Wrestle Reviews
Suburban Commando
Release
1993
Format
Amiga
Commodore 64
PC
** Hi guys first of all a big thank you to anyone who had taken the time to read my history of WWF/E games over this last year. Well I am now starting a new series of reviews looking at wrestling games from other organisations and some games like we have here today. Games that are in a sometimes very small way related to the crazy world of wrestling**
Background
Suburban Commando is a 1991 family movie that starred Hulk Hogan & Christopher Lloyd. It was Hulk Hogan’s second theatrical release after No Holds Barred in the late 80’s. It is actually a pretty fun family movie that as a kid I loved. I actually had the big cardboard stand thing from the local video store as a kid in my room from this movie. One cool thing about this movie is that there are these two bounty hunter characters and one of these is actually played by The Undertaker.
This game was strangely released in 1993 two years after the movie hit. I would love to know how many copies were made as the first time, and I saw this it it was part of a complication that came with two other movie based games.
Presentation
This is a pretty decent looking game. You play as Hulk Hogan in his role of Shep Ramsey and he has a very cartoon style look to him. He has a large head which I think is kind of amusing. All the bad guys are done in this kind of style as well; the backgrounds on the Amiga version in particular look pretty good and have a decent amount of detail.
The game really has pretty much zero story. Before each level you get a text paragraph telling you what the deal with the level is, but that is it. In the movie Christopher Lloyd’s character is a huge part as are his wife and kids, but they never really get a mention here. The levels though despite the lack of story are based on sections of the movie.
Game Play
Suburban Commando is a very short game, but it is actually pretty fun to play. For the most part it is a side scrolling action/shooter game where you control Hulk Hogan and on each level you try to find a key. The control is really responsive and while it is easy, there is still a great deal of fun to be had here. In addition there is also a side scrolling shooter section in the game that is similar to the game R-Type.
The problems the game has is that first of all it is very short, and secondly the boss fights are the easiest boss fights I have ever played in any game. What makes them so easy is that when you get hit by a boss you are invincible for around three seconds. But in these three seconds you can dish out some major damage to the boss. So it is pretty much impossible to die when you are fighting a boss. Even if you do not resort to this cheap tactic, the boss fights are still incredibly easy.
Final Thoughts
While it is not a wrestling game it still does star one of the biggest icons in wrestling history (despite the events of his more recent life!). Without Hulk Hogan I honestly think that wrestling would not be what it is today. This is a fun little game, and I would not say that it is fantastic, but as far as movie tie in games go, it is not that bad at all. It’s worth having in your collection if you are a wrestling fan.
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