In this review, we deliver on another review. This time, it is the Game Boy Color game Paperboy. we find out how well this action game plays.
This game was released in 1999. It is a port from the arcade version. Previously, we reviewed the Game Boy version of this game and found it to be a great game. So, we thought we’d play this version to see if this one is just as good.
Since this game shares a lot of similarities with the Game Boy version, we decided to focus on the differences this version has.
One big difference is the inclusion of different street difficulties. The difficulties are Easy Street, Middle Road, and Hard Way. Regardless of difficulty, the goal is still the same: survive with enough subscribers for a week. You start on Monday and end on Sunday.
While the more difficult streets are, well, more difficult to complete, there is another difference of note: points. The more difficult the street you take on, the more points you earn.
After the game, you can enter your name if you managed to earn enough points to make the high score list. Your name will not only be entered in the street difficulty, but also the “grand slam” list. This high score takes the highest scores from all the difficulties and picks the top 10 from those high scores.
This game includes a few new enemies. A lot of the enemies can be found on the more difficult streets. These include the swarm of insects that chase you, a woman pushing a pram, and uni-cyclists.
One positive improvement is the adjusted screen space. While screen space is still an issue, it is far less noticeable in this game than it is in the previous game.
Generally speaking, there are a few interesting improvements to this game. As a result of these adjustments, the game manages to stay competitive on the handheld market against newer titles. While the game can be irritating at times, it is, nevertheless, an enjoyable game to play.
The graphical differences are obvious. The color alone is a massive improvement. The new enemies are nicely drawn out and some of the enemies throughout the rout are well animated. It would have been nice to see some better animations of the Paperboy himself, but you do get a small consolation with the cartoon sound effect bubbles. Still, it is a nicely done job.
The audio in this game does lag a little in this game. While the music changes between the two sections of the game, it still gets a little repetitive after a while. The music at the end of the training course also makes absolutely no sense to me. It was just a mess of notes to me. The sound effects are OK, but nothing special. I’m willing to be lenient here and give this game a passing grade on the audio, but it did almost warrant a smaller score in my view.
Overall, this game does a pretty good job at bringing this game to newer players. The split in difficulties adds a lot of gameplay. The high score system is interesting. A lot of the old elements that are carried over to this system work quite well. The screen space is an improvement as well. The graphics are decent and the audio is just barely passable because of a somewhat repetitive soundtrack. Overall, it is an enjoyable game.
Overall
Furthest point in game:
Easy Street: Won. High score: 80,850
Middle Road: Won. High score: 125,090
Hard Way: Won (barely. The bugs chased me down on my final life and crashed me on the training course. Typically lost my last life sooner otherwise). High score: 164,470
General gameplay: 21/25
Replay value: 9/10
Graphics: 7/10
Audio: 3/5
Overall rating: 80%
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
