the best outcome possible. But don't take that slight praise as a recommendation, this is not a very good game at all. While it's hardly the worst fighter on the Genesis, it's also not even close to being one of the best. Why anybody would buy this over, say, Street Fighter II is something I don't even want to contemplate, but if you're looking for another fighting game you could do a lot worse. I won't say that this game holds up well, but as a novelty gag it's actually kind of interesting to see your favorite 3D characters rendered in 2D sprites.

Is It Worth The Money? Heavens no, at $8 this game is far too expensive. While I would argue that the game is cool in a novelty sort of way, there's really no reason anybody should spend that much money on a game like this. If we were talking about the original arcade or Saturn Virtua Fighter 2 then $8 would be a steal, but that's just not the case. If you really must own this game then I recommend you head out to your local game store and pick up the Sega Genesis Collection for the PS2 or PSP. In that compilation the game will run you no more than a dollar, which makes buying it a less painful experience. $8 is just too much for this game, but $1 is just about right for something as silly as this.

What Is It? Not to be outdone by last week's Galaga release for the Virtual Console, this week Microsoft is bringing us Gyruss for the Xbox Live Arcade. This early 1980s Konami shooter takes us away from the bottom of the screen and moves us all around the screen. Unlike other shooters at the time, Gyruss featured a spaceship that would rotate around the screen shooting at enemies that are coming attacking from a forced 3D perspective. The game actually shares more in common with Tempest than Galaga, but whatever game you want to compare it to it's hard to argue that Gyruss is a unique shooter that is both fast and fun. As an Xbox Live Arcade game you get full HD support, enhanced graphics and an online leader board.

Does It Still Hold Up? While Space Invaders and Galaga feel old by today's standards, Gyruss actually bucks the trend by offering game play that is more than just pushing left and right while shooting. The biggest advantage this game has over other older shooters is that there aren't a lot of games like this anymore. While playing Galaga you can't help but feel the urge to play better top down shooters like Axelay or Ikaruga, but that's not the case with this pseudo-3D shooter. That's not to say that this won't feel a little dated in comparison to recent shooters, but I think both old and new gamers alike will agree that this game has held up a lot better than most other shooters of that era.

Is It Worth The Money? At $5 it's hard to pass up a game like this, especially if you're a fan of shooters or old enough to remember the arcade game. For the most part Gyruss hasn't changed (unless you count the HD graphics, achievements, etc.), but it didn't need to - the game is still fun as it is. If you're looking for a fun Xbox Live Arcade game that isn't very expensive then you can't go wrong with Gyruss.