Rush'n Attack

Rush'n Attack, originally released in Japan and Europe as, is an action/platform arcade game released by Konami in 1985. Rush'n Attack is remembered for its Cold War setting (the title is a play on "Russian attack") and its reliance on the player using a knife to dispatch enemies. A sequel was released for the arcades titled M.I.A.: Missing in Action in 1989. Rush'n Attack / Green Beret was one of the first side-scrolling, run &amp; gun shooters, paving the way for franchises such as Contra, Bionic Commando, and Metal Slug.

Gameplay
The player takes on the role of a United States special operations soldier infiltrating an enemy military base in order to save several POW's from being executed by firing squad. There are four stages: a Marshalling Area, a Harbor, an Air Base and a Siberian Camp. The omnipresent knife can be supplemented with captured arms. By killing certain enemy soldiers, the player can obtain a three-shot flamethrower, a four-shot RPG, or a three-pack of hand grenades. At the end of each stage, there are extra challenges: Stage 1 ends with a truckload of running and jumping soldiers, Stage 2 with a pack of fierce dogs, Stage 3 with three shooting autogyros and Stage 4 with a skillful multi-shot flamethrower operator. When the mission is accomplished the four rescued POWs salute and the player is sent back to Stage 1. The player is supposed to run to the right, revealing new territories, but in case of a standstill in 10 minutes, a stealth-like bomber would wipe out the soldier.

Enemies

Soldier

Gunner

Supply Runner

Combat Specialist

Jetpack Soldier

German Shepherd

Parachute Gunner

Gyrocopter

Flame Thrower

Home computers
Under license from Konami, Imagine Software released home versions of the game under the Green Beret title for various home computer formats in Europe in. Versions were released for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore Plus/4, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, the MSX, and the BBC Micro.

An unrelated IBM PC port was released by Konami for the North American market under the Rush 'n Attack name in

Nintendo Entertainment System
A Family Computer Disk System version of Green Beret was released in Japan on April 10,. A corresponding North American version, bearing the Rush'n Attack title was also released for the Nintendo Entertainment System during the same month and in the PAL region in.

The player's objective in the NES version was changed from rescuing prisoners to destroying a secret weapon being developed in the enemy's headquarters. Additionally, a 2-player mode was introduced as well, allowing two players to play the game simultaneously (with Player 1 in blue and Player 2 in red). The gameplay is essentially identical to the arcade version, with one button used for attacking with the combat knife (the player's primary weapon) and another for using secondary weapons found by defeating certain enemy soldiers throughout each stage. The Rocket Launcher and the Grenades from the arcade version are featured, but the Flamethrower is removed and replaced by two new items: a Star mark which grants invincibility and a pistol with unlimited ammo, both which are only usable for a limited period. The NES version also features two additional stages that were not in the arcade game: an airport set between the Missile Base and the Harbor, where the player faces a group of rocket soldiers at the end; and a new final stage set inside the enemy's base in which the player must disarm a nuclear missile at the end that is about to be launched. The flamethrower corps at the end of the Warehouse stage was replaced by a paratrooper unit.

The Disk System version features a few differences from its western NES counterpart by allowing the player to continue three times after the first game over and if the player loses a life in the disk version, their character will respawn at the spot where they died (in the western version, the player can only do this in 2-player mode) instead of being sent to a previous point of the same stage. Moreover, the player can carry up to nine rounds of any secondary weapon he finds instead of just three. To rebalance the difficulty, the cartridge version gives the player more extra lives when they begin (four instead of two) and all weapons dropped by enemies will always have three rounds in them instead of having the player accumulate them one by one. The Disk System version also features hidden underground areas which the player could access by destroying certain land mines in Stage 2, 4, and 5.

Game Boy Advance
An arranged port of the arcade version of Rush 'n Attack is included in the compilation Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced for the Game Boy Advance. The game features the same stages as in the arcade version, as well as two extra stages accessible via the Konami Code that are based on the added stages from the NES version. A two-players versus mode is added which utilizes the Game Link Cable. The play controls have been changed so the player now has a dedicated jump button instead of pressing up to do so, making the gameplay more like other side-scrolling games.

Nintendo DS
A second portable is included in the compilation Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits for the Nintendo DS. Unlike the GBA version, the DS version is a direct port of the original arcade game. However, it includes various bonus features such scans of the instruction cards and leaflet, as well as tips.

Xbox 360
Rush 'n Attack was released as an Xbox Live Arcade title for the Xbox 360 on May 23,. This version is another direct port of the arcade game, but features an optional game mode with improved graphics and a remixed soundtrack. This version was developed by Digital Eclipse.

Reception
Rush N' Attack/The Green Beret was received well. The MS-DOS version of Rush'N Attack was reviewed in 1989 in Dragon #142 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. The NES version ranked 99 on IGN's top 100 NES games list.

Mobile Ports
Green Beret was released as an i-appli for Mobile phones in Japan in. The mobile version is a direct port of the NES version with a new feature: the health bar. The mobile port was re-released in China for normal Java mobile phones on December 26,.

Rush'n Attack: Ex-Patriot
Rush'n Attack: Ex-Patriot is a remake planned for downloadable release in 2010. It was previewed at Konami Gamers Night, where it drew comparisons with Shadow Complex. as using the latest Unreal engine to development.