Nerdicus NES Review #130: City Connection

Title : City Conncetion

Publisher : Jaleco

Developer : Axes Art Amuse

Genre : Platform Racing

Players : 1 / 2 Players

Release Date : 1985

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $3-$5

Bizarre is a word I don't use often, but this game is deserving of that description. It is absolutely, positively, one of the most bizarre NES games I have ever played. When you think about racing games, what do you think of? Race tracks? Other cars? Of course. Then again, this isn't really a racing game.

It's more of a platformer, with a little bit of side-scrolling shooter (without the shooting) and racing mixed in. I know, that sounds weird, but that's the only way I can describe it. You're basically a renegade race car driver in a coupe. Out of all cars, why did they pick one that looks like a Smart Car or a Fiat? That's not something I want to be racing around in.

But I digress, I'm not even racing. UGH! What is this game?!

You see, you're not racing...you're painting. Yes, that's right. You are tasked with painting every single road on the levels you'll be driving upon. And there's a huge selection of locations that have been thrust into this game. I'm talking NYC, the Grand Canyon, Easter Island, Paris, Neuschwanstein Castle, London, Sydney, Egypt, India, China, Japan...DEAR GOD!!! We're going all over the world!

So apparently, these cities have a three-tiered highway system, and you have to paint them all...why? I don't know why, because that's what you have to do in this game. Don't ask questions. But beware, the cops are after you. Why? Because you're painting on the damn streets, that's why.

The title screen is very Miami Vice, no? Gotta love those pink, bubbly letters, and those cutesy hearts. The 2 player mode in this game is just alternating players, so I don't really consider that 2 players. That's just handing the controller over to your friend.

As you race across your first city, you'll notice something immediately. You can't stop. NOPE, this car has no brakes people. You're going to be driving non stop until you paint those roads, so get to it! The only thing you're capable of doing is making sharp 180 degree turns so you can go in an opposite direction.

Oh, but painting roads is never easy. And why should it? There's quite a few enemies in your way....including cats.....yes, cats. That can DESTROY YOUR CAR!

You'll encounter three major obstacles - Police Cars, spikes, and cats. Now police cars are typically the most annoying of the bunch as they'll be driving around the stage chasing you, and you really don't have many options of stopping them unless you come across oil barrels. You'll be able to fling these barrels at them, causing them to spiral out of control. Only then can you send them flying off screen.

Cats are just plain annoying. They come out of nowhere, and cause you to lose a life. JUST BECAUSE YOU RAN OVER A CAT. The cat shouldn't have been on the highway anyway.

Then you have spikes. Spikes are bad. You blow up.

It's really quite obvious that this is one of those early NES games. The graphics aren't quite "there" yet, and it's so simply programmed that they really didn't do much to offer any sort of varied gameplay. It's the same thing over and over again in an endless loop of painting roads. This is one of those games I'd probably feed a quarter in to at the Arcade and then stop out of utter boredom.

The music is probably the most entertaining bit with this game. Every level has different background music that changes accordingly, and correct me if I'm wrong...but is that the BATMAN theme song I heard in one of the levels? I swear, it sounded like Batman.....if so...that is awesome. Oh, and it's even better when you run over a cat because another song plays that's somewhat cheerful. It practically rewards you for killing cats. What a horrible game.

Other than that, it's just a meh game from the early days of the system. Wish there was more to it, but there really isn't.

Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!