Paperboy

The Good
Maybe it's because I've spent half of my childhood on the street doing a paper round, but there is no other video game character I could identify with more than this Paperboy.

The Bad
From today's perspective, neither the graphics nor the gameplay suit modern standards, but you have to consider that this game is about 30 years old. The high difficulty is the only thing that was always a bummer and ever will be.

The Bottom Line
Other players might know similar games like Paper Wizard (on iOS, not available anymore) or Stickerboy without even knowing that there is a predecessor for this genre. Well, there is. So if you want to get straight to the roots of a paperboy simulation game with a lot of fun, you got to start your journey here.

The Good
Nice difficulty. Requires you to develop a rhythm for the obstacles in order to defeat the game.

The Bad
No need to replay, unless you’re trying for a higher score.

The Bottom Line
Enjoyable and challenging for a few hours.

The Good
Pick up your old push-bike, put on your peaked cap, and imagine yourself braving the streets of an American suburb. You are the Paperboy (duh) and your job is to deliver copies of The Daily Sun to customers by throwing them in every mailbox you see, and you have to do this while avoiding obstacles such as cars, workmen, drunkards, and lawnmowers, and also, skateboarders, joggers, and dogs. You have a limited supply of newspapers, so don't waste them. In order for customers to get papers via their mailbox, they must be subscribed, and you can tell whether customers are non-subscribers: they're the ones with the black houses.

You must survive seven days delivering newspapers and avoiding those obstacles, and delivering papers score you points. Be warned that superb riding skills and a steady throwing arm is required to get you through these seven days. You can miss any mailbox in the street, but the rules are that at least one or two papers must successfully be thrown in a mailbox, otherwise you'll get fired. Breaking windows and knocking people out will also get you fired. You can ride on the sidewalk so you can collect old newspapers from the previous day, and these also score your points.

You might get away by smashing the windows to non-subscribers. You'll make a perfect delivery if you manage to get papers in every mailbox in the street. At the end of each day, you can try your luck at the obstacle course where you must get through to the finish line before time runs out. You can also hit targets with newspapers to score points along the way. Making it through to the finish line will also score you a lot of bonus points, but how many points you recieve depends on the remaining time.

One thing I love about the game is that your status is displayed on the front page of The Daily Sun, where the main heading is "Amazing Paperboy Delivers" or "Paperboy calls it quits". The text reads no other than "Blah Blah Blah, etc." And as for the houses, the doormats of each house make it clear who you are delivering to. I like everything in this game: the colorful graphics, sound, and music, although the music is nothing compared to the C64 version. When I played this version, you are provided with easy-listening music while you deliver newspapers.

The Bad
At the start of the game, you have to choose the route you want to take, which include Easy Street, Middle Road, and Hard Way. I believe that these routes indicate the difficulty levels, but while playing the game, the difficulty is the same, no matter which route you select.

The obstacle course stinks. More often than not, I just keep running out of time when I'm about to cross the finish line.

The Bottom Line
If you want to be a paperboy in the near future, then this game will test your skills. If you don't want to be a paperboy but if you like games where the object is to deliver shit, then this game might be your cup of tea. ***