Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!

The Good
In the 1980s, graphic adventure games were quite popular in the land of personal computers. Alas, they were much rarer in the land of home consoles. It was a treat to be able to play this type of game on the NES. This was especially the case when a popular, well designed, adventure game made the jump from disk to cartridge.

The game shows off the hardware capabilities of the NES in terms of graphics. Little was lost or censored in the transition. The story, puzzles and classic 1940s setting are all present in the NES edition.

The Bad
If you played the game on the computer, you will notice a few changes, which may have been ordered by the Big 'N before the game could be released. It is not a huge problem, but it is does remind the player how different the industry was when this game was published. Think of it as a ,slightly, tamer film noir adventure and not the sort of dark, gritty and adult world of more recent titles.

Most of the game's music and sound effects do their job, but don't break any new ground. You generally did not play these games to be blown away by the audio or visual style. You may lose interest in the music after awhile and well, the sound of a gunshot or a fist, was never easy to recreate on the NES.

It is the story that draws you into the game and pushes you to want to explore more of this world. It is the writing that makes you feel as if you gone back in time to the days of 1940s Hollywood detectives and pulp crime novels.

The Bottom Line
The transition from disk to cartridge has not made the game any less fun to play. The game manages to recreate an impressive storyline, complete with colorful characters, locations and puzzles. If you enjoy graphic adventure games and old fashion detective films, then this game will be a 8-bit video treat from start to finish.

The Good
Well the game is set in 1941, Chicago and it has the feel of an old, gangster/detective film. It's a very early point and click adventure, but is different from others in it's allowing you to drag, drop, resize, open and close. It has a very dark, serious, adult feel to it, you're in a dirty city full of crooked, untrustworthy characters, Ace Harding himself appearing to have a skeleton or two in his closet.

The graphics are nice, like pencil sketches in this original, black/white version.

The Bad
I found it very easy to die, you begin by having to counteract the effects of a drug before it's too late. Also there's a mugger on the street that can pop up at any time, wasting valuable time(or killing you). There are a lot of locked doors. Basically I found there was too much to do in too short a time.

I also thought the sleazy atmosphere of the game was a bit too much. I like that Ace Harding isn't supposed to be some sort of saint in a city of sin, but I wish the game had some momentary relief from all the sleaze and crookedness.

The Bottom Line
Well if you want to trace the roots of point and click adventures then this is surely an essential game, but it's not the most pleasant game. I wouldn't recommending trying too hard to finish it, at least not without a walk-through.