Elevator Action Returns: Boy, does it ever!

I have fond memories of playing Elevator Action at Chuck E Cheese when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I didn’t get very far. Hell, not even past the first level. Around 1994, I saw a nice screen shot of what was then called Elevator Action 2, available soon in the arcades. It’s now called Elevator Action Returns and it looks so much different and better now. It went from partially whimsical, to downright gritty, and exciting. I would almost except the developers to cut back On the “Elevator Action”, if you will. But lo and behold. Elevators all the way, baby!!

Your mission, should you choose to except it, like you have a choice in the matter…

..is to treat bombs hidden behind red doors. What did I tell you? Still the same formula, and I couldn’t be More pleased with that. This time, though, you have 3 characters to select from. Kart Bradfield, Edie Burret, and Jad the Taff. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, Kart has the advantage on speed, whereas Jad moves more slow and steady. Edie seems like the more average character. Remember how all the buildings in the first game looked alike? Not here. You’ll infiltrate such places like an Underground installation below a subway, a drilling rig just offshore, and even an Airport Terminal. Many of these stages have a realistic atmosphere, whether it’s announcements made over the P.A at the Air Terminal, or graffiti on the walls saying “Crush the old order.” See if you can find the hidden meaning Behind that.

Did you just shoot a rabid attack dog square in the face?

Gruesome, yes. Luckily, the dog won’t feel much pain for long, cause the mean old doggie will disappear, Much like all video game characters, good or bad, tend to do. That’s just one of the enemies you’ll face. There are guys in trench coats, body armor, and where would a game like this be if there weren’t robot Drones running all over the place? These bad guys can be taken out with your trusty pistol. You can Collect additional weapons with limited ammo, like the machine gun and rocket launcher. Doom, anyone? Besides the red doors, there are blue doors which contain items, weapons and health. Here’s some things I found out while playing. Enemies can shoot themselvesÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½by accident, that is. Remember the escalators? They’re here, but I’ve only seen one throughout the entire game. Like I said in the review of the first Elevator Action: “You wouldn’t want this game to be called “Escalator Action”, would you?”

The Return of Elevator Action gets a warm welcome from yours truly.

Even though I’m about 9 years late, I at least got to play it, and I enjoyed it a great deal. A lot of the familiar things you’ve seen in the first game, like getting crushed underneath the elevator, is still Present in this sequel. You’ll also notice that if you’re close enough to an enemy, you can punch him out, rather than shoot him. This, along with the graphics are phenomenal, at least for a 1994 arcade game. It’s not the gory violent crap we’re seeing today, although I happen to like some of that crap, like Grand Theft Auto. Let’s jump into the sound. As real as it gets. Gunshots, screaming in pain, explosions, rustling Winds, diabolical laughter. It’s all here. Even voice clips of our 3 main characters. Not a lot of clips, but still good. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t paying much attention to the music, other than the fact that it changes in each level. Sometimes, you won’t even hear any music, I don’t know why. It didn’t sound annoying, or repetitive, or dull. Ah, let’s seeÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Control. Well, you can walk, run, jump, duck, and use elevators. Doesn’t sound as hard as brain surgery, does it? You should all find the controls of this Game to be good. If you have about $50 in quarters, you’ll think of the challenge as being merely Simple, that is until you remember that $50 was supposed to buy your girlfriends birthday present. Nuts! Since you have about 2 lives, it won’t be easy to make it to the end of the game without depositing some of your cold hard cash converted into quarters. The game is one rough ride. It’s realism, and non-stop adventure are sure to keep you at the arcade for many hours at a time. If your arcade happens to be at a pool hall, you may want to consider becoming a regular customer, or else, someone is going to throw you out, game and all.

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