Guerrilla War (man that's hard to spell - lets call GW) is a NES action shooter that is similar to other games like Ikari Warriors or modern games like new Gauntlet. You can play this two players, overtaking a small island (COUGH CUBA COUGH) with your revolutionary force of .. well you and one other guy apparantly -as you singlehandedly bring down the regime in power. If you win, you will meet 100's in combat and have defeated all of them. What kind of superhero are you playing?


Story: 4
Well, Guerrilla is about power to the people. Its usually regular, everyday people using ambushes and hit and run moves to hurt a larger, but much slower to organize and  act enemy force. But you are actually famous communists. Say what? The Japanese game tells us the first player is Che Guevara, and the second is Fidel Castro. So this game is basically about the Cuban Revolution. Its pretty unrealistic, but thats what it is, one or two players taking the island from the 'dictator' and liberating it. I like the 'dictator' has no name. 

Shoot all the time?
History lesson aside now, this is a fun game. Its not complicated, its actually a bit mindless. You can just shoot anything in your way, even the ones you are to rescue. But you have unlimited grenades and unlimited bullets, so go to town on the town, tear apart the tramway, flatten the forest bunkers.  You can pick up extra lives as little faces, but watch the color of the hat, to make sure you get the one for your player - it changes. Tanks are also available, and they are are immune to regular bullets, only taking damage from grenades, rockets or landmines. The landmines are trickiest, and hard to see. Your tank will start to smoke sometimes, giving you a change to get out before it explodes.

Everything is gratuitous
I cannot think of a vehicle in this game that does not explode. Tanks, trains, helicopters, boats, even bulldozers! You even get power ups so you can throw two grenades at once, or shoot rockets that explode .. or if you get the T power (assumed for Total Detruction?)- you end up with a rocket that explodes into more bullets which then further kill your enemy. The whole feel of this game is war movie zealousness. Nothing escapes explosions! I think even the pig explodes in an inferno if you shoot it!

In war zones, no one is innocent
The civvies  you meet are there to add to your point bonus. You touch them to get +1000 points, but you can also accidentally ) shoot them as well, causing a loss of points (although I admit to forgetting them several times). The prisoners are stationary, yet some stages have running civvies also you can catch - though they seem to be doing a fine job of running away!  Animals are also present, as you see pigs and chickens too, but they are worth points if you hit them.  As a kid I always tried to jump on the pig and ride it like you would on Minecraft. Ha! If this game had gone full on crazy and had a fighting pig - I would have given it a higher score.


Graphics: 7
Its not hard to tell what you are looking at, and the city level towards the end looks pretty good actually.  From rivers to villages, you will take the fight literally from one end of the island to the other. Its there on the map! Maps don't lie! ... Do they?
The enemy vehicles are usually impressive, the large train and helicopter look great. And of course the explosions are well done - this is a Micheal Bay style video game. 

That being said, there are some odd proportion issues. Like the fact your tanks are diminutive. An enemy bulldozer looks x4 times bigger and more impressive than your crummy tank! Its tougher too! What the heck? The J.O. Brothers you meet are sort of your nemesis, two bald guys that wear different colored shirts (Kind of like player 1 and 2! Switched at birth?). These guys are at least twice your height, and are able to pick you up and rag doll fling you like pro wrestlers.  So! This game is too realistic to have a flying pig, but will let enemy generals have pro wrestling giant swing moves! I see how it is.  Sometimes there is so much on the screen with the explosions, that the screen flickers like mad until it passes. The graphics are not bad but I didn't see them stretching the hardware, but I guess it does have a lot of moving sprites to handle.

Sound: 5
The only way this game gets a decent sound score is based off the sound effects. The death notes, the hail of gunfire and grenades - this is your melody for much of the game.  Some stages are so full of explosions you'd be lucky to hear any soundtrack over that. The military march music between stages is probably what one would remember because thats the only time the fighting stops.  However, the sound effects are pretty good. The warning beep when your tank is about to explode, the dozens of heavy detonations in an explosion, its excessive, but serve the sound well. 

Addictiveness: 8
This is a super simple, just kill everything type game. And this abandonment of rules (you shot the hostages, eh, its ok, keep playing) is almost cathartic - a release from all the picky rules of today's games. This one just lets you blow everything up. No escort missions! No switches to pull! Its liberating and fun, if briefly.

Depth: 4
It may provide relief to just play without consequence, but there is not much to this game. No secret items, stages, its just all there in front of you. The best you could do is obtain a high score. When I was a kid we just played to see who could shoot the most ridiculous things or house rules. Who could dodge the J.O. Brothers the longest when they try to throw you? How many times can you make the last boss hop up and down? This is a simple, again, mindless joy to this game, and it knows it can't hold your attention for long - the game is short.

Difficulty: 1
Short and easy. Did you see that 1 score up there? Heck yeah I gave it a one! Anyone can beat this game, even if you're horrible at these shooting type things. Why? Because you get unlimited continues - and they put you exactly where you were when you died! Fighting a boss? Don't worry you're back in the game with all new lives and the boss is still hurt! 
The entire game can be finished in probably 20 minutes. 30 if you die alot. And no, two players don't share lives, and they can continue just as much as you. If you just want to just beat a game, then this is what you're looking for!

Final Verdict: 7.1
This game is like milk and cookies for shooter gamers. Its just a simple pleasure to play through, and co-op makes it even more fun. There is a strange part of the game where you focus on rescuing hostages (no shooting, you have a rope), and it feels really odd after so much violence. I think if the game could have balanced rescuing and fighting; add some real difficulty, maybe actually shown a little of the hit-and-run style of fighting, it would be so throwaway once you're done with it. There's no substance here, but there is a lot of quick, explosive fun.