S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team
System: NES
Release Date: June 1991
Developer: Natsume
Publisher: Natsume
Genre: Action
Defeat another alien horde in the unfortunately named S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team! The Earth has been wasted by the extraterrestrial conquerors. Part man, part machine, there are two warriors that have been selected to step up and fight back. As Arnold or Sigourney, yes, they are meant to be who you think they are, you have to go through five levels. Can you survive the onslaught to give humanity another chance?
This is a typical auto side-scrolling shoot ‘em up. You fly around the screen and can aim left or right and shoot with the B Button. Surrounding you is a pair of options. They rotate from right to left and you can freeze them in place by pressing the A Button. Doing this allows you to take out enemies much more efficiently than if you just let them continuously move around. I was given the iggy that there are achievements in some games and this is one of them. I played a second time through without locking my options to get some of those trophies.
There are a few power ups that you want to be on the lookout for. The S increases your speed and can be stacked. Getting hit drops a level of speed. Three different weapons are available. The Laser can be shot continuously, through enemies, and through some walls, though it seemed weaker than the other choices. The Wide beam has a bit more range and seems to be a bit more powerful than the Laser, but can’t fire through walls. The Bomb was the strongest weapon, leaving a short explosion wherever it hits, doing a lot of damage to enemies. Near the end of each level there is a Recover item that replenishes your hits.
The meter of blue marks is your life bar. Individual attacks that hit you drain a bar and leave you invulnerable for a moment. When you lose them all, it’s game over and you’re sent back to the beginning of the level with a reset score. This isn’t a bullet hell, so in all likelihood, you’ll be able to get through most levels without dying. You certainly will have to learn some enemy placements so as not to stumble into an attack because you’re too close to the edge of the screen.
Bosses are a pushover more often than not. As long as you can avoid their big projectiles and follow simple patterns, you shouldn’t have any trouble. If you have the right weapon, the fights are even easier. I usually deferred to the Bomb if I could, but the level two boss would probably be better fought with a different weapon. The final boss was a piece of cake with the bomb and didn’t really give a challenge that I’ve come to expect in this genre.
Graphics: 3.0
Everything looks pretty decent. I didn’t have any issue seeing bullets or things blending into the background.
Sound: 3.0
Music is pretty good, but the sound of the laser was pretty annoying.
Gameplay: 3.0
There aren’t too many weapons, which makes the ones we have balanced for certain situations.
Difficulty: 3.0
Enemies aren’t unfair, levels are well designed, and you have enough energy to realistically make it through each level.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I enjoyed it enough to play through again right away to challenge myself.
Overall Rating: 3.0
S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team earns a B. Natsume has developed some really good games and this one is a hit… outside of its name.