View source for Software:S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team

{{Infobox video game
|title = S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team
|image = S.C.A.T. - Special Cybernetic Attack Team (game box art).jpg
|caption = Cover art
|developer = Natsume
|publisher = {{Video game release|JP/NA|Natsume|EU|[[Company:Atari SA|Infogrames Entertainment]]|}}
|composer = Kiyohiro Sada
|producer = Satoshi Yoshikawa
|programmer = Satoshi Yoshikawa<br />Kenji Furuya
|artist = Mikihiko Funada<br />Hiroshi Takai<br />Shunji Ohminami
|platforms = [[Engineering:Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|released = '''NES'''{{vgrelease|JP|June 22, 1990|NA|June 1991|PAL|1992}}'''Virtual Console'''{{vgrelease|PAL|February 4, 2011 (Wii)|NA|February 7, 2011 (Wii)|PAL|December 4, 2014 (Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)|NA|January 22, 2015 (Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)}}
|genre = [[Software:Shoot 'em up|Shoot 'em up]]
|modes = Single-player, multiplayer
}}

'''''S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team''''', also known as {{nihongo|'''''Final Mission'''''|ファイナルミッション|Fainaru Misshon}} in {{wipe|Japan}} and '''''Action in New York''''' in [[Earth:Europe|Europe]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nes-wiki.org/wiki/Action_in_New_York_PAL_A#other |title = Action in New York PAL A - Nintendo NES Wiki |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130713045751/http://www.nes-wiki.org/wiki/Action_in_New_York_PAL_A#other |archive-date=13 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> is a science fiction side-view shoot-'em-up produced by Natsume for the [[Engineering:Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo Entertainment System]]. Within [https://archive.today/20130713045804/http://www.nes-wiki.org/wiki/PAL-A PAL-A] regions, the game was only released in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nes-wiki.org/wiki/Action_in_New_York_PAL_A |title = Action in New York PAL A - Nintendo NES Wiki |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130713045751/http://www.nes-wiki.org/wiki/Action_in_New_York_PAL_A |archive-date=13 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was released in Japan in 1990, in North America in 1991, and in the PAL region in 1992. It was also later released on the Virtual Console in the PAL region on February 4, 2011, and in North America on February 7 for the [[Engineering:Wii|Wii]] and in the PAL region on December 4, 2014 for the {{wipe|Nintendo 3DS}} and [[Engineering:Wii U|Wii U]] and was released on the [[Engineering:Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch]] via the Nintendo Switch Online service on September 23, 2020.

==Plot==
In 2029, an army of alien invaders led by Vile Malmort has planted an "Astrotube" connecting the ruins of New York City with their space station. A team of part-human part-machine soldiers known as the Special Cybernetic Attack Team or "SCAT" has been assembled in order to combat the invasion.<ref name=manualp5>{{cite video game|title=S.C.A.T.|developer=Natsume Co., Ltd.|platform=Nintendo Entertainment System|level=Instruction manual, page 5}}</ref>

==Gameplay==
[[Image:NesActionInNewYork.PNG|thumb|left|''S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team'' gameplay]]
''S.C.A.T.'' can be played by up to two players simultaneously. During the 1-Player Mode, the player can choose between a male soldier named Arnold, or a female one named Sigourney, while in 2 Players mode, Player 1 controls Arnold while Player 2 controls Sigourney. There are no skill differences between the two characters.<ref name=manualp6>{{cite video game|title=S.C.A.T.|developer=Natsume Co., Ltd.|platform=Nintendo Entertainment System|level=Instruction manual, page 6}}</ref>

As Arnold or Sigourney, the player flies through the air shooting at enemies with their gun while the screen scrolls automatically horizontally or vertically until the end of each stage (similarly to the [[Company:Capcom|Capcom]] arcade game ''[[Software:Forgotten Worlds|Forgotten Worlds]]''). While the player character can fly in eight directions, they can only shoot their gun left or right. However, the player is surrounded by two satellite modules that will shoot at enemies at the same time the player fires their weapon. The satellites will orbit around the player by default, with one orbiting above and the other below the player. If the satellites are aligned in a position the player wants to maintain, they can keep the position by pressing the A button. The player can toggle back and forth between the two satellite modes.<ref name=manualp7>{{cite video game|title=S.C.A.T.|developer=Natsume Co., Ltd.|platform=Nintendo Entertainment System|level=Instruction manual, page 7}}</ref>

There are five power-up items that can be obtained by destroying certain containers, each represented by a letter-based icon. Three of these items are new weapons that will replace the player's default gun (a Laser, a Wide Beam, and a Bomb launcher), while the other two are a speed power-up and a life recovery.<ref name=manualp8>{{cite video game|title=S.C.A.T.|developer=Natsume Co., Ltd.|platform=Nintendo Entertainment System|level=Instruction manual, page 8}}</ref> There are a total of five stages in the game, along with the usual boss encounters.<ref name=manualp9>{{cite video game|title=S.C.A.T.|developer=Natsume Co., Ltd.|platform=Nintendo Entertainment System|level=Instruction manual, page 9}}</ref> The player begins the game with a total of six hit points and the game will end if they are all lost. Unlike ''[[Software:Shadow of the Ninja|Shadow of the Ninja]]'', the player is given unlimited chances to continue.

