G.I. Joe – Cobra Strike

I owned Cobra Strike as a kid, but my copy didn’t survive the decades.

So now, 26 years and a quick trip to eBay later, I finally own a bruised and battered copy of the game and I think I have the necessary hand-eye coordination to use those paddles.

So, what do I think of G.I. Joe – Cobra Strike? Well, it is weird and disconnected from the toys, but it is actually a pretty decent game. To start with, the print material is very compelling. Featuring an image of Rock N Roll and Gung-Ho fleeing from a giant Cobra and jumping over a curtain rod. Great stuff.

The first thing you will notice after firing the game up is that GIANT COBRA towering over your G.I. Joe base. You will ask yourself, when did Cobra become an actual Cobra? The answer to this of course is … the marketing or development people making this game had never actually seen an episode of G.I. Joe and interpreted it quite literally.

Which is actually pretty funny (“so G.I. Joe are shooting at Cobra…” ” A Cobra, boss?” “No, Cobra!” “yea ok a Cobra.” “What?” “Nothing boss.” – Ed). Luckily, they did not develop an early version of Street Fighter, or you would just be playing a guy named Roy filling in potholes. Now, the Cobra does not make any sense, but it is visually compelling and very menacing.

The game is pretty simple. Using your paddle, you need to block the Cobra’s shots and at the same time shoot. Sort of like an early version of Arkanoid. As I mentioned in the past, I always find paddle games difficult to play, but once you get the hang of it, it’s fairly playable.

Oh, and here is something weird. The game also accommodates 1–3 players. I know, that’s what I said. Why 3? Well, you can have two players controlling the Joes and another controlling the Cobra.

G.I. Joe – Cobra Strike is a surprisingly playable game that is both challenging and offers some interesting visuals. The only reason I penalized it was because it had very little to do with G.I. Joe products and toys. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.