Amazing how a game this blatantly unfair is also as cool and fun as it is, because I really enjoy a lot of what's going on here regardless. The backdrop of this sensational celebration of commodified brutality is super evocative with how far everything goes to craft this heavily artificial vibe that feels inherently exploitative in a rather immersive way. While this is mainly due to the fact that arcade games were made to be often extraordinarily difficult at the time, it ended up having a really neat knock on effect in this case where the game show setting itself ends up feeling way more engaging. It all feels intentionally stacked against the player because it feels as if the game show is one that doesn't want the contestants to win, just to be fodder for mass entertainment, as waves upon waves of adversaries swarm them in seemingly endless amounts to completely overwhelm you. This feels further explored with the way that so many of the prizes given to these contestants are functionally useless in greater numbers, nobody needs 13 lawnmowers, nobody needs a full stack of the same video game, and nobody needs so many microwaves either. It all feels built in such a way that it'd look appealing until you actually considered the proper value of any of it, and in the end it crafts a surprisingly immersive atmosphere. Game's definitely not exactly perfect though, as while I do really love the theming and aesthetic of what's here, and even find the first area to be a frantic mess in a good way, things do get a bit too ridiculous by the end.

I genuinely often find myself thinking how certain situations are even avoidable and if it were only once or twice then it'd be one thing, but more often than not it just feels like the default state you'll find yourself in, and no amount of insanely cool looking weaponry really changes that fact, especially near the end when the waves just carry on for a bizarre amount of time where it almost feels glitched. The bosses also really suck too, not necessarily because of nonsense attack patterns or anything but just because they're some of the biggest damage sponges I've experienced. I honestly feel like that all it'd really take to make this feel that tiny bit more reasonable would just be to make each room a bit bigger so the player gets more breathing space, since a big part of the issue seems to come from the fact that so much of it is currently dominated by enemy spawn locations to the point where there's almost nowhere to move regardless. Still a fun time overall with some amazing ideas and a gameplay loop that's very entertaining for a bit, it just gets too silly too quickly in terms of difficulty and it stops it from reaching its full potential as a result.

Honestly this game deserves a 2.5 or so star rating according to my ratings but this is one of the very few games I rate with nostalgia goggles on. The reason for this is that my dad didn’t play many video games when I was growing up but for whatever reason he loved playing this one. One of my earliest game memories is playing this over and over with him. If I take my feel good glasses off it is more of just a decent bullet hell shooter that is more difficult than fun. It isn’t fun by todays standards but almost 30 years ago it was addicting and fun. I would probably only play this again if I were to play it with my dad.

(Galloping Ghost June '23 Trip)

What a fun room shooter, the whole Running Man-esque presentation is super fun and the animation and sprite work is really impressive. I love how sometimes when you die, your eyes will fly out of your skull towards the screen. The bosses here are a real highlight too - really dynamic bosses that transform as they take more damage. Played this co-op with my brother through the first two bosses but will likely revisit to experience the rest at some point in the near future.

A quality twin stick shooter full of 80s edginess and cheese. Games and movies based on spiraling crime and violence rates were common in the 80s and 90s, and some even had the exact same plot (The Running Man, The Killing Game Show). This one had thoughtful mechanics and was fun to play. The bosses were larger than life and intimidating, but unfortunately felt like they were designed to eat quarters. Watching the bosses' bodies deteriorate as you battle them was a fresh idea at the time, and just the right level of horrific.

I still don't know what my character is going to do with 4,000 toasters.