Amstrad Action
1st March 1993
Published in Amstrad Action #90
School holidays? Off work? Ready to strangle the kids? Don't. Apart from being highly illegal, it's not very nice. Simon Forrester thinks that buying them Kids Pack 2 from Alternative is a much better option.
Kids Pack 2
This little bundle contains six games - Count Duckula 2, Fireman Sam, Popeye, Postman Pat 2, Huxley Pig and Bangers & Mash.
Count Duckula 2
No, don't laugh, it's really on here, and it's abysmal. It's a simple platform game with bland monochrome sprites, hideously slow and jerky movement, an ice-skating main figure (it kinda helps if the legs move roughly in time with Duckula's movement!) and pathetic moving platforms that don't so much move as vanish and re-appear elsewhere. Count Duckula 2 isn't a game; a game is fun. This is like sitting your A Levels again.
Heaven knows why it was released the first time round, let alone put out again! In fact, it doesn't even deserve a ratings box [You can't do that, it's got to have a score - Ed] Oh, okay, how about zero? [Come on! - Ed] Alright, it can have a crap 2%.
Overall 2%
Fireman Sam
That's Postman Pat! No, it's not. It's Fireman Sam. It may look pretty similar, but there are major differences. The fire engine is faster than Pat's van and there's lots of little subgames to have fun with too. These can vary from platform games to putting out fires, finding skateboards and getting kits off roofs.
Fireman Sam is a slightly more frantic version of Postman Pat, with loads more arm work and less time to doze.
The only drawback is the loading system. The main game loads all at once, but the bits which involve putting out fires, climbing up the sides of houses and the like, load separately. Still, the newfangled kids of today should be able to figure it out. That said, don't ever make the mistake of thinking this is just for kids. If a twenty year old reviewer can sit and get addicted to this stuff, it really does deserve to be taken seriously!
Overall 84%
Huxley Pig
The obvious reaction to this game would be "Wow!" considering the excellent TV series, and the loading sequence does nothing to quench your enthusiasm. It loads. You press fire. You see the graphics. You move around the house. Scream. "It's Craaaaap!!" Don't despair, things could be worse. They get worse.
The game is based more around a bloke avoiding spiders than Huxley, looking slightly over-done and moving like he's broken both his legs, interacting with his friends. Yet another opportunity for a fun licence has been wasted.
Overall 38%
Bangers And Mash
Oh no! It's the one with the theme tune by Chas 'n Dave! Bangers & Mash, Bangers & Mash, Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Wotcha Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Wotcha Bangers & Mash. Classic musicians. [It took him two hours to work that out - Ed]
Bangers (or is it Mash?) is a rather acrobatic, chimp who has to jump along the jungly platforms and collect fruit (for his mum's pies) and diamonds (for points). At the same time he's got to stun, and escape from, the baddies.
The graphics are reminiscent of an enlarged Rick Dangerous and the sound is limited to appropriate spot effects and a nice meandering little tune whenever a ghost or witch is near.
Death, though inevitable, is especially irritating in Bangers & Mash, as it comes in the most unexpected forms. A witch may fly up directly underneath you, and you'll die. Or maybe you'll jump and the screen will scroll upwards, you'll hit a previously unseen ghost, and you'll die. Failing that, you'll be standing on a platform, a poisonous plant will grow where you're standing, and you'll die. Persevere and you'll survive!
Bangers & Mash is definitely one of the better games on this compilation. It's fun to play, challenging, and teasing. Each time you play you do progress a little further, though expect to find toothmarks in your joystick! It can get very frustrating.
Overall 85%
Postman Pat 2
He's back, he's mean, and he's broken his van. That's why he's on foot, and that's why they haven't bothered with the colour red.
Pat 2 is a lot like Pat 1, but with a little less reliance on the cute factor. In fact, the emphasis seems to be on more lifelike characters, that aren't in the least bit cuddly.
Graphically, it's a Speccy port (or a very close conversion) and is distinctly unappealing. The addition of a radar to help you seems a little tacky, as do the moving counters representing other characters. Stylewise, it's a fast version of Tir Na Nog, with the added bonus of being able to tell which way you're facing.
Pat 2 turns a lazy drive round town into a boring trudge round the streets, and the colours give the impression that it's going to rain any minute.
Overall 51%
Popeye
This is undoubtedly the best of the bunch - it's big, it's blocky and it's a bit beaut! The sprites are massive and dead colourful yet, despite their bulk, they manage to move with ease. You play the part of our Pops and you have to collect enough hearts to convince the fickle Olive that you really love her. If you don't... well, she might just run off with that brute Bluto.
Popeye is kind of 3D; it's difficult to explain but you can take refuge in doorways and window alcoves. Y'see, even though they look exactly like the rest of the scenery, they are actually set back from the rest. As well as being very clever, this is also very useful and is therefore a very good thing. So whenever Bluto comes blundering towards you, or a vicious vulture vrooms straight for your jugular - find a doorway! Ah, talking of doorways, you need to collect keys too as these give you access to other areas of the game.
As for the baddies, they seem to have absolutely no connection with the game, or with each other - apart from the fact that they all knock you out. I mean, one minute you're fighting off a witch and the next a floating shark knocks you out! It's mad. It's also quite a laugh.
Overall: 80%
