Elevator Action Returns

*Originally Written: 8/28/2000, Rewritten: 3/3/2002

Elevator Action Returns is the violent sequel to the light hearted Arcade/NES romp. Something about the original always hooked me and I used to play it for hours on end. I was overjoyed when I finally obtained the sequel a couple years ago. Boy was I surprised when I popped it in. Sure you've got your upgraded gameplay and graphics, but what got me the most was the added violence. I'm not sure if it was just due to limitations in hardware, but the violence in the original had a more care free, cartoony tone to it. Sure, people got shot and crushed under elevators, but it was handled in such a way that it felt as harmless as jumping on Goombas. The sequel, however, is covered in the red stuff. Now when people get shot blood splatters on the walls, when they get crushed a pool of blood leaks out. Also, with the extended weaponry avalible in this game, you now have people burning alive. That's not to say the blood is a bad thing, or even a good thing, it just surprised me. I really wasn't expecting it. Also added to the sequel are varied levels and enemies. You no longer have to go up and down what looks like the same building, shooting what looks like the same enemy over and over. The locations in the sequel differ quite a bit from one another and there is a larger variety of enemies present. Thankfully, for the most part, the gameplay remains the same. Your objective is the same, get the plans from the curiously marked red doors. Oh, and let's not forget all the elevators.

You can choose one of three unique characters to carry out you mission. Each character has different abilities and comes equiped with their own special bomb. All your favorites make an appearance, your typical strong but slow guy, the all around guy and the fast but weak character. The main objective of the game is simple, you have to go through the stage defusing bombs placed in rooms with nicely marked red doors. After all, we all know painting your door red will make people uninterested in seeing what is behind it. Along the way you will have to kill a bunch of people and some poor dogs. Yes, this game even let's you kill dogs. That's about the extent of the gameplay, not much depth, but it sure is fun. Since it is essentially the same as the prequel, if you didn't like that due to a lack of depth, you won't like this. There is a fair amount of different levels. Unlike the original you are no longer confined to buildings. Your missions will take you everywhere from your standard sky scraper to a massive ship. Each level begins with a short introduction. These intros usually consist of your character getting transported to the destination. Nothing big, I just felt it was worth mention because I thought it was kind of cool. For most of the game you'll be using a standard handgun, however, scattered around are some more powerful weapons such as a rocket launcher. Located in the levels are blue doors, going in these doors gives you an item ranging from a health boost to a weapon. I guess the bad guys figured rooms with blue doors would be uninteresting as well and just stashed stuff in them. Like the original, the sequel also features a little interactivity in the levels. Such as the ability to shoot out the lights. In addition to the lights, the sequel allows you to shoot sand bags, barrels and circuit breakers. Hitting a circuit breaker knocks off all the lights. Shooting some barrels can cause them to ignite in flames burning anyone within their range.

The game has an average difficulty on the normal setting. For those of you who like to abuse continues, prepare to be sad, Elevator Action Returns limits you to three. Is it tough to beat it in three continues? It can be, but it's far from impossible. Besides, a little challenge is always appreciated. The game features your standard assortment of options including difficulty, violence level for you squeamish folk, and controller config. There is a two player mode which is quite fun. I finally got one of my friends to try it out recently. Sadly, he didn't like the game too much. Could've been because he kept getting flattened by elevators. I didn't get too far in two player mode so I cannot comment if there is any slow down present.

The graphics are great. I'd love to say they were arcade perfect but since I have never seen nor played the arcade version I can't say for sure. Either way, the graphics are impressive, arcade perfect or not. Loading times are manageable. No major slowdown in one player mode. Lighting, blood and fire effects look wonderful as do the death animations. The intro to the game is also quite cool, has a nice arcade feel to it, obviously. Plus, the palette swap bad guys are not as abundant as you may think. Certianly better than the first game. Overall, I was really impressed with the graphics.

How did the control fare? Pretty good actually. Entering a room is now much easier as compared to it's prequel. One minor gripe is with the jumping, it feels a little odd, kind of like Prince of Persia. You get used to it though. Your actions can be carried out with two to three buttons depending on your controller config. One for shooting and one for jumping. Then, either both pressed together for a bomb or you can set bomb to it's own button. Control is responsive and works well. Only low point being the somewhat odd jumping.

The audio section doesn't stand out either way. The music is dramatic and suits the mood. Not something I'd find myself humming though. Sound FX are great. From screeching tires to gunshots, they all sound perfect. The few voice samples there are, are horrible. Nothing to complain or praise about the audio though.

The game is almost entirely in English, the only Japanese being at the bottom of the objective screen. Don't worry about that though as your objectives are listed on the side in English. Not to mention, they are just about the same thing every time. This could be the English version, if one existed that is. So, as with many arcade ports, language is not an issue.

Sadly, like many arcade ports, this game is rather low on replay value. There aren't many stages, and once you've gone through the game a few times there isn't really anything new to see. Thankfully, the replay value is helped by the limitation of three continues. Thanks to that it should take you some time to get good enough to clear the game. There is one surprise you get for beating the game, but I'm not telling.

Overall, I can recommend Elevator Action Returns to fans of the original or those looking for a fun action game. The game is great fun, but keep in mind the replay value is on the low side and the game isn't exactly the deepest thing in the world. If you liked the original, chances are you will really enjoy this game and you shouldn't let the lack of any true replay value keep you from this game. It's a shame games like this are becoming fewer and fewer in this age of "gaming".

©2001 Ed Finnegan

Back to Review Directory