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Our hero, Max Maverick, has a few problems. As well as severe body odour, bad breath and the urge to spin rather unconvincing yarns (that's why he's isolated, see?), his little world is in the process of being taken over by evil, slimy creatures that are somehow even more grotesque, smelly and unappealing than him!

Max realises that the path back to social acceptability involves ridding the planet of the alien masses, and this generally involves travelling up the pseudo-3D landscape blasting all and sundry with a variety of weapons. Only when this is done can Max have a bath, gurgle some mouthwash and rejoin his circle of friends.

But Max isn't so good at the heroics of seeing off an alien invasion task force, and he's going to need your joypad alien-blasting skills!

Sometimes blasting aliens on foot just isn't exciting enough for Max Maverick, so he decides to jump atop his trusty jet sled and carry on the xenomorph carnage. This doesn't actually add much to the gameplay; but what it does mean is that the blasting action is made that much faster!

At the end of each level, the Isolated Warrior is confronted by a massive screen-high guardian! These range from a massive robot (armed with many probing (and painful) tentacles), a grotesque blob-like being (he's got tentacles too) and a massive brain-being that uses his head to deadly effect!

The Isolated Warrior picks up a number of special icons on the way to the end-of-level boss, and these endow the warrior with extra notches for his energy bar, and extra weaponry which is selected with the SELECT button. Weapons included in the game are the likes of high-power forward-firing photons, spread cannons, and front/rear lasers!

Bonus levels are hidden throughout the game and are accessed by dropping bombs in the right place. Finding these levels is very useful as it enables you to top up on your energy and weapons.

Nintendo are releasing some very bizarre games. You'd think that with their huge catalogue of games in the US they'd be releaseing the likes of NARC and Smash TV. But no instead we get Isolated Warrior.

Thankfully, obscure as the game may be, it isn't really that bad. The viewpoint works quite well and the blasting action is quite enjoyable and addictive. The graphics are pretty good and quite varied between the levels, and the sound isn't bad either.

The only problem is that the game is quite easy and I can see hardened joypad warriors completing the game after a few days. Still, if you're new to shoot-'em-ups, check this out.

The unusual Zaxxon-style 3D angle, the fast and furious scrolling and the sheer amount of bad guys to blow into the middle of next week makes this an engrossing and entertaining shoot-'em-up. The action is well addictive, and there's plenty of variety from level to level to stop you from getting bored.

The only negative point is that the difficulty level isn't particularly high, and shoot-'em-up aces might find themselves completing the game after a few days. So bear that in mind when you check this out.

Presentation 81%
A rather boring attract sequence, but the game itself is well presented.

Graphics 88%
A nice range of colourful backdrops and sprites.

Sound 77%
Pretty decent music and effects.

Playability 82%
The game is easy to get into, and the action's addictive.

Lastability 71%
Conquering the game isn't a massively difficult task.

Overall 80%
An entertaining and addictive NES shoot-'em-up that's got plenty in it, but might not be hard enough for blasting experts.