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From kung fu battles to wild west shootouts, UFO Interactive’s Johnny character has been
sampling different genres like an old lady sampling lunchmeat at a deli. Next on the
menu? It’s a tasty slab of freshly sliced stealth.
Number 57? It’s Johnny Impossible.
Just released to the eShop on the Nintendo 3DS, Johnny Impossible is another retro release
from UFO Interactive. It’s an old-school, side-scrolling, 2D platformer...but the game
is also quite current in its focus on stealth platforming. You see a lot of games doing
this kind of thing nowadays, and this one does it as well as any of them.
So you play as Johnny, the titular character of the Johnny games. This time, there’s
a threat of a global annihilation, which means Johnny doesn’t have much time. You have
to sneak through three different areas and accomplish a range of stealthy objectives,
from hacking computers and finding secret codes to...hiding behind doors.
It’s like Elevator Action meets Metal Gear meets Mario.
That’s a pretty awesome mixture of things to be.
In fact, there’s actually a bit of Metroid to this game, too. Each stage is a basically
a series of rooms that are interconnected, and some areas are unreachable without the
right gadget. So exploration plays a big role, as well, but you also have to be pretty quick...because
time is running out for poor Johnny.
See, the game runs on a timer. And what’s worse...if you trip the alarm by touching
a laser or being spotted by a camera, you have ten seconds to escape the current room
before a freaking robot bird kills you. Not only that, but it drains huge and invaluable
chunks of time, which adds a real element of tension to the stealth.
Another nice touch is that your gadgets can be upgraded. In fact, they kind of have to
be, if you want them to be effective. The night vision goggles, for example, provide
you with extra light...but it doesn’t last long. So you’re looking not only for the
files or the codes or whatever, but also the level 2 goggles or grappling hook.
Meanwhile, the clock just keeps ticking.
UFO Interactive has been sort of hit and miss with all their retro 3DS offerings, but this
one had me hooked the moment I started it up. Johnny Impossible is a challenging mix
of ideas that manages to feel both nostalgic and new. It doesn’t always seem fair, but
hey, fairness is for cowards...and people who can’t platform.
It’s Johnny Impossible for the Nintendo 3DS.