This is the first in the "Rolling Thunder" trilogy and it's also one of the first game franchises that helped start up the run and gun genre in video games.
It's a simple premise where you're a James Bond like agent code name Albatross whom is wearing a red shirt, that must rescue a fellow agent Leila from a SPECTRE or Hydra like evil organization, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. It's one of those games where you just simply start the game up, kill everything that moves, and don't die, and I like that straight and to the point.
I really like the use of the multiple doors, which give the game the element of suspense because you never know who, where, or even when the bad guys pop out of the door. You have a pretty decent variety of badies, from multicolored android henchmen with Klansmen like hoods, gremlins, and owls. The android they go down either by one or two hits depending on color type.
The levels and stages are thought out well, where in some places you still go to A to B but your decent down or up a stack of crates. Even environments are different on levels and stages and formatted differently. Color scheme is really good, sort of almost gives the game a comic book feel which it sort of is. You have a limited amount of ammo, but you can always reload when you find the doors marked Bullet and even acquire a machine gun in the door marked Arms. But all the same you must conserve your ammo as you have a limited amount and try not to miss, it always helps to have bullets handy.
You always must keep on the move with the timer ticking away but you have to also take your time as you never totally know where the badies are stationed or when and where they'll pop out. One thing that makes this game stand out is the ability to switch planes when you need to, your able to perform a super jump up when your character looks up, and you can even go down by squatting down and pushing the jump button.
This function is handy as it really helps you get one step ahead of your enemies, where you can see which doors and which positions, they'll be in. This sort of give the game almost a stealth action element which fits since this is a spy game, where you can go past you enemies or even jump down on them and blow them away when and where they least expect you to. The music is solid, to me it's the first level music that is memorable. It's a fun tun that just sings out fast thrilling action.
One of the other interesting things about the game is the use of cut scenes, like before you play the game you see the main villain's face on the screen, whom looked like The Green Goblin on "Spider Man" and he always gives a sinister laugh which as a kid always scared me. But as you finish a stage you see a cut scene of Leila and her status which really gives the game a sense of a progressive story which was unheard of at the time. But also, really helps motivate you more to save her.
Overall its' a solid start to the franchise, this vintage classic still has the caliber for fun.
Rating: 3 stars