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Wii Game Review: Ice Climber |
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Written by Rancour
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Friday, 20 April 2007 |
Admittedly, I’d never heard of Ice Climber before Super Smash Bros. was released. I had my NES, and I played most of the classic titles, but it just never crossed my path until it was rereleased over 20 years later via the Wii’s Virtual Console on February 12. Originally released in 1985 as one of the first games for the NES, Ice Climber is a classic bottom to top, enemy bashing hurry up game.
You can’t expect much out of Ice Climber graphically or in its audio. As one of the first games released for home consoles, it doesn’t excel in either. The sprites are barely recognizable and the enemies more or less simple shapes with varying colors. The sound is a collection of beeps and boops, similar to what you might remember from Game and Watch in Super Smash Bros.
But it’s not the visual or sound aspects of this game that would convince anyone to download it. It’s the classic game play and the attraction of its two main characters, deemed important enough by Nintendo for inclusion in their amazing brawler.
Essentially, the game play is a hybrid upgrade of Donkey Kong. You’re given two characters, who must stay together and climb up as the screen scrolls with you, defeating enemies, breaking ice blocks, and attempting to reach the top of the screen. It’s a simple formula, but incredibly addicting once you get into it. That very same formula was taken and used in multiple other games if you recall, including Metroid and Battle Toads, two classic SNES outings.
You can’t expect much from such an early game, nor would you. For that reason, the simple, basic fun of Ice Climber makes it a nice little distraction. Not only are you most likely acquainted with the characters already, you probably remember the classic game play and the nostalgia of a single sitting, save free game with a simple concept and at times surprisingly hard settings.
Not only are you fighting upwards against time, you’re faced with a sea of polar enemies and falling icicles. It’s one of those arcade quality games that grabs every part of your attention. And the most interesting and for me, endearing part of the game is the multiplayer aspect which allows you to play with a friend at the same time. Working in synch, trying to climb ever upward and take out obstacles for each other is a great game play element and ahead of its time, considering the co-operative games on the market at the time.
So yes, I am recommending Ice Climbers as a great game to download for your Virtual Console. It’s not astounding, it looks pretty awful graphically and it doesn’t offer extensive replay value, but it’s a classic with a very simple, very enjoyable element of fun that you aren’t likely to find in most games released today. It’s a good distraction and a perfect way to get pumped for the next outing with the ice climbers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. |
