Boss Fight - Evil MC (Smash TV, 1990)

Over the course of this series I've tried to pick the more interesting bosses to threaten the progress of arcade goers over the decades, be it one of the earliest bosses, a controversial boss, an iconic boss, a down-right crazy boss or whatever. This month I've gone for one of the most unexpected bosses, the Evil MC from Midway's gloriously over-the-top twin-stick shooter, Smash TV.

Video games are often inspired by Hollywood and in 1990 Midway took a whole host of movies based on violent game shows -- not least Arnold Schwarzenegger's classic Running Man -- to create Smash TV. The object of the game was simple: You are a contestant on the titular Smash TV game show. In order to win cash and prizes you have to blast your way through wave after wave of mutants, robots and monsters.

At the start of each wave the show's MC scrolls into the top corner of the screen, with a top-heavy bimbo on each arm and says, "Good luck. You'll need it!" As you progress through the game and take down each boss, Mutoid Man, Scarface and Die Cobros, you have no way of knowing what faces you at the end. When the host himself turns up as a giant humanoid tank, spitting bloody eyeballs at you, the pay off is brilliant -- even if he is very similar to the first boss. As you take him down, you take him apart, limb-by-limb, each of which fires off him all direction. After him limbs, you blast off his shirt, leaving him in just a spotty vest. Next to go is his head, but bizarrely that doesn't stop him. After that you finally blow up the blody, only to find there's a second head on top of the tank and the eye-blasting

In terms of unexpected boss encounters, few can top this surprise. Check out the video below to see the Evil MC in action.

Incidentally, Smash TV is yet another example of a game or movie being set in a far flung future year that is now history. In this case, all this carnage and disregard for human life is supposed to take place in 1999.

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Taito HQ, circa 1973

Here are some photos of Taito's headquarters, which they occupied from 1973 through to 2007. Got to love the in-house arcade room.

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Classic of the Month - Rolling Thunder

Manufacturer:	Namco
Genre:	Side-scrolling action adventure
Board:	Namco System 86
Year:	1986

Many of the games I choose for the 'Classsic of the Month' feature have had some impact on me as a young gamer and Namco's spy-themed side-scrolling action adventure Rolling Thunder is no exception.

You took control of a World Crime Police Organization (W.C.P.O) agent codenamed Albatross as he battled the evil Geldra Organisation, who have kidnapped his female partner, the laughably named, Leila Blitz. Gameplay consisted of running through Geldra's secret New York base, jumping between floors and opening doors to check for power-ups and weapons. The gameplay was pretty simple, but the formula worked brilliantly. I cannot be sure, but I've always thought Rolling Thunder inspired Sega's Shinobi, which had very similar gameplay, but came out the following year.

Rolling Thunder was also dripping with kitsch espionage atmosphere. When I first saw it I couldn't believe how fluid and natural the animation was. Albatross's cool moves and swagger could be likened to Connery's James Bond, while the Geldra minions, called Maskers, would turn to look at one another and follow your movements. It almost looked rotoscoped. Back in 1986, that level of animation was incredibly rare, which meant the game looked better than rival games, such as Shinobi, even though they were made after its release. But atmosphere is about more than visuals, and like so many Namco games from the 1980s, Rolling Thunder had great music too, which sounded like the theme music from that other classic Ian Fleming creation, 60s spy show, The Man from Uncle. Undoubtedly Namco were aping Ian Fleming's various spy creations, but that didn't stop Rolling Thunder having enough personality of its own to stand out from the crowd in a packed arcade.

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