Men in Black
Game by Crave
Reviewed by The Avardancer
Size: 8 Megabits
Save: Password.
Released: 1998
Works with: Any Version of Gameboy.

Opening Snide Remarks: Hmm. The game is based on the cartoon liscense;
instead of the movie. Crave has promised some big things from this game and
that's where I, the R.P.R. (Really Picky Reviewer), come in. Is this game
cool; or does it wear black so that people won't see it. Btw, all Gameboy
Color catridges are black. Which seems pretty appropriate for this game. ;)

Gameplay: Gameplay in this game is basic "Get from point A to point B" side
scrolling action. There ate lots of enemies to shoot along the way and each
level has a boss-type character at the end. (With the exception of the first
level.) The enemies are pretty much pattern enemies. (They stay in their
little areas.) Enemies can be shot or stomped on. (Well, some enemies can be
stomped on.) Some enemies; you just run past. The game has six fairly simple
stages. You see characters from the TV series during the short pre-level
briefings.

There is some platform jumping involved in areas of the game. The game is not
too hard and is appropriate in difficulty for it's targeted age group. The
game is fairly straight foward. It finds a comfortable niche and stays within
that area. It isn't innovative; but it is a fun distraction. It's aimed at
people who like the MIB liscense.

The game does suffer in the aspect of REPLAY VALUE. Once you have beaten it;
there's nothing to really bring you back. Other than just playing through it
again. The game does have some pretty good draws that may make you want to
go back to beat it every once in a while. It does have 3 difficulty levels.

Graphics: This game excells in this area. If you own a Gameboy, Gameboy
Pocket, or Gameboy Light the game is easy to see and the backgrounds are
simplified to avoid graphic clutter. The Super Gameboy Border is appropriate
and the color schemes used for the Super Gameboy work well too. If you play
the game on anything less than a Gameboy Color; you will miss out on some
very cool animation and background detail. The sprites in the game are fairly
well animated; but are not complex in detail. This is a plus; because it
makes the character and enemies easier to see against the detail heavy back
drops that are present on Gameboy Color.

The Gameboy Color adds some excellent cartoon cinema scenes and plenty of
animation, detail, etc. the game looks excellent on Gameboy Color and the
cut-scenes really show off some of Gameboy Color's power. The opening
cinema is 20 Seconds long. This leads me to believe that Gameboy is more than
capable of doing animated FMV-like sequences. Nice job on those. The nicest
aspects of the graphics are the little touches. For example; an extra life is
a pair of sunglasses. The larger graphics are modeled after the cartoon.

Sound: The sound is basic; there's the noise your blaster makes. The noise
you hear when you get hit and there's the noise you hear when an enemy blows
up in a pile of slime. There are very few sounds in the game; but they are
appropriate for the on-screen action. Enemies make a "squishy pop" sound when
you kill them. Hmmm.

Music: The music is nice and long; but it isn't quite up to the score
composed by Danny Elfman. It fits the game; but it's nothing to write home
about.

Play Control: The character on-screen doesn't suffer a minor delay in action
time; andyou fairly good control over the character. The game's control is
not bad at all. In fact, it's pretty good.

Final Analysis: If you like the series... you can finish this sentence. Most
platform gamers may just skip this one; but the game is pretty fun and worth
a look. This game is one of those that just screams potential. I would like
to have seen some more stages; maybe a little interaction between characters,
and a wider variety of weapons. The game is fun; but it's limited fun.

Score
Gameplay: ****
Graphics: ***** 
Sound: **
Music: ***
Play Control: ****
Total: 18 out of 25

Final Score: 72%


Currently Known Codes:
I suggest playing through the game without codes first though.
Level Passwords.
Manhattan = 2710
Sewers = 1807
Aerodome = 0309
Rooftops = 2705
Forest = 3107

Special Passwords.
See the ending sequence = 1943
Level Skip = 2409 (The code input device will say "Error"; just get out of
that screen and start a new game. To skip levels; press START and than SELECT
to skip to the next level.)
Zoom Around = 0601 (Again you will get an "Error" message; just start a new
game and hold down select to move your character anywhere on screen.)