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This title opens with a lengthy (but
thankfully skippable) cartoon intro that belies the quality of the whole game.
Though it runs smoothly enough some colours suffer from horrendous stippling
effects that are forgivable in FMV but not in cartoon animation, especially if
you've seen the wonderful opening to
Chuck Rock II. Throughout the intro mouths open and close but
nothing is audible except the twee background music and this problem persists in
the game proper. As the volume level can't be adjusted I turned off the
music and found that the reason I couldn't hear any noises was because there are
very, very few and those that are present are so quiet as to be almost
nonexistent. Graphically things do pick up a little once you get going,
with chunky, fluid sprites, although the backgrounds are sometimes bland and
uninspired. Sadly the whole thing suffers from crap platform licence
syndrome, with leaps of faith and things falling on you from off screen making
the game frustrating and tiresome. It is often difficult to tell which
things should be avoided - in the opening level you can pass harmlessly through
most of the other Smurfs, but some will cause you damage if they touch you.
On one occasion a Smurf is using a snail as a plough, and you can walk through
everything except the small clods of earth being thrown out behind them, which
just appear to be a nice touch to the animation until they kill you. This
title stands out on rarity alone, being as hard to find as the other later
releases and as such valuable to collectors trying for a full set. If you
just want a platform game, grab
Sonic CD and Wonder Dog for the same money and much more fun. |
