The 360's awkward d-pad is again an issue, as it has been for most retro titles. Too often, players end up jumping or going prone when they do not intend to, although some practice and a switch to the analog stick control will remedy most issues with the controls.
The game's Live options are sadly limited to either versus or co-op, both of which only show your screen with you and your counterpart's score listed above. This has become the sad standard for Live retro titles as of late. The two-player simultaneous gameplay of the otherwise poor NES port would have made this a must-have title, and made the Achievements much more manageable.
Achievement Point fiends will find Rush 'n Attack another in a nice string of retro titles with rather difficult Achievements worth seeking out. Gamers earn Achievements at the end of each level, which is hard enough, since most players will only live long enough to see the first two. Even harder-earned Achievements are for high-score, both playing solo and co-op over Live. The difficulty with the high-scores comes from the way the game punishes players for standing still and killing the dopey brown-coat soldiers repeatedly. Players that stand in one spot for too long, without moving the screen forward to a new area often enough, will find karate-kick jumping enemies, then will eventually get bombed by a stealth bomber as a final death-blow to those trying to 'cheat' their way to a high-score. The most difficult Achievement, perhaps in all of Live Arcade, is 'Stealth', requiring gamers to make it through the first level while killing less than eighteen enemies.
Based on the difficulty of the game and the hard-earned Achievement Points, for the 400 Microsoft Points Rush 'n Attack is a solid purchase. A retro title that earns this much replay value from both a desire to beat the game and tough-as-they-come Achievements does not come around often enough.
