Top 10: That's Not Really Fair!

While these tasks are not completely impossible, they certainly had many of us wanting to throw our controllers and consoles through the TV. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

10. You mean I have to destroy this city again? Rampage is a classic, and everyone who was a gamer back in the 1980s played it at least once. The problem with the game is, while it does actually have an end, it's after you've played somewhere around 128 levels. That's right, 128 levels of doing the same thing over and over again. After about Day 50, you begin to ask yourself if it's really worth the torture.

9. Glad the updated version has a save feature. Super Mario Bros. 3 is a NES masterpiece, and still to this day one of the greatest games ever made. Too bad the original version didn't contain a save feature. If you didn't take advantage of the whistles that allowed you to warp ahead, you'd after three hours of game time still be stuck around World 6. The Game Boy Advance port I have of the game, thankfully, has a save feature (All of you purists can cringe now).

8. Emeralds? What emeralds? I thought those boards were for getting continues! Sonic the Hedgehog, the speedy hero's debut on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, was just the right mix of fun and challenge. But all that fun got thrown out the window the first time you destroyed Dr. Robotnik only to find out at the end of the closing credits you really didn't finish the game. Why not? Because you didn't find all six Chaos Emeralds located in the Bonus Stages. What was really tough about getting them was you were limited on how many times you could try based on the number of levels in the game. At least in Sonic 2 you didn't need them to actually finish the game.

7. This shouldn't be so hard to do. WWF Wrestlemania for the NES had everything Pro Wrestling didn't (even though the game itself was inferior) - real wrestlers, their music and some signature moves (sort of). What it didn't have was an easy way to climb the turnbuckle for some aerial action. For those of you who actually could climb the ropes, good for you - you also knew you could only climb the two at the bottom of the ring, like the others were on fire or something.

6. Bo knows Tecmo Super Bowl. You couldn't tackle him. Enough said.

5. What do you mean I have to start at the beginning? With all due respect to Fester's Quest (which is my Honorable Mention pick for this blog), Zelda II: The Adventure of Link gets my award for "Game With Dumbest Rule That Says You Have to Start From the Very Beginning After Every Continue." I know you can create some shortcuts on the overworld map as you go along, but having to fight your way every time you want to reach a temple gets quite tedious after, I don't know, the first 300 times! And usually by the time you reach the temple half your energy is gone... and don't get me started on the heart container/life meter argument!

4. I actually think I did break my controller because of this game. Ever played Battletoads on the NES? Ever think the game was some kind of sick joke being played by companies like Sega who hoped you'd throw your NES through the wall and purchase one of their systems? I hate this game - I really do. And I thought the air bike part, with more than 100 obstacles to duck, dodge and jump was impossible until I saw a guy on YouTube finish it.

3. You can really complete this game. You just have to try harder to not go mad over it. Many blame it for the video game crash in the 1980s. There are tons of them buried in a western United States landfill. And it was developed in something like a month or so. But E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial did have an ending, contrary to what others may say. The key was figuring out what you were supposed to do before giving up on the game. In fact, you can beat the game in about 10-15 minutes if you know where all the pieces to the phone are off-hand.

2. So let me get this straight: If he hits me once, I'm toast? The Punch-Out!! series for the NES gave us two of the most brutally-hard bosses in gaming history in "Iron" Mike Tyson and Mr. Dream. What single human being would be harder to beat? If they hit you once, you were Michael Spinks on the canvas! And for the entire first round, all you could really do was tuck your tail between your legs and hope to not get grazed by a punch. Then afterwards, you had to figure out how many times he'll swing based on the number of eyes he blinks? Like we had time for that?

1. Commando-style action-adventure? Check. Pea-shooting rifle? Check. Three lives to complete the game? Uh, what? For the five or so people who tried completing Contra without using the "Konami Code," let me offer you a nugget of advice: It ain't happening. Especially in a game where one hit and you're dead. The code is there for a reason, and that is because even the best gamer most likely isn't going to finish this game with just three lives and a limited number of continues. I've tried the three-life way several times, not advancing more than one level without continuing. It would be more realistic of there wasn't that "one shot and you're out" rule, but I guess the folks at Konami wanted to give us a challenge no one in their right mind can complete. I guess it could be worse - you could have to continue from the beginning each time.