| 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.
MTW
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