Nintendo is re-releasing some classic NES games for the GBA. I'm not so sure that Ice Climber falls into the "classic" category. It would make a decent mini game but in this context it's like having candyfloss for supper.

Ice Climber is just a rehashed version of Donkey Kong. Instead of trying to reach the top of a building, you try to reach the top of the mountain which is divided into various platform sections. On your way to the top you have to avoid falling items and enemies. Your only protection is a hammer which you can use to smash those annoying bad guys. When you get to the top you will attempt to grab hold of the pterodactyl by negotiating several platforms.

The only major difference between Ice Climber and DK in terms of gameplay is that Ice Climber has a two-player mode in which both players can play simultaneously. For the first part of the game you can play cooperatively but once you get to the pterodactyl round it's every man for himself.

Like all ancient games, the gameplay cycles over and over increasing the difficulty with each round. It's redundancy at its finest but if you're an Ice Climber fan you probably wouldn't want it any other way.

All you have to do is look at the box art to get an indication of the graphics. While virtually all box art is made to look better than the actual graphics of the game, the graphics in Ice Climber are actually better than the box art. It's kind of like reverse truth-in-advertising. Nintendo obviously wants gamers to know this in a retro game. It's a true port of the NES game and looks every bit as bad as the original. Even that slightly catchy music sounds the way I remember it.

Ice Climber has never been one of my favorite games and if you've never played it before I doubt it will be one of yours. It's just too repetitive for today's gamers. It would have made a good mini game but that's about it. Unless you're a true fan leave this one out in the cold.