Blast Annual


Pets Rescue
By Psytronik
Commodore 16/Plus 4

 
Published in Blast Annual 2020 Volume 1

Pets Rescue

Some vet, with a split personality, has aspirations to appear on 'Britain's Got Talent'. Meanwhile a daft assistant bloke does a silly sick science experiment, in the dark no less, and gets the animals' DNA all screwed up. Naturally they run out the veterinary centre they've probably been cooped up in for months. So now all meddling science hell has broken loose.

Developer: Stefan Mader (Mad)

Stefan hails from Germany and is the founder of Bauknecht Group (BKN). He is a renowned coder of both games and demos for the Plus/4. He first started out with demo-making with the release of the Threeve demo in 2008 and then in 2011 releasing States United demo. Stefan has gone on to become instrumental in the Plus/4 renaissance over the past decade releasing some incredible games such as Slip Stream (2017) and Alpharay (2019) which the later is also reviewed in Blast Annual 2020.

Gameplay

You are Dr Dree, but only when you listen to music. Without headphones, you are plain old Dr Amfrea Brown the veterinarian. You are basically girl Mario with headphones as you run and jump across deja vu land. You're tasked with rescuing the pets as the daft assistant must have done a runner. So on your travels if you see a pet, you jump on it and squash it, to rescue it. I never realised DNA alteration was so simple. Hop, Skip, Splat!! Bad DNA vanquished [Now that's a cool bit of gameplay! - Ed].

Pets Rescue

You can collect coins for points. Some are found when you headbutt brick blocks.

It all looks very Nintendo. In fact, I can't believe the video games giant hasn't slaughtered them for it, the clouds, the trees, the bricks and the plants that pop out of pipes and shoot at you all look very familiar [Ssshh John, don't reveal too much to the big bad wolf! - Ed]. There's even a score multiplier at the end of each level where you have to jump as high and far as you can to increase it.

The Dr also has the same inertia, which most people probably love, but I find it extremely annoying. Especially as the fire button seems to be used to sprint and jump as you move the joystick up. I've yet to meet a person who doesn't hate this in a platformer [What were Commodore thinking when they had devised this for joystick controls I will never understand - Ed] . There are various checkpoint flags dotted around the place so you don't have to restart at the very beginning of each level. The level format is the usual stage one part one variety and each has an introduction and a name, like merrowmeadow.

Pets Rescue

Passwords can be used to start the game from a specific level you've reached before. When it's game over you do have the option to continue. If you've finished, there is a high score table to log your achievement. The levels are designed in a similar style to Mario type games and they are pretty challenging requiring some deft timing and jumping skills to get through. Graphics are very well done, especially the background details, and basically look like you know what, by now. The audio has a catchy tune and spot effects we've all heard before.

Likes

You can duck down. I don't think I remember the plumber having that ability. It's just so simple by today's standards but it adds another dimension to the game. The level background details are beautiful looking and the level design is challenging and fun. The layers of detail are really impressive so much more than I had expected.

Dislikes

It's up on the joystick to jump. What little hair I have on my head I would say much of it has been ripped out due to this very insane Commodore joystick issue. The levels themselves seem a bit on the short side.

Verdict

The plot is a modern storyline on a concept copied a million times. Pets Rescue oozes lovely colours, with generous playability. It is essentially a polished rip-off of a famous game that's actually quite impressive for the Plus/4 hardware. You will enjoy it as the fun factor is very high. The cute graphics, level design and wonderful catchy tune will keep you thoroughly entertained.

John Davies

Other Commodore 16/Plus 4 Game Reviews By John Davies


  • Adventures In Time Front Cover
    Adventures In Time
  • The Lands Of Zador Front Cover
    The Lands Of Zador
  • Alpharay (Premium Plus Edition) Front Cover
    Alpharay (Premium Plus Edition)
  • Adventure Park Front Cover
    Adventure Park
  • Majesty Of Sprites Front Cover
    Majesty Of Sprites
  • Xplode Man Front Cover
    Xplode Man