newfiebangaa plays G.I. Joe (Arcade) - Part 1 of 4

I saw this as a kid, but I never played it. Boy, am I ever going to regret the decision of not playing it now...thank tjord for MAME.

Unlike the NES games, this one is a run-'n-gun. You'll be running forward, moving back and forth and aiming your cursor to shoot at anything that moves and anything that is in your way.

Anyway, Cobra has enough firepower to take over the world...and that's exactly what they're planning to do. G.I. Joe, as expected, isn't taking this very lightly and takes the fight to Cobra Commander once again! 

This game was also developed and published by Konami, who could make even a fresh human turd into an awesome game at the time! Yo Joe!

Mission 1

Level 1: Chemical Plant

You only have a few hit points. Whatever you do, don't run into any destructible items that are in your way or let enemies run into you. It's embarrassing. It's also pretty obvious to take care not to get shot, too.

Destroy the piping with your guns in order to get rid of it all.

The vehicles take more damage than the soldiers, but they can be destroyed.

The "R" icons let you perform rapid fire. You lose this if you get hit or die. The bomb icons add one more bomb to your arsenal, which you can use to destroy enemies on a wider scale. To collect an icon, simply run over it or shoot it.

The Cobra Commandos just run around and try to shoot at you in large groups. Not surprisingly, they'll fail. The orange guys will throw bombs.

You want to destroy anything and everything that you possibly can to get the most points and get more lives. If it gets slightly bigger as you get closer to it and doesn't happen to be whatever building is in the background, shoot it up.

The boss here is the pair of Crimson Guard Commanders, Tomak and Kamot. They'll get on a chopper and also send a tank after you. Watch out for the flamethrower on both the tank and the chopper, and move out of the way when the tank tries to run you over. Keep your attacks on one vehicle at first, and you'll soon be able to divert all your attention on the other.

Level 2: Air Base

You'll be seeing a lot more choppers on this level, so keep an eye on the skies.

When you shoot the guys in the black suits, they'll set off a self-destruct sequence that cause them to blow up when you're near them.

Don't be afraid to use your bombs if you need to get by a whole slew of enemies and/or obstacles. You'll be getting plenty of bombs throughout the game.

You'll also have guys with laser cannons strapped to their back. They'll shoot at you, then take a few steps back and try to shoot at you again. They stand around a lot, making them easy targets.

The boss is the anti-tank specialist, Metal Head. Shoot down the flunkies and the planes that he sends at you...especially the guys flying around with copter blades strapped to their backs. When Metal Head shows up, focus your bombs on him and keep shooting at him and everyone else who happens to show up. When he starts flashing, he's nearly dead.