SWITCHBLADE II 
1 player, horizontal game 
Atari Corp., for the Atari Lynx 
$39.95 
Stereo? No 
OVERVIEW:
In the far future, the evil ninja lord Havok reined over the land,
until Hiro the immortal defeated his robot army and banished the
fiend. Now Havok and his forces have returned, stronger than ever, and
Hiro has returned to fight once again. Armed with lethal metal-slicing
blades and an array of weapons, you must guide Hiro across the
scrolling landscape, destroying all enemies in your path and bring
down Havok once again.
If you haven't fallen asleep from that threadbare plot, then here are
more details for this Lynx adaptation of the Gremlin game. Hiro starts
with three lives, though each life can take several hits before dying.
Money, health, and points can be found along the way, while extra
lives and advanced weaponry can be bought in the shops located in the
game. There are six levels in all, each divided into several substages
and capped with the obligatory boss villain.
GAMEPLAY:
The video game market is filled from floor to ceiling with hundreds
of these scrolling, kill-everything titles, some very good and some
very mediocre.  SWITCHBLADE II leans towards the latter, with fairly
bland gameplay that feels flavorless and leaves you hollow. On the
surface, there is nothing at fault with this game, as it follows all
of the formulas: Controls are simple and responsive, the story and
gameplay are tried and true, and there's a wealth of enemies, weapons,
and scenery. Just go in and clobber anything that moves, right?
On the other hand, this game lacks a soul, a sense of adventure and
excitement. There's very little challenge, with enemies patrolling
mindlessly or attacking in ones and twos, and no time limit or other
form of pressure.  Young players may find this game tricky, but
experienced players will easily stomp over the forces of evil. Many
other games offer the same basic action, only better, or faster, or
more difficult, but SWITCHBLADE II quickly becomes an exercise in
boredom. There's no solid reason to dislike this title, but it offers
little incentive to like it, either.
GRAPHICS/SOUND:
The graphics and sound of SWITCHBLADE II do not do anything to
enhance its appeal. The graphics are small and passable, with a good
variety to reflect the different types of terrains and enemies.
Unfortunately, they fail to get the player excited, and the animation
is extremely simple. Similarly, aside from a stirring title theme, the
game is mostly quiet, except for the tapping of Hiro's feet and
assorted explosions. Remaining sound effects are uninspired and
quickly forgotten.
SUMMARY:
SWITCHBLADE II is yet another side-scrolling kill-everything action
game that will quickly get lost in the crowd, as it commits the
cardinal sin of boring the player. People who dislike this game genre
will not be swayed by SWITCHBLADE II, and action gamers can easily
find other, similar titles that are more enticing.
 GAMEPLAY : 5 
 GRAPHICS : 5.5 
 SOUND  : 5 
 OVERALL : 5 
From: ST+ diskmag issue 22
... This is reality?  I want a refund!
--- JetMail 0.99beta22
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