Genre:  Arcade
Platform:  NES

I think most of us played Duck Hunt the day we got our new NES back in the day.  It was the “B” side of the dual-game cartridge that came with the system.  Super Mario Brothers was the star, but Duck Hunt was certainly a pleasant surprise.  The NES came with a gun attachment, so you could actually shoot at the screen and kill the ducks!  This amazed me as a sixth-grader.

When you start playing, your dog buddy rustles up the weeds and up fly some ducks.  It starts easy enough – you see one duck at a time and you only need one shot to take them down.  As the game goes on, you get more ducks at once and they get a bit tougher.  I’m not sure how many levels there were, but I really enjoyed this one.  If you’re like me, though, it didn’t take you too long to realize that you could cheat by taking the gun straight to the TV screen.  I didn’t do that often, though, as there was a lot more fun in the challenge of the game.

And admit it, you aimed and shot at the dog when the he laughed at you when you missed.

Genre:  Arcade
Platform:  NES

It is Labor Day here in the US, which is a day honoring workers.  What a better game to review today than a job that many people started out with – a paper route.  This game was released on multiple platforms, but I had primarily played it on the NES.  It started as an arcade game.

In this game, you are a paperboy simply trying to deliver all of his papers accurately and on time.  However, this is a neighborhood from hell for a paperboy.  There are obstacles at every single house on your route.  If it’s not a kid on a big-wheeler trying to run you over, it’s a cat getting in your way.  You can take your revenge, however.  Using well-timed throws, you can break windows and vandalize other items.  This was where most of the fun was for me.

Your goal is to deliver all of your papers to the correct houses as accurately as you can.  It’s a near-miracle if you can actually throw one in the paperbox.  It will count if you get your paper somewhere on their property.  You can ride either on the sidewalk or on the street.  Both have their perils.  The sidewalk gives you little time to react to the obstacles, but you’re likely to be run over by a car on the street and it’s harder to make your throws.  At the end of your route, you have to go through an obstacle course for some reason.

This game is HARD.  I think I got to the fourth level once.  I could cruise past the first level, but after that, it was tough.  I still played it repeatedly, however.  It’s a fun game and it kept me playing for hours.  I played it recently and found that I just didn’t have the patience for this anymore.  It’s a good game, though, and I recommend it!