Predator
System: NES
Release Date: April 1989
Developer: Pack-In-Video
Publisher: Activision
Genre: Action
Arnold’s record on the NES isn’t going to be a pretty one, and it starts here with Predator. I decided it would be fun to play Predator while watching Predator. I wish I would have just watched the movie, because this game is like Rambo, Pack-In-Video’s other action movie attempt. Bad. You play as Dutch and it falls on your shoulders to run through upwards of thirty levels of platforming, fighting, and dying.
You run into all sorts of things that didn’t exist in the movie, like scorpions, guerrillas, blobs, weird alien sentinels and so much more. You start each level armed with your fists and you can only punch while standing or jumping. You can’t strike while crouching, making many enemies immune to you. There is typically a weapon on each stage, allowing you to attack from a distance. Grenades take a moment to explode after tossing and they can destroy certain blocks. The Machine Gun is a standard attack that has range to it. The Laser is basically an upgraded Machine Gun that destroys blocks, too.
The platforming is really a pain in the butt because Dutch is so incredibly floaty. You expect to stop, but you still keep moving. You can even float in the air if you jump into a block above you. Each level ends with a cave that you enter to move onto the next. But sometimes, the Predator is waiting for you at the end of a level and you have to kill him to move on. This version of the Predator is weak. He just jumps in the air and tries to land on you.
Every several levels, you leave the jungle and move into Big Mode. Presumably, it gains this name because the character sprites are bigger. You are on rails moving to the right and shooting weird objects. You start with the standard machine gun, but can collect power ups giving you the Boomerang Bullets, which shoots ahead and comes back to you. The Reaction Bullets, which destroy all minor enemies on screen when it hits anything. And the Shotgun Bullets, which didn’t seem to do anything special for me.
At the end of the Big Mode is the Predator. He jumps around and shoots projectiles at you, in an attempt to wear your health bar down. Your goal is to deplete his first. The final jungle level ends with a battle against the floating disembodied head of the Predator. The head moves in a sine-waveish pattern shooting projectiles. You need to avoid them while shooting back. Then his helmet explodes and you continue battle with his ugly mug. Finally, he dies and you get the ending.
Graphics: 1.0
The ground tiles all blend in with themselves. You’ll fall to your death because something looks like you should be able to jump on it. Dutch is also wearing pink, which makes me laugh, could have gone with the red shirt in the opening scene. The coolest thing is the outline of Dutch between levels and the Predator at game over.
Sound: 1.5
I like the composition of the music a lot, but the execution is really poorly done.
Gameplay: 1.0
Dutch is waaaay too floaty. Many levels require trial and error that will make you want to ragequit.
Difficulty: 1.0
The game is brutal. I would have quit by level ten if it wasn’t for save states. You get unlimited continues, but they take you to the last Big Mode you reached. Unfortunately, the difficulty is because of horrid controls.
Fun Factor: 0.5
Here’s another unfun game I’ve had to deal with in a row. I would have been unhappy had I rented this as a kid.
Overall Grade: 1.0
Predator earns a D. If only video games made off movies starring Arnold fared as well as the movies, then the world would be a better place. As it is, stay away from this one.