Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy

Overall, Top Hunter is a great game. The graphics are outstanding, the music takes advantage of the CD medium, and the controls are excellent. The only flaws are the slowdown, and sometimes confusing game play as you struggle to figure out which plane enemies are on. Still, playing through Top Hunter with a friend is an absolute blast. This game is one of the cheapest and easiest to obtain Neo Geo CD titles. A must own.

As will all Neo games, it's easy to get suckered in by the outstanding graphics and sound. But Top Hunter required little brain power to blow through it, making it less than an ideal choice for purchasing. You will, however, find lots of techniques to learn, strange bosses to defeat and excellent play control. But the difficulty, even on the hardest setting, is still way too easy. It's a good quarter muncher, though.

If you own the Neo Geo, you're going to be stoked because Top Hunter is a great action game for your system. It's been a long time since there was a great-looking side-scroller for this machine. I'm not sure that the game will exactly tear up your arcades, but if you only play an arcade game while you're eating donuts at your local donut shop, you'll be glad to find a different game for the Neo Geo.

The interactive scenery is rich with detail, but it can be hard to tell if an object is in the foreground or background. You and a friend can join forces to kick butt side by side, but as you might guess, the two-player action only adds to the confusion. The three lengthy stages are set in forest, fire, and ice environments. Each stage has a few lever mechanisms that activate traps or expose new areas. The best part of Top Hunter is definitely the graphics. Despite the cartoonish look of the characters, some of the huge monstrosities you encounter are truly astonishing in both size and detail (the giant snow monster in the ice stage comes to mind). Top Hunter has unlimited continues, but they can totally ruin the challenge and fun factor. If you have the discipline to limit your continues (or not use them), Top Hunter can be a good time.