Carnival

The Good
When I was a kid, I always wanted to go to a carnival that was held every year. I would go on at least ten rides, buy showbags, and eat hot dogs and fairy floss. I also participating in a shooting gallery If you have attended one of these carnivals, you know the object is to kill as many targets as you can without running out of ammo, and you get prizes based on the number of targets that you took down. To tell you the truth, I didn't win any prizes at every shooting gallery that I participated in, because my hand-eye co-ordination was shit.

Sega's Carnival is just like that: a simulation of the good old shooting gallery. The same rules apply, but there are differences in this shooting gallery. For instance:

• You can only shoot up to three different targets, which include an owl, rabbit, and duck.
• There are three levels that targets can move along on, and targets start to appear from the top level onwards. When a target moves along a certain level and goes off the screen, it goes onto the second level and then the third.
• You won't win prizes, but are awarded points for each target that you take down. Various targets award you 10, 30, or 50 points depending on the level that they are on. You see, if a rabbit is moving on the top level and you take it down, you are awarded 50 points. 30 points if it is on the middle level, and only 10 points if it is on the bottom level.
• Boxes of ammunition will appear moving among the levels. If you shoot the boxes, you get more ammo. Your ammo count is located at the bottom of the screen, and will flash if you get low.
• One of the letters that spell the word BONUS will also be moving along. If you shoot all five letters, you are awarded some bonus points.
• Finally, if the duck happens to be on the lowest level, it will no longer be a target and fly down toward you, then unless you shoot it, it ends up eating your ammo. The game ends when you have no ammo left.

These differences make the game interesting. The ColecoVision version is a very good coin-op conversion, will all the bells and whistles that made the coin-op game unique. That "merry-go-round" music is in the game that serves as background music, and you can turn it off by shooting the blue note sign on the right.

The Bad
As I said in the review's one-line summary, it's easy to miss targets and waste time. So I suggest that you time your shots properly if you want to survive long enough. There is actually sound when you hit a target, but it does not compare to the coin-op version. You see, the coin-op version, you could actually hear the real sound of a target being hit, but the ColecoVision port sounds like you controlling someone in another game.

The Bottom Line
I'm sure that you have participated in a shooting gallery. This game is a simulation of one, but with slight differences. None of the ports listed on MobyGames are not as good as the coin-op's.

Rating: ***