Double Dragon Advance

If you miss your NES, walk to the right and beat up everything in sight. Then go get this game.

Retro gamers are in for a treat as the Double Dragons, Jimmy and Billy Lee, bash their way onto the Game Boy Advance with the help of their indefatigable Sou-Setsu-Ken martial arts. While Double Dragon Advance sticks closely to the arcade and NES originals, Jimmy and Billy have picked up a few new tricks to help them rescue Marian from Willie?s evil clutches.

The post-apocalyptic New York setting is now more dangerous than ever. Larger groups of enemies appear onscreen, so the Dragons require more potent attacks and weapons. Sticks and nunchaku go a long way toward evening the playing field, but nothing says, ?Give me my girlfriend back!? quite like a knee to the face. The hard-brawling fun is also increased by the ?hit ?em when they?re down? attacks, which enable you to straddle a downed baddie and pummel his face or just stomp on his torso.

Graphically, the character animation is much improved. Cut-scenes resembling comic-book panels have been inserted between levels and offer more detailed portrayals of vanquished enemies (complete with silly dialogue). The authentic 8-bit musical score is a retro treat and may induce nostalgia and giddiness. The fun factor suffers only because of minor problems with the controls and collision detection. Nothing hurts more than falling off a ledge you were sure you were standing on or being hit by someone you thought was out of range. Still, Double Dragon Advance is better suited for the GBA format than most of the muddy faux-3D titles out there.

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