The Adventures of Bayou Billy

The Good
The Louisiana theme had to grow on me, I admit. But I really enjoy this game. It's not often you see a game with as many different styles of gameplay as this. You can fight bare-fisted (or with any weapons your enemies happen to drop); you can go into first-person shooting mode (with a light zapper if you happen to have one handy); and you can get behind the wheel of a jeep. 9 levels of primo 8-bit action.

I think my very favorite thing about this game is the music, particularly the ending music. Look up the sound test code for this game and rock out.

The Bad
If I were a snooty literary critic, I would have to question why the big New Orleans crime boss saw fit to provoke Billy by swiping his girlfriend. But this is a classic NES games, so plot setup is not exactly essential.

A crazy thing about this game: Rigged road posts. So I'm speeding along the highway from the bayou to New Orleans, I get knocked around by some other cars, and I manage to stop just short of one of the wooden posts at the side of the road. So I creep ever so gingerly back onto the road. However, my front bumper touches the goal post and the whole vehicle goes up in flames. The wooden post is fine, though.

The Bottom Line
You get to fight, shoot, and drive really fast. What more could you want in an action game?