Steven Miranda

Bay Route (which like Rush 'N Attack, is a tongue in cheek play in words which in this case refers to Beirut which was the epicenter of many conflicts in the 80's) is pretty much a glorified knockoff of Contra, but with some noticeable tweaks. First, instead of earning your weapons, you get 4 weapons (a rifle, grenade launcher, flamethrower, and a bomb that by default, explodes in 4 directions) and you can upgrade them to be more powerful. Second, you have a lifebar system which is more of an armor point counter because when you run out of armor (the blue squares if you're Tom, the player 1 hero), you will be killed if you are hit by an enemy or one of their bullets. You can also die instantly by being killed by environmental hazards such as fire. The most obvious of the tweaks is that this game is brutally tough, because the enemy has some very smart AI for a 1989 game. But other than the comparisons that set Bay Route apart from Contra, it's a good System 16 cult classic, which can be now played at Galloping Ghost Arcade.