Tuesday, September 13, 2011

NES RATING #11 - 720°

....720°....
Developed by:  Mindscape Inc.
Distributed by: Mindscape Inc.
Released: November 1989

720° was a popular 1986 arcade game in which you skateboarded around town to various parks and competed in events, all while dodging a swarm of angry bees when the dreaded "SKATE OR DIE!!!" message flashed on the screen.

So how's the NES version from late 1989?  Ugly, boring, and a major disappointment.
The graphics are poor and as generic as it gets, the looped music is awful (a far cry from the arcade game and an absolute crime for a "hip" skateboarding game), and the play control is pretty weak, as well.  Even the  "Skate Or Die!" sound byte from the arcade game is missing!  The dull and repetitive music can't be understated at all.  It's not just bad, it makes you want to turn the game off.  Skateboarding games have sure come a long way since this failure.

On a good day, you'll do well at the events and be able to skate through the park, but completing the game and enjoying the game are two different experience with 720°.  The graphics for the skate parks are disappointing and the poor controls can really hurt your performance when competing.  This is especially true for the skate ramp portion, as I found this to be by far the most difficult.

With very little that made the arcade version so appealing, 720° was a major wipe out for the NES.


Grade:  D-



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