Nintendo has served Virtual Console with two Master System classics this week: Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, and Secret Command (also known as Rambo: First Blood II in US).
Alex Kidd punches stuff with his giant fist again to "recover the twelve Miracle Balls and restore the stars of the Aries Constellation", while Secret Command is old-school shooting that sees you "play as a lone warrior, armed to the teeth, sent on a top secret commando mission behind enemy lines to liberate your comrades at arms".
After just a handful of games, SEGA's Master System support is all but dead on the Virtual Console. Putting Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars on there probably didn't help.
SEGA is going retro on its Wave Master record label in Japan. They just announced the Alex Kidd Complete Album, which will feature the music from every entry in the series all packaged in one box. It will be released on August 14, 2009. Let the nostalgia commence!
Altogether, Secret Command isn't a great value, it's got some annoying gameplay aspects and it's certainly going to disappoint the dedicatedly shirtless Rambo supporters from the '80s who fondly remember the license-intact edition that shipped on cartridge in America 20 years ago. But if you brush past all that, it's still capable as a co-op Commando clone -- and fans of that game, or Ikari Warriors, or even Konami's Jackal might still want to give it a look.
Presentation - 5.0
Graphics - 7.0
Sound - 6.0
Gameplay - 6.0
Lasting Appeal - 6.0
Overall -
