Play Lucky & Wild (MAME) - Reviews | Arcade

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Lucky & Wild Reviews

Overall 8.6 Graphics 8 Sound 7 Addictive 6 Story 4 Depth 4 Difficulty 3

6.8

Do you feel lucky? How about wild? Why not both in this racing shooter. endings
Thanks to Vizzed I could play to completion this first person view arcade game I played back in the day. Never got much time to spend on it, but with a friend this can be quite fun. A game about cops who shoot first, and take arrests later, Lucky and Wild featured two seats, one for a driver (Named Lucky) and two pistols, which you could either give to the gunner (Wild), or split them between themselves. You could also if you had a third wheel, let them have a gun so you had two gunners, one driver.

Is this a good arcade game? Well, its made by Namco, who made so many great games, some of them hot arcade titles like Time Crisis and a little series called Pac-Man, so we are off to a good start.

This is a simple game, dodge stuff & shoot bad guys. Get to boss of a stage, and if you can shoot their vehicle enough before the timer stops, you will arrest them. If you fail to do that, they get away and you don't get such a bonus at the end. As a gunner, you not only handle offense, but also play defensively - to shoot enemy projectiles like bombs, missiles away from your car. The driver has to keep the speed going so the enemy boss does not get away, and dodge the sideswipes from oncoming vehicles - like trolley cars, and avoid any debris thrown on the road, like oil drums.

There are 6 stages, each in a different location, a different boss. All of this info is detailed to you briefly before the stage starts. You get a brief cut scene, a map that shows you where you are headed, and a snippet of bio about the boss. While you often don't get to see the boss car until the end, there is a big display over it that says "BOSS" so its impossible to miss.

After beating a boss, of it time runs out, they escape, your get your score and head on over to the Pink Cat's Garage. There the cute staff(who wear cat ears and tails and hot pants) - its like a Hooters with mechanics, will fix your car based on the points. Score really high, and a hilarious scene of our heroes being smothered in lipstick is your reward before the next stage starts.

This is a game that obviously doesn't take itself too seriously. From the big crime lord called "Big Cigar", the cat girl garage, crazy offroading, to the goofy expressions seen in the rear view mirror of Lucky and Wild when the stuff hits the fan, its supposed to feel like a popcorn buddy cop movie. Your heroes never reload! They are never killed, only their car sustains so much damage they can no longer pursue. Its fun and quirky with its light gun and racing seat set-up. The hit detection seems pretty good, and the wheel responds to you, as long as you don't think you can drive off where its taking you. You're on rails for this one, and the most you can do is drive left or right to dodge.

Graphics: 8

The graphics look pretty good. The time this game came out, arcades were the place to see better visuals than consoles. The humorous expressions from Lucky and Wild are great. Even when one of them is taking a rocket to the face. The cars and stages, even enemies are numerous and varied. Motorcycle goons, mafia guys in black sedans, people jumping on the hood of the car, and a helicopter shooting at you are just a few of the regular enemies you face. The bosses all play out differently, from a super fast sports car jetting ahead of you to a semi truck with a trailer full of trouble, no stage endgame is repeated.

The graphics do not hold up so well when they are right next to you, some cars when they get too close look cheap. The worst offenders are the things that land on your car hood; grainy, pixelated bombs and crummy 16-bit looking thugs really pull you out of the game.

Sound: 7

There is a lot of explosions and petal to the metal speed, bullets flying and thundering shots ring out. and the game adds to that. The goofy noises from our heroes as their car gets torn up is humorous, but the voices are not particularly done well. There is so much going on with the sound effects, I cannot even recall stage music. Its just nonstop cacophony of noise the whole way.

I would have to take the game down for the weak voices, but the music isn't really missed here, the action is just too frantic.

Addictiveness: 8

The silly buddy cop premise is good for a laugh, and if this was in the arcade, i'd easily say its an 8 for the double-barreled driving action. It is a quarter-muncher type though, so expect to die a lot, because the game wants more tokens out of you. One player can be done, but its not as much fun. This game screams for co-op, and is best played with it.

Story: 4

Uh, yeah. You know nothing about your characters other than they don't drive or dress regular police issue. The other squads don't factor in this game, you guys are flying solo (or duo). Your enemy bosses have names and a tell-of-the-tape to their crimes, but you don't seem to have any past history with anyone. Its a pretty weak story, which if it was camped up, could have really made this memorable.

Depth: 4

You cannot drive the car off the path, youre on rails. Its a game of unlimited gas, unlimited ammo, and sadly for all the Blues Brother inspired shortcuts through a shopping mall, I wish it had at least a delusion of choice. Uncovering secret paths to possibly get more time on the boss battle would have been a nice touch too, as would be upgrading your weapons. Ah well, its all about shooting and driving, nothing more, nothing less.

Difficulty: 3

This game only relies on the fact you need to keep pumping credits in to stay alive. Some enemies shoot so much stuff at you, it feels impossible to dodge. And that's probably the intent. Some of the bosses are tougher than others, if they get away you get a sense of failure, yet theres no real punishment for it as the story continues. As long as you can keep pushing add coin and the start button, you will beat this game.

Final Score: 6.8

While not making the most of its slap-stick premise, Lucky & Wild is a fun game if you're looking for short-lived thrills. The gun-play is tight, the threats always in your face, the graphics and sound, somethings sketchy. It was one of those games that will be weakened by any porting, as playing it in the original arcade cabinet was part of the experience.
Graphics 8 Sound 7 Addictive 6 Story 4 Depth 4 Difficulty 3
Review Rating: 5/5 Submitted: 10-14-14 Review Replies: 0