Final Thoughts

[dr_st]

#10710

I think this is probably the first time I’m starting this topic, but as everyone noticed, the game is really short, so I beat all 4 episodes by playing off-and-on for a couple of days.

There will be some spoilers below.

I will echo the opinions of most of the others – while the issues raised in the ‘first impressions’ are valid, the game does feel better as you progress and get accustomed to the mechanics. Towards the middle of the game I felt comfortable enough with the jetpack physics which felt clunky at first.

I think, in the end, the jetpack has always been the main selling point of the game. Few other platformers give you essentially unlimited vertical range, from the get-go, without any power-ups or limitations (other than the need to ration the usage if you ran out of fuel).

It felt that the level design only partially took advantage of that, though. replace the vertical shafts with ladders make the floors a little closer to one another and add an auxiliary platform here and there, and most levels would be traversable with normal run and jump mechanics.

I played on medium, and ended up improving my overall score for episodes 1-4 by ~100K points (total score just under 900K). I absolutely did not make any attempts to score high, so I wonder if maybe on my first playthrough 20+ years ago I played on Easy.

In any case, since some (not all) of the respawning monsters produce coins each time they are killed, this means that theoretically the maximum score is unbounded. In fact, the more time you spend getting lost in the levels, and doing the same sections over and over, the higher your score will be. Not a good system, and not one I’m interested in exploiting.

I didn’t really like the fact that secret passages are mandatory in some levels. Sure enough, in these levels there will be a hint disk telling you to look for fake walls and hidden tunnels. Typically it’s very close to where the secret is located, so what’s the point hiding something and then telling me where it is? I probably missed most of the optional secrets, though.

I absolutely detested how many enemies lurk in the background, obstructed by tunnels or scenery. In some situations (e.g., those slow-moving snails, or slime) you have no chance of seeing the enemy before touching it and getting hurt.

I feel the worst level by far was 2.1 (first level of the factory episode). A somewhat confusing layout, many scattered switches requiring a lot of backtracking, with those indestructible robo-orbs following you, very hard to avoid, and they deal tons of damage too each time you touch them. I think I may have died on this level more than on all other levels combined!

Some of the levels in episode 4 were also close calls, but by then I already found the rhythm, and my survival and exploration skills have improved.

Using the weapons felt very satisfactory. You can probably beat the entire game 99% with the flamethrower, but strategic use of photon (goes through walls), missiles (hit anything anywhere), mini-nukes (like DN2 napalm bombs) and of course the omega (insta-kill everything on screen) makes the game easier and more fun. The only ones that felt not very useful are the grenades that bounce around. They are hard to aim, and a missile for the same price is better since it homes on the target.

Graphics, sound and music are very pleasant. Since there are only 5 levels, including boss, in each episode – I don’t mind that the tileset used is more or less fixed throughout the episode, and that the music repeats a lot as well.

Speaking of music, the “continue screen” tune (if you lose all your lives) is short but pretty fun. With saves at the beginning of levels, most people probably won’t ever get to hear it. 😛

[TigerQuoll]

#10711

I agree with just about everything you said, dr_st.
I played this game many years ago, and the controls seem to be still branded into my brain, so for this playthrough it wasn’t an issue. But I can see why it would take some getting used to.

The game does seem to get better, with the sewers (episode 3 in the HH version) being the strongest in my opinion.

On a few points I have a slightly different perspective:
There are very few mandatory secrets for the whole game, and as mentioned they are almost all telegraphed, either with an info disk or by the fact that the texture is a different colour, so it wasn’t much of an issue for me.

I got the impression that the game wanted you to use the special weapons primarily, with the flamethrower as a backup. At least in the HH version where you have to pay for fuel.
I actually found myself using the grenades fairly often. They’re especially useful for slimes.
Except when in a low tunnel, I never found I had trouble hitting things with them. The missiles on the other hand never seem to target what I want them to, and given the respawning enemies I never found a good use for the omega.
I still have no idea how to use the mini-nuke effectively.

I definitely agree with you on the hidden enemies though! Absolutely maddening…
And those killer orbs are just OP

I thought the music was a bit hit-and-miss to be honest. The office block music in particular was just weird.

Overall I think there was a lot of potential here. With a few minor gameplay tweaks and better level design, it could have been a standout classic. Instead it just feels passable but forgettable.

[dr_st]

#10713

>> I actually found myself using the grenades fairly
>> often. They’re especially useful for slimes.
>> Except when in a low tunnel, I never found I had
>> trouble hitting things with them. The missiles on the
>> other hand never seem to target what I want them to

Oh yes, this is a good point. Missiles can hit any on-screen target (and some off-screen), but their choice of target seems impossible to determine. So you may waste missiles on remote enemies which you in principle could attack later, before the missile will hit what you were aiming for. In this situation grenades can have the advantage.

[Pix]

#10714

I’ve finished as well now. I found the grenades somewhat useful but the missles were my usual go to. I was tending to just the the flamethrower all the time with the fuel being free, except for the larger monsters who were invulnerable to it or moved really quickly.

Swapping the episodes around was bizarre. I suppose there is nothing saying to play 1 first but it’s the assumption. Episode 3 was over quite quickly as a result and it was a bit late for all the instructions on 3.1. I agree about 2.1 being the hardest level. I had to restart that several times. I couldn’t decide if the levels were getting better or I was just getting more used to the game as things went on. I’d need to go back but once is enough for HH I feel.

Overall, the game is OK. Music was a bit average I thought but inoffensive. The bosses were seriously uninteresting and all of them went down on the first go except the first one when I was figuring out what the game expected. We’ve not played a lot of platformers for the show but if we’ve played one that was worse, I can’t think what it was to be blunt. Earthworm Jim was a whole lot better a few months back, presumably with a massive budget and team by comparison mind you.

[jefklak]

#10716

Does Jazz also count as platformer for you Pix? 😇

[Pix]

#10717

It’s a lot more of a platformer than this, given it has actual jumping. I did wonder if Halloween Harry counted given the Jetpack. Jazz has it’s issues but is faster, smoother, has way better music and I like the 3D bonus levels as well. This did come out a year earlier I suppose.

The boss design is similarly uninspired in both games. It put me in mind of Jazz every time I got to one of the bosses.