Elevator Action (NES) review "The gameplay remains repetitive, the pace never quickens, the challenge spikes early on, and if you haven't lost interest by level 3 I would be surprised. Elevator Action may be regarded as a classic, but that doesn't mean its still relevant or worthwhile."

A grappling hook connects with the roof of a hotel with a taut line attached to it. A secret agent slides down the line, gliding with ease only to stop midway and make sweet love to the rope. While wiggling his way down, the most obnoxious BEE-DOO-BEE-DOO-BEE-DOO cries out from your television speakers. The agent drops down and strikes a mean pose as diabolical music blares. We're supposed to feel like a badass at this point, but staring at our Ron Howard look-alike of a protagonist doesn't inspire much hope.

Just the opening scene with its terribly dated graphics and annoying sound practically begged me to hate Elevator Action. As I do with most ugly and irritating games, I only felt pity. It wasn't Elevator Action's fault that it had aged so poorly. However, its true shortcomings didn't originate from the sights and sounds. Even the gameplay, relevant in 1983, was dated.

(Okay, maybe not conceptually, but the mechanics and dynamics of the NES version do reek of age.)

I know, Elevator Action sounds like a low budget porn. In actuality, it's an action title originally found munching quarters happily in arcades across North America. It eventually invaded homes, jumping onto Atari 2600, Commodore 64 and NES. It captivated gamers with its simple premise: search a hotel with nauseatingly bright wallpaper for secret documents hidden behind brownish-red doors, gun down enemy spies, and sneak down to the ground level and hit the road. Since taking the stairs is for chumps, your main mode of transport is the elevator (hence the title). It's unknown what the architect who designed this building was smoking, but rather than install one elevator that takes you to every floor, he's installed a plethora of interspersed elevators in less than convenient locations. Many of them will drop you off in poorly lit hallways where enemy spies spill out from behind hidden doors. Some will only take you two floors down, forcing you to take another elevator and leaving you vulnerable to enemies. You'll chew your fingernails, you'll sigh in despair... You'll mash the 'B' button until your thumb goes numb.

After collecting every last document and heading out, it's onto the level 2... which looks similar to level 1. The difference in design is marginal. You'll creep down many of the same hallways and use many of the same elevators. After your successful first mission, you've seen the full breadth of surprises that Elevator Action has to offer. There are no new perils, traps, situations or even enemies.

The spies in black are your only opponents. One might've thought that the developers would include some other types of spies, perhaps armed with various weapons. Even attack dogs would have been a welcome change. It's because of the lack of enemy types that the challenge factor is unsteady. Level 1 is a cake walk, and can be completed with the meagerest of skill. Enemies rarely shoot, and when they do it can be easily avoided by crouching. Most of them can be taken out before they can even squeeze the trigger. Because the spies are the only true threat, they were the only means by which to kick up the difficulty, and beefing up the sole enemy meant having to deal with ridiculous odds early on. Come level 3, not only do the enemies fire but crouch, dodging your bullet. You'll inevitably bump into a situation where two spies will fire at the same time, one crouching and one standing. Once this happens, you're screwed.

Remove the spies, though, and there's no other challenging aspect. Without unique level designs, Elevator Action becomes a tedious and repetitive experience. Even if you can survive the onslaught after the second level, there's little fun or excitement to be had. Adding variety to both the level designs and the enemy types could have made for greater lasting value. Both concepts could have forced you to implement new strategies in the face of new situations while cutting back on the ridiculous shift in difficulty.

Challenge is welcome, and yet in Elevator Action's case it's a turn off. It becomes frustrating long before it has the chance to become fun, and the uninteresting gameplay doesn't help. The gameplay remains repetitive, the pace never quickens, the challenge spikes early on, and if you haven't lost interest by level 3 I would be surprised. Elevator Action may be regarded as a classic, but that doesn't mean it's still relevant or worthwhile.

Community review by JoeTheDestroyer (August 18, 2011) Rumor has it that Joe is not actually a man, but a machine that likes video games, horror movies, and long walks on the beach. His/Its first contribution to HonestGamers was a review of Breath of Fire III.