G.I. Joe (arcade game)

G.I. Joe is a third-person rail shooter video game produced by Konami and released in 1992 for video arcades. It is based on the cartoon series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and stars four characters from the show: Duke, Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Roadblock.[5]

G.I. Joe
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Konami[3]
Publisher(s)Konami
Composer(s)Tsutomu Ogura
Kenichiro Fukui[4]
Platform(s)Arcade
Release
Genre(s)Third-person, rail shooter, shoot-'em-up
Mode(s)1-4 Players

Gameplay edit

The game is a third-person rail shooting game, in which each player chooses one of four G.I. Joe operatives: Duke, Snake Eyes, Scarlett, or Roadblock.[6][7] Up to four people can play the game at once. Each character either stands or automatically runs forward in a 3D perspective, and their player can use the joystick to move them left or right as well as raise or lower an aiming crosshair: this allows for the latter's movement through most of the screen. Each character is armed with a gun that has unlimited ammunition, as well as a missile launcher which comes with 3 or 5 missiles and can hold up to nine.

Players use these weapons via a standard shoot button, and a missile launch button that allows for larger-scale destruction at the cost of one charge. Power-ups can be acquired that allow the player rapid fire by holding down the shoot button, add another missile to their supply, or restore their character's life energy.

The object of the game is to find Cobra's hidden stronghold and stop Cobra Commander's latest campaign to take over the world. There are three missions in the game, each composed of several areas, including a chemical plant, an air base, a weapon plant, a jungle, a cavern base, and a battleship. Enemies include Viper soldiers and various Cobra vehicles such as FANG II, HISS II, Razorback and Hurricane. The bosses consist of Tomax and Xamot, Metal-Head, The Baroness, Major Bludd and Destro, with the final battle taking place between the G.I. Joe team and Cobra Commander.

Reception edit

RePlay reported G.I. Joe to be the seventh most-popular arcade game at the time.[8] Computer and Video Games gave the arcade game a positive review in its July 1992 issue, scoring it 346 out of 400.[2] Electronic Gaming Monthly also gave the arcade game a positive review in its October 1992 issue.[9] AllGame gave the title a positive review as well.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ "The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game Flyers: G.I. Joe, Konami". flyers.arcade-museum.com.
  2. ^ a b "G.I. Joe review". G.I. Joe review.
  3. ^ "G.I. Joe for Arcade Games". GameFAQs. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  4. ^ "G.I. Joe Tech Info". GameSpot.com. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  5. ^ "Play Meter - Volume 18, Number 9 August 1992 (600DPI) : Play Meter : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive". Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Weekly Famitsu no. 180". archive.org.[dead link]
  7. ^ "Weekly Famitsu no. 181". archive.org.[dead link]
  8. ^ "The Player's Choice - Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Video Software". RePlay. Vol. 17, no. 10. RePlay Publishing, Inc. July 1992. p. 4.
  9. ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 39 (October 1992), page 20
  10. ^ "G.I. Joe - Review - allgame". www.allgame.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.