Gunspike [Model 841-0012C]

Gunspike © 2000 Capcom Company, Limited.

Your mission is to race around each area and blow the hell out of everything... or, if you prefer not to use guns, beat the hell out of everything. Yes, Capcom, ever masters of new concepts (cough) give each character five moves: weak and strong projectiles, weak and strong melee moves, and a super attack. The characters themselves are all classic Capcom heroes: Charlie, King Arthur, Cammy, Simone, Rockman, Shiba, and Little Red Riding Hood. I’m only slightly ashamed to not know where Simone and Shiba came from. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, and matching up fast but weak with slow but powerful is great fun in two-player mode.

Each level is usually only a few screens big, and only contains about 20 enemies. You and a buddy can annihilate them in any way you see fit, grab some life-ups, battle a mini boss, kick more baddies, then defeat a boss. On to the next level. Classic Capcom enemies crop up from time to time too, like the zombie Dobermans from Resident Evil, but the most memorable has to be ‘Fallen Balrog’ (Vega in Western versions of SF), who looks much like Marilyn Manson wearing Freddie Krueger gloves. The difficulty ranges from ‘Baby’ to ‘Very Hard’, and although the levels are very short, they can also be extremely tough, as the screen will often be filled with bullets.