Game & Watch Gallery

Title
Publisher Game & Watch Gallery / Nintendo

Genre Action

Features Battery-backed memory / Interrupt Save / Super GameBoy

Reviewer Ben Kosmina

Summary
Gameplay
Game & Watch Gallery is a collection of four classic 'Game & Watch' titles, which were released in the early 80's. It contains four different Game & Watch titles: Manhole, Fire, Octopus and Oil Panic. They aren't just re-hashes of the old games, though - there are also modern versions of each of the games, with new and improved graphics, gameplay and sound. The four games play as follows:

Manhole
Allow the pedestrians to cross the streets without letting them fall into the manholes! Watch out, because it can get really busy!

Fire
You control the trampoline, and your task is to catch the people who leap from the towering inferno. Make sure that you don't miss anyone, because it's a long way down!

Octopus
Dive deep into the ocean to grab the abandoned treasure. However, watch out for the octopus who guards it with its tentacles, waiting for its next victim!

Oil Panic
The petrol station is leaking oil! Pass it to your partner below, but don't spill it onto people by mistake! Make sure that you get every last drop!

There are also neat little extras included into the cart as well. Get enough points on a game and you may open up a panel in the Gallery Corner, which is a display of some of the many Game & Watch Games that could be found. If you master the modern version of a game, you can even play a special 'Very Hard' mode, with super fast gameplay and no extra lives!

Verdict I love games that don't involve much instructions to get into, and this set of four of them really makes me happy! I can just pick them up, have a go and try to beat my old score. The scores are all saved, too, so you can prove to your friend that you really DID get 1243 points! It's a pretty cheap game to buy, too, and there's quite a few secrets to uncover to keep you coming back for more...

The downside is that these games are nothing revolutionary. The sounds are just teeth-grinding beeps (not like the anxious ticks of the real things) and the graphics are rather simple. It's a great trip down memory lane, but if you're a person who either enjoys detailed stories in their games, or thinks that the GameBoy was the first portable gaming system, then this isn't the game for you.

The good things, though, are that there are now pause features for the games (yippee!) and a feature called 'Interrupt Save' (which most games seem to be getting lately) which saves your game if you pause it and turn it off. This means just before your batteries run out on your Gamely, you can pause it to save yourself from restarting. All in all, Game & Watch Gallery is a good game for one of those loooong trips in the car when you've got nothing else to do (and you're getting mighty sick of Tetris).

Title Publisher	Game & Watch Gallery / Nintendo
Genre	Action
Features	Battery-backed memory / Interrupt Save / Super GameBoy
Reviewer	Ben Kosmina
Summary Gameplay	Game & Watch Gallery is a collection of four classic 'Game & Watch' titles, which were released in the early 80's. It contains four different Game & Watch titles: Manhole, Fire, Octopus and Oil Panic. They aren't just re-hashes of the old games, though - there are also modern versions of each of the games, with new and improved graphics, gameplay and sound. The four games play as follows: Manhole Allow the pedestrians to cross the streets without letting them fall into the manholes! Watch out, because it can get really busy! Fire You control the trampoline, and your task is to catch the people who leap from the towering inferno. Make sure that you don't miss anyone, because it's a long way down! Octopus Dive deep into the ocean to grab the abandoned treasure. However, watch out for the octopus who guards it with its tentacles, waiting for its next victim! Oil Panic The petrol station is leaking oil! Pass it to your partner below, but don't spill it onto people by mistake! Make sure that you get every last drop! There are also neat little extras included into the cart as well. Get enough points on a game and you may open up a panel in the Gallery Corner, which is a display of some of the many Game & Watch Games that could be found. If you master the modern version of a game, you can even play a special 'Very Hard' mode, with super fast gameplay and no extra lives!
Verdict	I love games that don't involve much instructions to get into, and this set of four of them really makes me happy! I can just pick them up, have a go and try to beat my old score. The scores are all saved, too, so you can prove to your friend that you really DID get 1243 points! It's a pretty cheap game to buy, too, and there's quite a few secrets to uncover to keep you coming back for more... The downside is that these games are nothing revolutionary. The sounds are just teeth-grinding beeps (not like the anxious ticks of the real things) and the graphics are rather simple. It's a great trip down memory lane, but if you're a person who either enjoys detailed stories in their games, or thinks that the GameBoy was the first portable gaming system, then this isn't the game for you. The good things, though, are that there are now pause features for the games (yippee!) and a feature called 'Interrupt Save' (which most games seem to be getting lately) which saves your game if you pause it and turn it off. This means just before your batteries run out on your Gamely, you can pause it to save yourself from restarting. All in all, Game & Watch Gallery is a good game for one of those loooong trips in the car when you've got nothing else to do (and you're getting mighty sick of Tetris).