Somer Assault

~ SOMER ASSAULT ~

Atlus

HuCard

1992

This game appealed to me instantly, and it just doesn't get old. The mazelike levels are enjoyable if simplistic; the novelty of playing as a slinky never wears off; the music is nice; and the graphics are appealing enough, with some pretty backdrops here and there.

However, the real excitement comes during the zodiac-boss encounters. The bronze giants look great and perform some awesome attacks, and the music that accompanies the fights is excellent.

Granted, the game is cake after you receive your "birthday present" (a veritable smorgasbord of power-ups) from your zodiac sign; but considering that the birthday you enter determines when you'll receive the present, putting off the party with a late-in-the-year date is basically like upping the level of difficulty.

This is definitely fun stuff, but there are a few things I would change about SA if I could:

The exchange between the slinky and the sorceress at the beginning is funny. I would've liked to have seen more such exchanges take place.

I wish Atlus had made the levels larger and dropped the time limit so that players could explore the labyrinths and find secrets at their leisure instead of racing against a clock.

More regular enemies would've been nice, as there are very few and they're mostly meek. Some cooler weaponry (so that the slinky could evolve into a true beast of destruction) would've been awesome as well.

The battle with the evil heads at the very end seems out of place and unnecessary. The fight with the Mimickers that takes place right before it would've made for the perfect final encounter.