Welcome to another addition of my e-Reader Reviews, where I buy an e-Reader game so you don’t have to! This time, it’s the remake of the NES game Urban Champion, a simple 2D fighting game. “Simple” may be the best way of describing this game. In fact, the game may be shorter than the word “simple”. Does that mean it’s bad, though?

This game is reviewed on a 0-4 star scale. 0 is pathetic, 4 is excellent, as always.

Graphics: **

It’s always difficult to rate these NES remakes’ graphics. Let’s face it, they aren’t anything like today’s graphics, but they aren’t absolutely horrible, and they don’t really matter. The people look like people, but there isn’t really all that much detail to this game’s graphics.

Sound: **½

The music isn’t all that bad, actually. In fact, it can be a little catchy. No, it’s not on Super Mario Bros. 3 level, or on the level of any good NES game’s music, but it still isn’t bad.

Difficulty: no stars

Urban Champion is way too easy. In order to win, practically all you need to do is hold down right and push B at the right moments. Sure, as you progress through the levels, the computer will hit you more often, but I found that more often than not, it was more advantageous to just keep on punching rather than try to block or dodge. There is also a punch activated by the A button. That one is a fast, weak punch as opposed to the slow, heavy punch activated by the B button. Given that the computer often keeps its guard up for a second before punching, if you hit B then, it will let its guard down right when you unleash your punch. Avoiding the flower pots is way too easy as well. If you want a challenge, well, go get another game.

Controls: ***

The controls are nice and simple. A is the fast, weak punch, B is the slow, heavy punch, Right moves towards the computer, Left dodges and moves away from the computer, Up blocks high, and Down ducks. They are very easy to use, though I wish the dodging and blocking controls were more useful.

Gameplay: **

I have pretty much described the gameplay in the difficulty section, or at least the fighting portion of it. Yes, it’s that simple. Now the game can be quite fun to play, and there is a little bit of strategy involved with the timing of your punches, but it’s not all that deep of a game. You just keep knocking the computer to the right until he gets knocked off the screen, and see how many times you can do this before you get knocked to the left off the screen three times. It’s supposed to be a first-to-3 match, where you win once you knock the computer into the open manhole at the end of the third screen (which is where you would land if you get knocked to the left too much three times), but it’s really just an endurance battle to see how long you go before you fall into your manhole, because new computer characters keep on coming back. There’s also a police car that will sometimes interrupt the battle for no reason (maybe if time is running low; I don’t know), or pick up the character who is farther to the side of the screen if time runs out. Flower pots randomly are dropped, but these are very easy to dodge.

It’s a very simple game to learn, and it’s very simple to play. However, that also means it isn’t all that deep…

Replayability: no stars

Considering that the e-Reader version does not support 2-player play, as I think the NES version did (from the fact that Game A Vs. Computer is the only option), this game does not offer much reason to play it a second time (as I didn’t). Seriously. Considering it will take you long enough to lose the first time you play the game, or at least it did for me, you’ll then realize that there isn’t anything else to do in the game, except beat your high score, if you feel like doing the same thing all over again, which is very repetitive. Yes, that’s how short the game was for me.

Fun Factor!: **

This game is actually pretty fun, as there is very little frustration, while it feels fun to win fights. Nevertheless, it’s a very small dose of fun.

OVERALL: *

This is the first time I think I have ever experienced everything in a game (except running out of time or getting hit by a flower pot, things I wanted to avoid) in the one and only time I played it. That’s how short this game is. It’s not worth $2 (that’s what I think I paid for it, plus tax). It’s not worth $1. It’s worth a quarter, like an old arcade game. It’s not the worst game ever, because there’s no anti-Fun Factor like in Super Mario Sunshine and Athens 2004, and it’s pretty fun to play, but only for a very short amount of time.

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