video game

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Genre: Scroling Shooter
ESRB Rating: N/A
Production Company: Data East
Year: 1985
Cobra Command is a helicopter based scrolling game. The objective is to rescue hostages and destroy enemies. You scroll through levels, for the most part, in a very linear manner. Every now and then a little green guy will pop his head out of hiding to be picked up. You swoop down to him and a little rope drops out of your aircraft for him to climb up. Not a very tricky game as long as you clear the area or baddies before trying to evacuate POWs. Every now and then you find yourself going underground to rescue a few MIAs and destroy an enemy installment of tanks. To be honest, I wouldn't know why there would be a cache of tanks and hostages in an enemy base about a mile under the Earth's surface, or how a helicopter could realisticly infiltrate such an area, but it makes for a fun game. A bonus for going underground is finding new weapons. This is done by landing at enemy structures, but this can be hard to do because special structures look identical to normal ones. A bonus will typically improve one or two of your parts (guns, missles, engines, armor, or ladder). Like most scrolling shooters, Cobra Command doesn't require much thought, but works like most arcade games and provides much button mashing fun.

Cobra Command is most likely the precursor to Jungle, Desert, and Urban Strike helicopter games for 16-bit consoles. Cobra Command is the original helicopter video game, and remains fun. Altough it isn't as challenging or realistic as modern games, nor were most NES games... so get over it. Actually, this version of the game came after a Laser disk version with a near exact plot to it. The laserdisk game was also created by Data East.

If I were to rate this game, I'd give it 3 out of 5 penguins.