Elevator Action (Taito 1987)

Elevator Action first came out in the arcades back in 1983 and set itself apart with its original and addictive gameplay. You play as agent 17, codename "Otto" whose job it is to infiltrate some enemy buildings and steal top secret documents. After gaining access from the roof, you fight your way through 30 floors of doors, elevators, escalators and enemies to the getaway car down below. With only your pistol and a lethal jump kick you must avoid or eliminate all enemy agents that are out to get you.

Considering its age, it is no surprise that Elevator Action looks pretty basic but overall I'd say the graphics aren't too shabby. Buildings basically consist of the different floors, each packed with doors. Behind the red doors are the documents you must find while all the other doors might hold enemy agents that could pop out at any time and shoot you. The elevators also don't run through all floors so sometimes you have to take the stairs to get down. Shooting out the lights in the building causes a blackout for a short time and giving your more points for your kills. You can also jump the elevator shafts or ride on top of the elevators. Another fun thing to try is crushing enemy agents walking around below the elevator or sneaking around on top of it.

The odds in Elevator Action is very much against you and by stage two things start getting seriously unfair. It only takes one hit to kill you and there are no upgrades or power-ups to help you. You can jump and crouch to avoid enemy fire but the enemies attack in hordes and can have rapid fire weapons. They can also lie down on the ground making them almost impossible to hit, all while they are shooting out a string of undodgeable bullets your way. To make things worse the game has no continue feature making you restart from scratch every time you lose all your lives.

The audio in the game is nothing special but at least the one tune that plays in the background isn't too annoying. There are also some sound effects but nothing really worth mentioning. The controls can feel a bit stuff at times but you get used to it and will soon be jump kicking enemy agents and leaping over elevator shafts. It sucks that you can only crouch while enemies can lie down but that's just something you have to get used to. The game has a two-player mode but the second player has to wait for player one to die to get their chance.

I haven't really played the arcade original that much so I can't really comment on how accurate a translation this one is. What I can say is that Elevator Action is a fun and addictive game that is spoiled somewhat by the high difficulty level and unfair bad guys. The game can seem almost impossible at times and can also get quite repetitive because you have to restart from scratch every time you lose all your lives. It's still very entertaining but not really something that will keep you coming back for more and is more suitable for playing in short bursts.

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