Silver Surfer (video game)

Silver Surfer
Developer(s)	Software Creations
Publisher(s)	Arcadia Systems
Composer(s)	Tim Follin Geoff Follin
Platform(s)	NES
Release date(s)	November 1990
Genre(s)	Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player

Silver Surfer is a video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, developed by Software Creations and released by Arcadia Systems in November 1990 in the United States. There have been no known releases in other regions. The game is notorious for its extreme difficulty, and has been placed on many "Toughest Games" lists.^{[citation needed]}

Gameplay

In Silver Surfer, the player controls the Marvel Comics comic book hero Silver Surfer through various levels that alternate between a side-scrolling and an overhead perspective.

Each stage is divided into sections. At the end of each section, a mini-boss appears, and the Silver Surfer must shoot the main enemy while many other enemies attack as well. This is the only place where the screen stops scrolling forward. The third and final section contains a super-villain from the comic book series who will take more hits to defeat. The villains featured in the game are Reptyl, Mephisto, Possessor, Fire Lord, and Emperor.

After the first set of levels is complete, Galactus appears and sends Silver Surfer on a final mission into the Magik Domain to collect a Cosmic Device from a villain whose identity is less than clear. Despite previous claims, the final boss is actually a purple being that does not appear to have been in the comics, although the image near the bosses health bar suggests that the final boss is Mister Sinister. Once Silver Surfer defeats him, the rest of the Cosmic Device is his, and he tells Galactus that no one must have access to the "Cosmic Device" and hides it for safe keeping so it may not fall into the wrong hands.

The game has a password feature that allows a number of upgrades, such as invincibility. The game has cut-scenes between the levels to move the story line ahead, and allows the player to pick the levels in any order, similar to the Mega Man games. The game also features two additional 'quests,' the first of which is unlocked by entering a password given to the player upon completing the "Magik Domain" mission.

Weapons

Silver Surfer is armed only with laser beams that shoot out of his hands to destroy enemies and their projectiles, and the player can collect tiny sphere icons that allow him to shoot up to three laser beams at once. The third can only be used on an overhead perspective, shooting two diagonally. Collecting squares with an "F" can make shots gradually stronger to make the shots look like fire pellets. Up to five can be collected before they give bonus points instead. Collecting "B"'s allow Silver Surfer to instantly destroy anything on the screen when the select button is pressed.

Silver Surfer's two additional beams can move by pressing B so the pellets can either shoot forward, sideways or backward. The pellets from Silver Surfer cannot change direction. When a life is lost, all extra beams, power-ups and B's are lost, thus the player must collect his/her weapons all over again to maintain the same power and number of beams at once.

Difficulty

Many gamers consider Silver Surfer to be one of the most difficult games in the NES library (mostly considered second only to Battletoads) for the following reasons:^{[citation needed]}

• If the player takes one hit from an enemy, a life is lost.
• If the player touches any solid surface in any level, a life is lost.
• In the overhead levels, there is often not an immediate distinction between which objects are hazards and which objects are simply scenery.
• The Silver Surfer character sprite is fairly large, making it difficult for the player to navigate through tight spaces.
• There are very few mid-level checkpoints in the game and the game's password system does not allow the player to resume a previous game, as many other NES games do.
• The game gives the player limited continues before he/she must start the game over.
• Many of the game's enemies follow chaotic movement patterns that make them difficult to foresee or dodge.
• Many of the game's enemies take multiple hits to destroy unless the player has collected weapon power-ups.
• The game does not allow the player to hold down the game's 'fire' button and continuously fire projectiles as many other shooter games do; hence many recommend playing the game with a controller that has a turbo function.
• There are often several enemies on the screen simultaneously firing multiple projectiles in multiple directions.
• Some of the games enemies are completely invincible, such as an innocuous-looking duck on the Reptyl stage.

Reception

The game received mostly mixed reviews. Some people praised it as an enjoyable side-scrolling shooter game, while other people criticized it for its relentless difficulty.

External links

• Silver Surfer at MobyGames