NAM-1975

NAM-1975
Developer(s)	SNK
Publisher(s)	SNK
Platform(s)	Arcade, Neo Geo CD
Release date(s)	April 1990
Genre(s)	action, Shooting game
Mode(s)	Single-player, 2 player Co-op
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Neo-Geo (46 Mbit cartridge)
Display	Horizontally oriented, 304 × 224, 4096 palette colors

NAM-1975 is a 1990 war-themed action shooting game released by SNK. It was the first game released for Neo Geo arcade and home platform, and the only title to not feature the Neo Geo logo in its attract mode.

Plot

"The roar of the helicopters overhead snaps us back into reality. We will never forget the nightmare of that summer..." these were the phrases that started the story of Silver & Brown (the names used to describe the two available players).

The game is set in a very fictional account of the final months of the Vietnam War. The story begins with the two soldiers entering the war to rescue Dr. R. Muckly, an ex-scientist of the American Army, who has been kidnapped by Northside Terrorists. Nancy Muckly, Dr. Muckly's daughter has also been kidnapped and is presumed imprisoned in the NAM interior.

However, as the game progresses, the armies learn that Dr. R. Muckly is a madman who is building a gigantic laser cannon to take over the world himself (the final boss battle was infamous for disallowing continues, except by modifying the DIP switch).

There are many references to many famous Vietnam War films in the game, such as Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket: the attract sequence showing one of the characters firing off an M60 machine gun is clearly ported from the shot of Animal Mother firing on the VC sniper in the latter film.

Gameplay

The joystick moves the soldier and the crosshair left and right of the area. The A Button is used for shooting the gun where the crosshair is positioned. If the firing button is held down, the player can move the crosshair while keeping the soldier in the same spot. The B Button is used for throwing grenades where the crosshair is positioned. The C Button held down and the joystick pulled left or right enables the soldier to run. If the player pulls the joystick Diagonal-Left or Diagonal-Right during a run, the soldier will do an evasive roll that will prevent him getting killed.

The player starts of with a standard machine gun with infinite ammo and 10 normal grenades. When certain enemies are killed, they drop collectable guns or grenades. The guns consist of the Balcan (A more powerful machine gun), the Flamethrower (A gun for taking out ground units only) and the Missile Launcher. The grenades consist of the normal grenades, the Spark Bomb and the Napalm Bomb.

In addition, by saving a hostage, the hostage will help the player by shooting at enemies until the player is killed.

Controversy

Carts released in Europe were subsequently censored, due to the female on the cover art having a bare thigh exposed. Many carts have a black mark over the thigh with a permanent marker to disguise it for overseas marketing.

External links

• NAM-1975 at the Killer List of Videogames
• NAM-1975 at MobyGames