If there's anything that I enjoy dearly about revisiting classic video games is seeing how well some of these from the 8-bit era hold up. Rush'n Attack is the perfect Nintendo game, a format that's so timeless, it's still going strong today. Am I really reviewing a game called "Rush'N Attack" in today's climate? Hey, not necessarily my fault the play on words coincides with recent events.

Developed and published by Konami and released in 1985, this ultra punny title is also one of the most aptly named video games of all time. Released in some countries as Green Beret, Rush'n Attack is a reference to the Cold War, this game's time setting. Rush'n Attack is such a cooler name, even though growing up, I couldn't tell if it was attacking Russians or "Russian [semicolon] Attack". 

You literally just RUSH the enemy and attack them with your very trusty beret knife. The opposition can't do anything about your wall of knife. As a side-scrolling action title, it fits the bill and is as to the point as you can get (HAHAHA! Another pun!). Run to the right and stab the baddies. 

The graphics, pretty minimalist, yet it makes the very best of the limited hues with a surprising amount of detail in the BM-21 rocket trucks in the background of the first mission. this is another nice touch about NES era games, the color choices can be basic, but striking. It's a touch goofy that your soldier is clad in a solid dark blue uniform (despite being a Green Beret) while the enemy looks like a blend of British imperial guards and the third position drum players from the Litchfield Milaca Marching Wolves band. 

Rush'n Attack is only four stages with two actual boss fights, and the stages aren't long. They can get fairly intense, as waves of enemies regularly spawn from the right or left. There isn't too much of a problem with the controls, other than the mild issue of it being one of those games where pressing UP is how you jump (because "A" is your alt weapon), and that can feel a little clunky to me. The knife has decent range for a melee weapon, though the jump-kicking guys coming in at an angle can throw me off. Adequate port of its arcade cousin and handles fine.

Overall, whacking the Commies with your single soldier or with a buddy in co-op is pretty fun for what Rush'n Attack provides. It's not as substantive as other Konami side-scrolling action games, but as a predecessor to the Contra series, you can see where the inspiration was lifted. 

The controls are responsive enough to get the job done. While there isn't a LOT of creativity in level design, the ladder portions can mostly be bypassed, unless you REALLY wanted to grab that RPG form the milkman, there's nothing inherently wrong with the fact that platform jumping once included. As mentioned earlier, pressing up to jump in most games can be a drag to me. Before I discovered G.I. Joe games for the NES, Rush'n Attack was a serviceable stand-in.