The image: The Great Gatsby, one of the great American novels of the 20th century, has found new life as a 1980s-style, 8-bit video game. In the simple yet addictive game, protagonist Nick Carraway must fight his way through flappers and hobos while powering up on martinis. According to the website that hosts it, the Gatsby game was found at a yard sale, and was originally part of a Japanese game called "Doki Doki Toshokan: Gatsby no Monogatari" — though many observers are deeply skeptical of that claim. In any case, this is not the first time Fitgerald's masterpiece has been digitized. Last summer, a different Gatsby game hit the market, which Michael McWhertor at Kotaku says was "not so great."
The reaction: "Nick Carraway doesn't really seem like the 'jump around and throw his hat to kill butlers' type," says Steve Heisler at The A.V. Club. But in this "surprisingly challenging" game, our hero "looks right at home — especially in his Dick Tracy-esque yellow suit." And even though "I just beat the game in like five minutes," says Will Brinson at Guyism , "I still enjoyed playing." Check out a still from the video game below. Or play it here.
