Blaster Master review - Nintendo Entertainment System

Life is full of problems for young Jason. His life took a distinct downturn from the moment his beloved pet frog escaped into the garden. This alone would have been bad enough, but then the unfortunate creature happened to jump into the barrel of atomic waste stored at the end of the lawn. Such a sudden and huge exposure to radiation caused something of a change in his froggy metabolism and the slimy amphibian began to grow into a creature of Digby the Biggest Dog in the World-ean proportions. To complete his master's misery, the green-skinned wonder then hopped down a hole to a dangerous underworld of sewers, robots and death traps.

Not wanting to lose his pride and joy, Jason immediately followed his Kermit-like chum into the rift, braving whatever dangers should face him.

Luckily Jason is not defenceless. At the bottom of the deep shaft the boy discovered an alien tank waiting for him, complete with a full set of body armour and complement of personal weapons!

Blaster Master is based on a book about the adventures of Jason and his tank in an underground world hitherto unseen. The game is split into two parts. One is a four-way scrolling platform game in which you control the tank. The second gives you command of Jason himself as he enters sewerage drains in his search for the missing frog.

What the Mean Machines staff thought

After numerous cancelled dates, Blaster Master is finally about to hit the shops - and about time too! It's an absolutely brilliant platform/adventure game which I've been playing on and off since we first got it in over a year ago. It's packed full of excellent features, has superb gameplay and lots of neat touches - the way the tank moves and works is great! What kept me playing was the sheer size of the game - there's loads in there to discover, from secret screens to alternative routes around the map, and every time you play you seem to find something new. Blaster Master is definitely the best platform exploration game seen for months and should be put at the top of your shopping list.

Blaster Master was released in Japan and America some time ago and now it's finally reached these shores. It really was worth the wait because it's such an excellent title. The animated intro which tells the story is somewhat strange and things don't get any more sensible from there. Luckily the surrealism doesn't get in the way of the game itself. Blaster Master is a big game which takes some exploration. Even when you know the right way through a level there's always more rooms and bonuses to discover. It's also very enjoyable to play, there's lots to do and plenty going on at all times so the pace is always fast and frenetic. The cute graphics aren't as sickening as you might expect and add to the bizarre tone of the proceedings, with the accompanying sound effects and tunes promoting the atmosphere still further. Blaster aster is definitely one of the best of the current batch of NES games and should be added to your collection forthwith.