GRAPHICS SOUND CONTROL FRUSTRATION FUN FACTOR OVERALL

NES 1 Player Adventure This is pretty much the flagship title on the Nes that people love to hate, but in truth, it can be fun. You just have to give it time, which most people aren't willing to do because of the games unstable structure. I don't have the manual, but what I gather from the game is you play as 6 camp counselors that are trying to stop Jason from killing everybody. I really didn't know too much about this game until I bought it along with my sudden interest gain in the Nes, even though my brother's friend did bring it over a couple times back in the day. Now I see why people love to hate it. It was made by LJN the company that's known for making lousy games (Back to the Future, Jaws, X-men). Graphics: The graphics really aren't all that flawed. Friday the Thirteenth features some of the most impressive scenery on the Nes. Every backdrop is detailed to the extent that you know what it is, but it's kind of difficult to distinguish them from one another. None of the enemies are too well taken care of. It's hard to tell what the main bad guy on the road is supposed to be (I think its a zombie, but I'm not really sure). Jason is probably the best looking character in the game. He looks exactly like you would expect him to...an animated Jason. Aside from the lack of detail given to the counselors, the graphics hold up quite well. Sound: I have a passionate hate for the music in this game. It's more or less the same tune throughout the entire game. When you go into a house and listen for a while to the music, it sounds like the music when you go into one of those fairy places in A Link to the Past on the SNES (which happens to be one of the only redeeming qualities of the music). I would really like to bash this game into a million pieces for the music alone. The sound effects aren't any better. You see when Jason is attacking a counselor or the children, the game will make a beeping sound to warn you that they are being attacked. But when you turn down the volume (and I'm betting you will after, say, 10 minutes of playing) you won't know that they're being attacked until it's too late. From here the game stays at a standstill... Gameplay: What you do in this game is run around and save the kids and counselors from Jason. You have to play all 6 counselors and try not to let them, or the children, get killed. You have to keep this up for 3 "days" (a day ends when you kill Jason), and each day every enemy gets harder. There are two different modes in this game. The main one where you're outside and it has a sidescrolling view, and the other where you are inside and it has the shadowgate-type view (for all you ignorant ones, a first person view), where you look from behind the character. Neither of the modes is that stable. In the outside view you have to go in search of better equipment while avoiding Jason and protecting the children. Getting equipment doesn't go by very fast either. Mainly because Jason always seems to appear at the most inconvenient times. The inside mode could have been good, but is extremely flawed due to the terrible control. The controls tend to stick a lot when you're fighting one of the two inside enemies (Jason of the Medusa Head). Overall, the concept looked to be a sure fire winner, but it wasn't given enough work to become a sure fire winner. I must give credit where credit is due. This game is pretty scary as far as Nes games go. You'll be walking around and then, BAM, Jason appears and eerie music starts to play. This used to make me jump, and even when I rebought it I jumped the first time it happened. Now that folks, is an accomplishment. Replay: This has to be one of the hardest games on the Nes. Most of the things that lead to this are again due to the control. Most of the enemies have patterns that hard to dodge, especially when they're combined. Also, Jason never seems to die. It's like he goes on and on forever. Making the frustration level in this game is through the roof. Every time after a play it, I want pour lighter fluid on it and see how much damage Jason can do to me when he's burst into flames. I swear if I had played this game more when I was younger, I would be in a mental institution right now. If you want to play this game again, go ahead, just don't say I didn't warn you. ......BOTTOM LINE: Well, LJN pulled out another stinker on us. I wouldn't pay anymore than $3 for this game. Actually I wouldn't even buy this game. I got in a bundle of games that I bought from a friend. Even if you're a collector, I would hold out on getting this game, its pretty common anyway. I can see why some people like it. I can also see why most people hate it. I've tried my hardest to like it, but somehow I can't help but lean towards the latter. -lynx 561