Knight Rider
System: NES
Release Date: December 1989
Developer: Pack-In-Video
Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment
Genre: Racing
Up next on our list is 80s favorite Knight Rider. You play the role of Michael Knight, but the star of this title is KITT. The artificially intelligent, nigh indestructible Trans Am is the main character and you’re going to have to go across the country and back to achieve your goals.
You’re welcomed back from vacation and sent on your journey by Devon. He says that a piece of weaponry has been stolen and must be retrieved. From Los Angeles, it’s off to San Francisco, but first, you get to upgrade your shields, gas, engines, or buy missiles or lasers. Then you’re on your way. Acceleration is handled by holding up and you’re going to want to go as fast as you can to get through the levels.
Your heads up display gives you a lot of information. Most important is your timer, because if this runs down to zero, you lose a life and have to start all over. The same is true for shields, which deplete as you’re shot. The gas gauge also ticks down and will force a lost life if your tank runs empty. You shoot your equipped weapon with the A Button, which can be cycled through by pressing the Select Button.
The road in front of you is a three lane highway and there exist other cars to get in your way. Cars that are blue and white are innocent bystanders. You want to avoid shooting and ramming them, or you’ll lose time on the clock. Red cars, on the other hand, are actively trying to kill you with guns, dynamite, or bombs. When you see yellow cars, you want to destroy them quickly, as they will drop a powerup that you want to collect.
If you make it to the outskirts of the next town, you do battle with a boss vehicle. These guys are prime candidates for any missiles and lasers you may have saved up. Make sure you don’t lose to them, though, because if you do, it’s back to the beginning of the mission. You don’t want that. There’s also a drive mode if you don’t want the pesky enemies getting in your way.
Graphics: 1.5
The best part of the graphics are the backgrounds that scroll around and are unique to each level.
Sound: 1.0
The music is poor and the sounds are annoying.
Gameplay: 1.0
You don’t even need to kill enemies, you can just speed and drive around them. The gun play is pretty garbage if you ask me.
Difficulty: 1.5
It’s difficult to stick with it long enough to play through all 15 levels.
Fun Factor: 0.5
The levels are so long and the levels are sooooo boring…
Overall Grade: 1.1
Knight Rider earns a D. This is a bad game that should be avoided.