Vice: Project Doom
System: NES
Release Date: November 1991
Developer: Aicom
Publisher: American Sammy
Genre: Action
Unmask a world domination conspiracy in Vice: Project Doom! The BEDA Corporation covertly produced a neon green gel that was sought after by the extremely wealthy class. The side effects of this gel? Death. You are Quinn Hart, a police officer working the Vice beat. You and your partner are given the assignment to locate the manufacturing place of this mysterious gel. Your partner disappears and it’s up to you to uncover the source and hopefully find your friend. Can you make it through 11 stages of action to succeed?
Outside of the basketball games they kept trying and failing at, Aicom has been a pretty average developer. This is their best game and, unfortunately, they only are involved in one more US release on my list. If looking at this, you see some Ninja Gaiden, you’re quite astute with your visual comparisons. The platforming is very similar, without the wall clinging or climbing. While there aren’t exchangeable secondary weapons, you gain bullets for your gun and grenades to throw. Enemies even are a bit similar, see these birds going back and forth?!
I found that I pretty much stuck to the lightning whip weapon through the levels. It’s powerful enough to take most enemies out in one hit. It attacks up to down, so you can take out enemies homing in on you. There’s a lot of jumping platforms and taking out enemies who respawn as you trip their pixel. This is useful, though, as enemies will always drop the same thing. You can collect 100 coins to earn a free life. You can collect bullets and grenades. Or you can be smart like me and crank up your health when you find a potion or meat.
Bosses all have a pattern and there is a best way to beat them all. A few bosses went down on the first try, but most of them took multiple attempts to defeat. Grenades are often your best friend, but sometimes the whip is really all you need to take them down. You can watch their energy meter as you drain it, which helps you make smart decisions. After boss battles, you get a cutscene to tell more of the story.
Other than the platforming stages, there are driving stages and rail shooter stages. In fact, the first stage is a driving stage that is similar to Spy Hunter or Action Fighter. I just shot everything that moved and it was good enough. The rail shooter stages are like Operation Wolf or the Punisher. Shoot all the bad guys before they hurt you. Items pop up and all you have to do is move over them with the cursor to pick them up. I found these diversions to be pretty easy overall, but they certainly didn’t detract from the overall game.
Graphics: 3.0
Everything looks pretty good. There’s a bit of grunginess, which adds to the charm.
Sound: 3.5
The music and sound effects are pretty good and I was happy listening to them as I played.
Gameplay: 3.5
This feels a lot like Ninja Gaiden, which is an excellent point of reference to steal from.
Difficulty: 3.5
You have unlimited continues, strategies on bosses can be figured out after a few tries, and levels aren’t too punishing.
Fun Factor: 3.5
I had a great time playing through this one and it only took a little more than an hour, which is my sweet spot for a platformer.
Overall Rating: 3.4
Vice: Project Doom earns a B+. I feel like I knew this was going to be a good one, but I’d never played it. You should rectify that if you need to, as well.