The three 3rd party titles in my Colecovision collection vary from relatively obscure to relatively popular. None of the three were blockbusters but Miner 2049er and River Raid deserve to be household names in home console gaming. Chuck Norris Superkicks can be superkicked to the curb, however.
In Chuck Norris Superkicks by Xonox, you maneuver the bearded kung-fu master across an overworld terrain until you run into a crew of bad guys. Chuck is armed with only his body as a lethal weapon and can kick, punch and jump kick by doing a somersault in the air. The goal is to defeat all the enemies on the screen before you can advance on your quest. At the start of the game you are saddled with a timer and each time one of the enemies defeats you on the battle screen, time is extracted from the clock. Once the timer hits zero, your game is over. You can gain time back by passing certain check points. Periodically, you’ll be faced with various forks in the road and if you take the wrong one you may find a roadblock which requires you to back track and fight more enemies. Eventually you reach the final lair at which point you enter a room with never-ending spawn of enemies. You fight and fight and fight until your timer runs out. Seriously, that’s the end of the game. I actually made the game sound more fun that it actually is but the repetitively grating music and gameplay will keep you from enjoying this one too much.
Miner 2049er and River Raid, on the other hand, are both stellar titles. River Raid is an Activision multi-platform classic river boat shooter. You’ll blast enemies in the water, avoid attacks from land and air while keeping your fuel tank off E. The pace is frenetic and I love blowing up bridges and the ability to go faster or slower simply by pushing forward on the controller. River Raid is fun but I do find it quite difficult which means that my games are relatively brief. Micro Fun’s Miner 2049er is more of a puzzle game where you play as Bounty Bob trying to inspect various mines filled with radioactive creatures. The goal is to walk over each section of mine without dying before you can move on to the next level. Your only defense against the mine creatures is to grab a tool and turn the tables on the baddies. Otherwise you’ll have to watch out not only for them but from falling off ledges. The game requires a lot of strategy and trial and error which gives it a ton of replay ability until you master all of the screens. Another multi-platform title, Miner 2049er for the Colecovision is definitely worth its weight in gold.
Currently in my collection:
Chuck Norris Superkicks – game only D+
Miner 2049er – game only A
River Raid – game only B+
Cartridge Corner 