Up n Down

Name:	Up n Down
Company:	Sega
Model #:	009-03
Programmer:	Charlie Kulas
Year:	1984
Released?	Yes
Notes:	Port of the 1983 Sega Coin-Op

Up n Down.  No it's not what you're thinking (this time), we're talking about the obscure Sega coin-op that was ported to several different systems for reasons unknown.  It's not that Up n Down is a bad game, it's just that none of the home versions ever managed to capture all the mediocrity of the arcade version.  Thankfully Up n Down is as rare on the home consoles as it was in the arcades.

The goal in Up 'n Down is to collect all the colored flags scattered around the twisty race track.  Along the way you'll run into other cars who will attempt to ram your little bug (VW Bug that is) off the road.  You can jump on these cars to destroy them (ala Bump 'n Jump), or just jump over them to get out of the way.  

As in real life, your car can go forward and backwards, but you cannot jump while in reverse.  Watch out because enemy cars have the bad habit of suddenly changing directions in an attempt to smash your car.  You can also jump from road to road, but depending on your difficulty level you'll have to be dead on with your jump or you'll crash.  In later rounds you'll have to chase down and jump on enemy cars that are carrying the flags you need.

One of the draws of the arcade version was the amazing (for the time) 3/4th overhead perspective graphics.  While most systems were able to produce this to varying degrees, the results were decidedly mixed.  The collision detection is also a bit dodgy, which makes an already tough game even tougher.  All in all Up n Down can be fun in short spurts, but the obscene difficulty and nasty flicker really seems to sap the life out the game.

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