Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

   Developer: Tengen

   Publisher: Mindscape

   Release Date: 1991

   Genre: Action / Simulation

   Nerd Rating: 6.5 out of 10

   Rated by: bbpower

If you would enjoy slinging papers through your least favorite neighbor’s windows, pegging old fogies with papers, or squashing people under cars, then look no further! Your favorite vandalizing paperboy is back in action in the popular sequel, Paperboy 2, but this time there is more havoc to wreak on your block and better graphics. So, load up that paper bag, gamers, it’s time to get the neighborhood its hot news and disrupt the peace as your reward.

Paperboy 2 plays exactly like the first Paperboy in the series; players ride down the street and deliver papers on both sides of the road. In this improved installment there are more chances to earn points by disrupting your neighbors and distractions to throw off your “Perfect Route.” In my opinion, this game is much better than Paperboy. Choose either a paperboy or papergirl and get delivering!

The game runs through a seven-day delivery schedule, so no mornings off for this delivery boy or girl. The object of the game has not changed; you still push yourself to get a paper delivered to every subscriber, while vandalizing everything in sight to earn points. Get a “Perfect Route” and you earn another subscriber. Miss a house, and you lose that customer. The people on this block expect perfection and it’s very hard to do so! The mailbox is your primary target for the most points, but hitting the front door with a paper still suffices as a counted delivery.  Be sure to only vandalize the houses of the non-customers, as your subscribers may get upset if you shatter too many windows. However, I cannot resist fun targets, and neither should you.

 Your paper route is infested with jerk-off neighbors, run away strollers (how they move so fast is a mystery), vehicles that live to run you over, and dogs ready to knock you off your Huffy. Gutters will make you crash and open man holes are prevalent. However, the block has changed some since your last visit. Along with the not-so-friendly ghost, a mummy moved in to the graveyard house and has something against you. Monsters live in the sewers and will grab you in a flash, so look out!

Skateboarders are around to throw off your groove and birds will swoop down from houses and knock you off your bike if you don’t smash them with a paper first. Houses armed with cannons will shoot you and there are punks chucking baseballs. With all these distractions, there is still plenty of chances to cause problems.

The old fogies are still swinging their remaining years on the porch and the grouchy lady is tending to her flower bed, but now there are movers carrying glass, a guy to stop from robbing the gas station, a hog being roasted, a total babe tanning in the yard next to a garden hose, and several other targets to nail with a paper. Hit them to rack up the points and enjoy the aftermath. There are more ramps everywhere, but beware, taking these ramps may cause you to miss out on a paper reload. And more papers are crucial to your escapade of fun.

At the end of each level players will automatically ride into a bonus obstacle course. This area gives players many chances to rack up points. Papers are infinite, so throw at will to get the highest score possible. Hit the targets for points and avoid the pools of water. If players make it to the finish line there are a few people cheering in the stands. If you crash in the bonus, you still do not lose a life, but it just ends the day.

When you complete a day, the game will give you a summary of what houses you made a successful delivery, or what houses you missed. If you executed a “Perfect Route” then it will flash what house you gained, or gain back depending on how well you did the day before. There are still three types of streets to test your paper delivering abilities, so try them all. If you make it through the entire week you will be honored with the outstanding paper delivery award. If you lose all your lives, you will “Call it quits,” and if you lose your subscribers, you will be publicly FIRED on the next edition of the paper. It’s just as embarrassing as the first game. Beat the game to avoid the town gossip of how you could not deliver a few papers.

When Paperboy 2 was new, it was easy to play for hours. Now, I find it hard to play this game more than a duration, or two. It is incredibly hard to get a perfect route on multiple days, which keeps me playing. There are some questionable glitches here and there that make you cringe. Sometimes you will get shot and it will not kill you, but sometimes it missed you and you die. It’s very rare, but over decades, it’s something I have noticed.

I enjoy Paperboy 2 for its simplicity and creative spin on a boring job. It was a popular game when it hit stores in 1991 and I still play it today. This game has never gotten old, so it’s earned a Nerd Rating of 6.5 out of 10 and a spot in my NES collection. With this game being a bargain buy, it should be in your collection too. Paperboy 2 can usually be bought for less than a night at the movies and is cheaper than the first installment (even though it is better). So, skip taking a date out and pick up this fun game and start vandalizing!

Written by Nerd Bacon