Jump arc this, jump arc that. How about you jump off this game's dick?

Ice Climber's not anything particularly special, but I respect it far more than I ever did before. Starting quip aside, I genuinely do like the funky jumping. It's clearly designed around-- the entire game would be trivial if the physical execution of climbing was easy to do. You have to be aware what your actions will lead to because they're so committal, and I like that. It's not dissimilar to other NES games with "bad jumping controls."

I also played Ice Climber with a friend, and I have to say: the game is a surprisingly coherent multiplayer experience. Maybe one of the best on the NES. All the stuff I just said holds true, except now you have to consider the needs of another player. Getting too gung-ho and scrolling your buddy off the screen is distilled co-op essence.

There's still a lot to be desired; there's too much downtime in this game for my taste (optimal scoring, waiting for platforms to be built, etc.) and the presentation sure is that of a black box NES game, but Ice Climber's a decent little thing. I feel bad for hating on it so hard. Give it a chance!