In the 8-bit NES days, Mega Man would blink if you let him stand still, and that was pretty outstanding.

Back to the Atari 2600 games, you were lucky if your stick figure was animated in any recognizable fashion. So Blackthorne is fun, a not-quite-classic-but-still-pretty-good-game, but it’s really that atmosphere and animation that sell it. At most, you’ll be subjected to time trials, as in the “make these jumps before the door closes” kind you’ve probably seen before.

Most of these are used in solving the “puzzles”, although there’s barely a puzzle to be solved that doesn’t involve blowing something up somewhere. It’s also far too easy to accidentally use special items like bombs, which is especially annoying since they’re in limited quantity, and it’s possible to find yourself in unwinnable situations.Īdditional items include Hornet Bombs, which can be controlled remotely to destroy things in remote locations – usually shield generators – and Levitators, dorky-looking devices that let you reach higher areas. You also cannot run or jump with the gun equipped. You can switch between “unarmed” and “armed” modes at the hit of a button, but each mode has completely different control schemes – the general “action” button is used to either run or shoot your gun, case depending. It is, however, hampered by its limited input. It also inherited its sluggish, awkward control scheme, although to be fair, it’s also a bit tighter and more responsive. Much of the game also revolves around platforming – that is to say, jumping, climbing, leaping, hanging on ledges…basically, the same thing as Prince of Persia.

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