Super Scope 6 (SNES review)

Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1992

Super Scope 6 is a collection of mini-games that was bundled with Nintendo's Super Scope light gun.

First up is Blastris A which is Tetris turned on its side. You can't control or flip the blocks but you can shoot each square to fit shapes together; if you get five lines you move onto the next level. It works really well and it's an interesting take on the old puzzle classic. Blastris B is a top-down puzzle game where you have to clear all the pulsing blocks. Some falling blocks can be shot to change their colour to the one you require; again it works surprisingly well and keeps you entertained for a while. Mole Patrol is like Whack-a-Mole and it's the most throwaway game. You need to hit a certain number of purple moles to advance levels but shooting a pink mole will speed up the game to where they become almost unhittable. It plays okay but it's nothing more than a short distraction. LazerBlazer: Intercept puts you in the middle of a desert and you must shoot down enemy aircraft. Planes in the foreground can be shot straight-on but for the ones further away you must fire your missile ahead of their position so it reaches them as they pass by. It's a simple but addictive game and I like the radar map at the bottom. LazerBlazer: Engage sees you shooting down planes that advance towards the screen. It looks like F-Zero but plays like a static version of Afterburner; it's decent but not very engaging. Lastly, LazerBlazer: Confront is similar to the Engage mode but enemies scale in slower. It's almost like Missile Command as you must aim your shots in advance depending on how far away they are. Not a bad game but it won't hold your attention for long.

Super Scope 6 won't blow you away but it's a good selection of mini-games and far better than the 6-in-1 pack-in cartridge for the Sega Menacer light gun. The Blastris modes in particular are really addictive and offer an excellent alternative to the oft-copied puzzler.

Random trivia: This game was directed by Yoshio Sakamoto who also served the role of Director on Super Metroid (1994, SNES).