This game is a paradox. It's fun but it's not fun. It's challenging but not challenging. The fact of the matter is, it's easy to form a love-hate relatioship with this game. You like your games straight-forward and to-the-point? Balloon Fight may be for you. Are you a big Wrecking Crew fan? Really dig Ice Climber? Balloon Fight may be for you.
Mode C, Balloon Trip, rules all, though... I must say. It's a game within a game, where you control your balloon-adorned hero on a side-scrolling (right-to-left) quest to... well... I'm not really sure what the goal is. Avoiding being fried by the electrical sparks that dance around the screen? Yeah... I think that's it. Anyway, it's fun.
There's a two-player mode as well (No two-player mode in Mode C, Balloon Trip, however.) Although it doesn't make the game that much more interesting. The only thing the two-player mode brings to the game is the occasional 'heel-turn" ("Why'd you pop my balloons for, asshole!?") by one of the two players. Most of the time, you'll be trying your best to avoid popping the other player's balloons.
If you've absolutely got to have every last early NES title, if the pride of your NES collection is your rare copy of Stack-Up, and you think R.O.B. is the Mack, Balloon Fight may be your cup of tea. If not, you may be better off passing up tea time and avoiding this piece of NES nostalgia. |
