Something different ...

              Jazz Jackrabbit - Epic MegaGames

             Reviewed by James Judge on a 486sx

Just a quickie here. This is another platform game, like Abuse,
but this time it is in cartoon land, with you playing a green
rabbit with a big gun who is on a quest to save his girlfriend and
world from the evil grasp of a turtle.

The game involves you going through levels at a frenetic speed
(the quicker, the higher your score) shooting turtles and bees (in
the first episode) and looking for secret passages and rooms.

There are the obligatory collect-me-ups as well as bonuses for the
Jazz in the form of invincibility, rapid fire, jumping boots,
better guns, loads of ammo etc.  The controls are simple - left,
right, up and down, fire and a weapon select - and the game is
well implemented with each level being on a gradually increasing
learning curve.  There are four difficulty levels which alter the
time limit for each level, as well as the damage enemies do to you
and how much damage they can take.

Apart from the ordinary levels there are bonus levels associated
with each world (three levels to a world, plus a bonus level) and
these take you to a 3D section where you must run and jump down
roads, collecting a certain number of gems before the time runs
out to get you an extra life. All great fun, and it moves at a
great speed.

The graphics are very cartoony and funny - they suit the game
really well, and so is the sound effects. When running at top
speed the game can move pretty damned fast and when Jazz gets a
speed boost accurate control is very difficult - eat Jazz's shoe
leather, Sonic!

The shareware version of the game includes the first episode which
is three worlds, totalling 9 levels and 3 bonus levels in all.
Registration will bring you about another 6 episodes. There is
also a Christmas episode in the shareware scene which has four new
levels - it's far better than the original shareware version being
harder and moving slightly faster, but the bonus levels have
disappeared and it isn't as big.

If Abuse scares (or offends) you too much then this is a really
good alternative. No gratuitous blood - just a green rabbit
against the rest of the world for a battle of love and patriotism.
what more can you ask for?  Fast, frantic, funny and colourful -
all the elements needed for a top-notch platformer and this is one
of the best traditional ones - the best I've seen on the PC and
far better than most console games.  All you need is a 486, VGA
graphics and 4megs of memory and to get some funky sounds a
soundcard.

Get it!

@~Jazz Jackrabbit and Xmas Jazz Jackrabbit are in the library on a
@~3-disk set, Ref 1083a/c
                              - o -