Elevator Action

On its surface, Elevator Action should have been a minor arcade hit for the time. You are a spy descending, floor by floor, a large skyscraper. Avoiding turncoats who blast you across the halls and if you're not fast on the crouch or hiding behind unlocked doors, will easily hand you your ass. The game is a pure slug fest to get through despite its relatively fun and quirky atmosphere and Its controls are clunky for what they are that can easily hamper your descent. The graphics are the real death knell for me and leave a lot to be desired. I know its a cliche to even talk about graphics from this time and be ground down as a zoomer who only sees the game on that surface level but there are so many games from this period that had graphical presentation miles ahead of this. Taito has had a history of excellent home ports but this isnt one of them. Maybe Ill seek out one of the remakes/sequels of this to give it another shot.

Everything about Action is just right. You're a special agent that starts at the roof of the building and you need to make your way to the bottom, while also collecting secret documents(marked by red doors). Stopping your way are opposing agents who will open fire, and you need to either shoot them back or try to drop-kick them if they happen to be near(and a great tactic to use if they're right near the elevator shaft from which you're arriving). You also need to manage stand-up and crouch shooting, both of which you and your enemy are capable of, and things get super hectic once you get through the last 10 or so floors, when enemies start pooling over from all sides, but never does it feel overwhelming.

Once you reach the bottom, and hightail with your car, the level basically restarts from the top, with no changes in layout.

Probably in my top-5 arcade games, and I undoubtedly became so familiar with it because it was one of the few machines where you could play a while on a quarter. The controls are simple enough -- duck, jump, and shoot -- but there's enough depth to the game that you'll need to become proficient at all of them to wipe out all the black suited baddies and progress. The mechanics and controls are tight and responsive, which was of course a must in the arcade era, and ensures Elevator Action holds up to the present day.

It's dang cute, too. This is peak post-Pac-Man/Donkey Kong territory where mascots and cartoony cuteness were expected and practically mandatory. It might be the only time in entertainment history where squashing a man to death under an elevator looked adorable.

This was a big favourite of mine. My sister had got a job at The Hungry Cowboy located in the cinema district of George Street, and when she finished her shift often she and I would spend hours playing doubles on Elevator Action. This was one of the very few games that she was good at. She was the kind of person who played a pinball machine by constantly using both flippers at the same time and then got angry when she kept losing the ball down the middle. But by some quirk of nature this was the game where she would excel.

Elevator Action is a fun game. Making your way through what is evidently the world's weirdest building design (no central elevator shaft here) and nailing baddies with your pistol, there was always a sense of accomplishment on completing a level. That is essentially all there is to the gameplay, but it was an enjoyable enough challenge to have me coming back for more.

I will always have happy memories of playing Elevator Action with my sister at The Hungry Cowboy. I always hoped that she would wrangle me some free food in return for me travelling into the city to see her home safely, but that never happened. Sisters, huh?