Retro Game of the Week 172: Atomic Runner (Gen)

Happy New Year and welcome to another year where I try to post a weekly retro pic for you enjoyment. Let’s see if I can keep a good streak going. It’s really hard to pick a retro game every week mainly because there are just so many to choose from. I have changed the format of the pick to give it a more get to the point format so lets get started.
This week we have the game called Atomic Runner. I first saw this game in an episode of Game Sack where they were showing games released by Data East. This one caught my attention mainly because of the main characters name Chelov and the silly story it contains. Not only that, but the game is actually very challenging and fun to play. You just have to get used to the controllers as it can get tricky at the beginning. 

GraphicsThe game looks beautiful and very detailed. It definitely does a good job at the different graphics it portrays and your main hero Chelnov is pretty awesome. I love the detail of each stage even though I haven’t gotten really far enough to see everything, but everything that I saw was pretty neat. You can tell there was a lot of effort put into the design of this game.Score: 85%
GameplayThis one is tough as it’s not for everyone. The game carries over an arcade like gameplay mechanic to it which also comes with one hit dead which will make a lot of gamers look the other way and try a different game. If you manager to survive this onslaught, be ready to play through challenging stages. It’s just a matter of time before you get the hang of it.Score: 80%
SoundThe music does offer some memorable tunes. They are upbeat and the sound is enjoyable overall. I haven’t encountered any annoying sound as of yet in the game. It’s not something you will mute and it’s Data East, they are pretty awesome in the sound factor at times.Score: 85%
Fun Factor

This is where the game is debatable. As I mentioned before, the gameplay is challenging therefore it will not be for everyone. If you want a game to hold your hand, this is not it. You will have to play and slam the controller when you die unfairly. That’s just how the game goes, but one can’t turn away the fact that it’s one heck of a challenging game and totally worth your time. The fun is there!Score: 90%

Final Score: 85%This is a game that I would recommend to any Sega Genesis fan looking for a challenge. It’s a little odd how this game doesn’t get much attention nowadays even though it’s really good. This is just my opinion as you can always try it out yourself before you buy, you know how. I hope you liked this new format which I’ll try to keep till the next format comes out. Till next week!