Vigilante

"As the Master once said, "No punch can hurt if you don't feel pain." Remember that - because Vigilante pits you against some of the toughest thugs that the sewers can produce. They're skinheads, and you've had trouble with them before. But now they've kidnapped your woman. You've warned them more than once not to mess with you, but they don't seem to get it. So now you have to show them. Skinheads are big into brute force. They don't have much choice - the brain activity going on below the scalp is about the same as the hair activity going on above it.

They will come at you from every side, wielding clubs, knives, chains, and guns - you have only your fists and your numchucks for protection. Most guys wouldn't have a prayer, but you're different. Your quick. You can dodge a kick or sidestep a motorcycle - at the same time you take out it's rider. And you've got the stamina to fight them wherever they go - through city streets, in the junkyard they call home, across a bridge, even from the naked beams at the top of a skyscraper. Sure you're putting your life on the line. But, hey, this is worth it - it's your girl."

Another tragic arcade conversion to the C64. It's 1988 maybe I shouldn't be so hard on the ole 64 except that we had good side scrolling brawlers like renegade and target renegade from the same time showing how it should be done.

Another game where we battle though 6 levels with the same 3 enemies throughout apart from boss fights. It's not the easiest game to play. If the enemy lands a shot it hurts and if you don't get out quick youll get beat down in mere seconds. It's different to other brawlers to control and can take some adjusting to. You move left and right as you would expect, but down and up will also jump/crouch and allow a punch kick with left or right. However if you hold press or hold fire you are stuck in place and can get a slightly more damaging punch or kick out.

Usually there are 2 enemies on screen at once. The spacing will be just different enough that if you hit the closest one, he will be pushed away allowing for a quick turn to hit the second. Keep the rhythm going and you'll finish them in 5 or 6 hits. Only the black fighter can be knocked out in one hit. The bosses are where the real challenge comes in. Most damage is done by getting behind them and letting rip but it can cost you a lot of energy to get there. You can try to play it safe with hit and run tactics but it does seem to require landing some precision punched else you will take a lot of damage.

Overall I cant say I ever enjoyed the game, mostly due to the controls but it is better then Double Dragon C64 at least. The music is the same throughout and to my ear, its sounds like a butchered version of the already bad music in the game Running Man.