The banner says it all – after a long, long time in development, I-Mockery’s eagerly awaited Flash-based smashfest has been released and is available to play now for the low, low price of $0.00 (tax not included). Step into the shoes of Abobo, fan-favourite grimacing villain from the Double Dragon series on a brutal quest to rescue Aboboy, his similarly stern-looking son. For those who grew up with the Nintendo games of the late 80s and early 90s, this is a great combination nostalgia trip, and a fine game in it’s own right.

It looks like a NES game, and plays like one – difficulty included. Expect a pretty tough ride and enemies that don’t show much in the way of mercy. Extra lives will be hoarded, health pickups coveted, and the occasional ‘gimme’ chain of enemies that helps level up your Rage meter (used for special moves and screen-flattening smartbomb attacks) will be eagerly smashed into 8-bit dust. Varied gameplay too, as the core gameplay shifts into different genres with each level completed, although it all begins with Abobo’s native Double Dragon, albeit with some more varied foes.

My only real gripe so far is that due to whatever Flash game engine is used here, it runs at a lower framerate than most real NES games – a pity they couldn’t quite replicate that particular aspect – still, there’s no sprite glitching or edge artifacts either, so you gotta take the good with the bad. If you appreciate a good action game, you want to play this. If you grew up in the NES era, you have to play this. And even if you don’t fall into either category – it’s free and it runs in your browser. You should play it anyway.

[Abobo's Big Adventure]