Real Talk By: Ms. Throwback

Die Hard Arcade is a straight forward beat-em-up game released originally as an arcade game in 1997 and then for the Sega Saturn in 1998. It was also ported to the Playstation 2 in 2006 with slight graphical upgrades although essentially it is the exact same game. Many people also may not know that while the US release of the game supposedly coincides with the movie series Die Hard, generally the similarities are vague due to the fact that Die Hard Arcade is simply ported from a Japanese game by the name of Dynamite Deka. laughably it becomes quite obvious when you have to fight hordes of robots which as most of us remember was not a feature of the movies.

Starting off, the visuals of the game are pretty impressive. The graphical nature is comparable to Playstation one and all images on the screen are presented in three dimensions. The backdrop is lively with doors opening and closing, fireballs shooting through the air, and fan blades rotating wildly. The 3D graphics may be slightly deceiving however, as the gameplay itself is presented in a traditionally 2D fighting style, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in fact I’m a fan of the more traditional style. Mid-ground is also interesting as it is littered with objects that can be destroyed with weapons or enemies ramming into them.

The controls are pretty straight forward although can get be slightly difficult to use at times. The player may pick up surrounding objects and use them to destroy enemies. Rocket launchers, pistols, and broomsticks are just some of the fun objects the player can use to their advantage. Another control aspect of this game that’s unique is that there are cut-scenes where the player must time the push of certain buttons to create an event on-screen with either a success or failure. Depending on that success or failure you can destroy enemies in really cool ways through the cut-scene.

One mentionable main problem I have with the control layout is that the punch and pick-up-item button are the same which means that it can become somewhat frustrating when the player needs to punch and ends up picking up an item or vice versa.

Honestly though none of the faults of this game matter much in the end because I had so much fun just laughing as I was playing this game. It’s hilarious and entertaining and definitely tons of fun even for a short time. The sound effects and music are really comical especially during the interactive cut scenes. At one point a woman steps out of a doorway unexpectedly and BAM! I just punch her straight in the dome piece. it’s absolutely hysterical. Another scene I loved is when I walked into a bathroom and the guys taking care of business in front of the urinal while three dudes are apparently hiding out in the bathroom stalls. it’s just totally ridiculous and completely awesome.

This isn’t a truly in-depth game but the fun factor alone gives it some brownie points.

Die Hard Arcade Gets

Out of five

What’s Legit?

+Way too much fun

+Cool weapon usage and mid-ground destruction

What’s Perpetrating?

-Music and sound effects

-One major control issue

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