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This is a series of platform adventure games that were released one a month and sold in magazine stands just like comic books. Unlike other similar Simulmondo series, this was the only one not based on a comic book and was also released in different languages (not only Italian). Basically, Max has to explore locations, avoid pits and traps, fight some enemies (after the cavemen of the first episode, I don't remember anything different from Skunks until episode 9) and searching for objects to use or take (press U to see the "hot spots" of each location). There are few of these objects, though, so you'll have to search carefully. Some screens are almost identical to each other, and it's easy to get lost. Probably for this reason, you can see a map by pressing M. Sometimes, the action will change to an adventure-style screen, where you use or take objects. You can see your inventory by pressing I, but you can't combine objects, or decide when to use them - Max does the action automatically if he has the object. So, it's a totally useless screen, even because it's a miracle to have more than two objects at the same time. Calling the tasks of each episodes "puzzles" is too much, considering how few they are too. Sometimes, "hot spots" are activated only when you did some actions, so you have to search for them again. When you fight with a Skunk, you seem to exchange slaps with him, like some old B&W slapstick movies. When I had a gun, I rarely bothered to use it, considering how stupid the enemies are. Sometimes, they even turn around pointlessly, allowing you to whack them. And now, the worst thing, the control system. Using the keyboard, it has some similarities to Prince of Persia and Flashback, but it's often unresponsive. You can perform a running jump before or after you really intended, and then fall in a large pit. When I tried to cross small pits with a standing jump, Max often did and additonal step before, falling miserably. Instead of making a better keyboard control, programmers found a shortcut: mouse control. Right-click on a spot of the screen, and Max will reach it, doing all the jumps automatically. I often tried to resist to this temptation, but I eventually gave up. This makes the games TOO easy, like they were already difficult: once you know what to do (and there's little to do), you can finish every episode in about 25 minutes. All that "empty" exploration is only an excuse to make the things a little longer. They are often unforgiving: step on a certain platform, push the wrong button, and it's game over. Saving often is the only remedy. |
