Amstrad Action


Howard The Duck
By Activision
Amstrad CPC464

 
Published in Amstrad Action #23

Howard The Duck

What an incredible waste of oil-based products this Howard The Duck life story has turned out to be. The film was hardly raved, and the game?! Well, read on my little ravettes.

Guess what? You play the part of Howard! Surprise surprise! Get out your dark shades and your King Teds. Not so that you look the part, but so you see little of the game! You get parachuted onto this island wot s bin taken over by this mean geezer called the Dark Overlord. He knicked your best mates Beverly and Phil for some dirty reason. Still, you have been challenged by him to come and rescue them from his volcanic retreat.

The first thing you must do when you land, is to find the back-pack you dropped earlier. Don't worry, it's not difficult. It's just round the corner to the right. Your only worry, is the Mutant Slime. You must take this at a running jump If you don't clear it. it will drag you back to where jumped from.

The next difficulty, is the water, which you cross with the use of the solar-powered jet pack which you just happened to pack in your back-pack. Once across the first stretch of water, you will encounter annoying little Mutant Maniacs. These will try to kick you off the island. Use your "Quack-fu" to kick them off instead.

Eventually, you will reach the rope bridge which you must cross whilst dodging the molten rocks which are hurled towards you Once across, you are automatically given your Ultralight flyer. This enables you to fly to the top of the volcano. Once inside, you must avoid the nasty stalactites which the main man throws at you When you have him in your sights, you must shoot and kill him Even then your task is not complete You must shut down the volcano by flipping a lever.

Do pardon the small injection of humour in this review, but I had to do something to liven it up. Not a good game. Graphics are indescribably bad [Try - Ed] with jerky animation and poor backgrounds (thank you). Sound is a definite no-no. Playability cannot be expressed without cursing.

First Day Target Score

Visit the volcano.

Second Opinion

There were some nice ideas in the game but they didn't translate into decent gameplay. There isn't enough variety to keep you interested; repeatedly kicking mutants isn't my idea of fun. I haven't seen the film, and on this showing I'm rather glad.

Green Screen View

No problems.

The Verdict

Graphics 36%
N. Dull and repetitive background.
N. Sluggish Animation.

Sonics 32%
N. Overly average.

Grab Factor 42%
N. Tough task to complete.
N. Repetitive start process.

Staying Power 27%
N. Higher levels are too hard.
N. Too much luck involved in fending off the MMs.

Overall 31%
N. Like the film, a waste of tape!

CB

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