==Version differences==
The Japanese version, ''Final Mission'', was released a year before the American version and there are a few differences between the two. The game's opening story sequence is completely different, showing the obliteration of various cities before the alien invasion begins. Instead of a selectable male or female main character, both players control palette-swapped male soldiers, one of whom is Russian, which was inconceivable for the western market. The game's difficulty was made easier for the American version as well. Instead of six lives, the player begins with only three lives and any upgrade they possess is lost whenever their character is hit. The player's satellites also function differently. Instead of orbiting automatically, they're aligned by the player while moving the character left or right. Their firepower was also weaker. The map shown before each stage in the American version was not featured in the original Japanese version.

The European version, ''Action in New York'', is almost identical to the American version. Besides the title change, the names of the main characters were also changed from Arnold and Sigourney to Silver Man and Sparks respectively. Their respective likeness to their namesakes, actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sigourney Weaver, was left unchanged. Their team affiliation was also changed from "SCAT" to "SAT" (Special Attack Team).

== Reception ==
{{Video game reviews
| Allgame = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Weiss |first=Brett Alan|title=S.C.A.T. - Review|publisher=[[Software:Allgame|Allgame]] |accessdate=June 6, 2014 |url=http://allgame.com/game.php?id=15078&tab=review}}</ref>
| ASM = 3/12<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Heibert|first=Roland|date=July 1993|url=https://archive.org/details/Aktueller_Software_Markt_-_Ausgabe_1993.07/page/n43/mode/2up?q=%22action+in+new+york%22+nintendo|title=Action in New York|language=de|magazine=Aktueller Software Markt|page=43|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| EGM = 30/40<ref>{{cite magazine|author1=Steve|author2=Ed|author3=Martin|author4=Sushi-X|url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_24/page/n19/mode/2up|title=S.C.A.T.|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|date=July 1991|volume=4|number=7|page=20|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| GamePro = 24/25<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Slasher Quan|date=May 1991|title=S.C.A.T.|magazine=GamePro|issue=22|page=28}}</ref>
| GameZone = 81/100<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/nintendo-game-zone-01/page/56/mode/2up?q=%22Special+Cybernetic+Attack+Team%22|title=Action in New York|magazine=Nintendo Game Zone|issue=1|date=November 1992|pages=56–57|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| NLife = {{rating|8|10}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Duhn|first=Marcel van|date=February 10, 2011|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/vc/scat_special_cybernetic_attack_team_nes|title=S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team Review (NES)|work=Nintendo Life|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| NP = 14.2/20<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-127-december-1999/Nintendo%20Power%20Issue%20023%20April%201991/page/86/mode/2up|title=Now Playing|magazine=Nintendo Power|date=April 1991|volume=23|pages=87–91|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| TOT = 69%<ref>{{cite magazine|author=James|date=December 1992|url=https://archive.org/details/total-12/page/n99/mode/2up?q=action+in+new+york|title=Action in New York|magazine=Total!|issue=12|page=101|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| VGCE = 7/10<ref>{{cite magazine|author=B.W.|date=May 1991|url=https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_Computer_Entertainment_Issue_28_May_1991/page/n47/mode/2up?q=%22Special+Cybernetic+Attack+Team%22|title=S.C.A.T.|magazine=Video Games & Computer Entertainment|issue=28|pages=48, 50|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| VGS = 71%<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_1993-06_Markt_Technik_DE/page/n95/mode/2up?q=%22Taz-Mania%22|title=Action in New York|language=de|magazine=Video Games|date=June 1993|page=97|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| rev1 = ''[[Company:Europress|N-Force]]''
| rev1Score = 85/100<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Chris|date=December 1992|url=https://archive.org/details/n-force-06/page/n65/mode/2up?q=%22action+in+new+york%22+nintendo|title=Action in New York|magazine=[[Company:Europress|N-Force]]|issue=6|pages=66–67|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''Super Gamer''
| rev2Score = 51%<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/super-gamer-01/page/n123/mode/2up?q=%22action+in+new+york%22+nintendo|title=A-Z of Games: NES|magazine=Super Gamer|issue=1|date=April 1994|pages=124–125|accessdate=August 24, 2021}}</ref>
}}
The music by Kiyohiro Sada is universally praised alongside the high quality of the gameplay.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{moby game|id=/scat-special-cybernetic-attack-team|name=''S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team''}}

[[Category:Virtual Console games]]
[[Category:Post-apocalyptic video games]]
[[Category:Cooperative video games]]

{{Sourceattribution|S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team}}