Code Name: Viper

Code Name: Viper expands upon Rolling Thunder and similar games by including intermissions and a storyline that fills in piece by piece. The rounds are nicely drawn, and the action is non-stop. The game is difficult, and you'll find yourself continuing a lot, but a password every three levels helps.

Rolling Thunder 2 is a better name for this game. The action controls sloppy and critical jumps are frequently missed because of the problem. The enemies appear in the same places creating more of a pattern to the action. Good graphics and game play can't help a cart that controls bad.

Nintendo's way of letting you buy a licensed version of Rolling Thunder. Virtually identical in game game play and theme, Viper does offer more variety in backgrounds, Bionic Commando-style text screens. An above-average game with enough challenge to keep the best players occupied.

Viper does look like Rolling Thunder, but it is a very good derivitive of this special style of game. There are more rounds, new goals like rescuing hostages and obtaining gre-. nades, as well as a running puzzle to solve. Graphic/text is another addition that elevates Viper above Thunder in my book.