Zzap


Superstar Seymour
By Codemasters
Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Zzap #93

You can't keep a good blob down - this month Seymour puts an end to crime, makes a movie, gets a job as a stunt double, saves the environment, and makes another movie, all before breakfast! Miles 'Jack-Of-Trades' Guttery's on the case...

Superstar Seymour

Sergeant Seymour: Robotcop

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First up we see Seymour dabbling in the world of Law Enforcement. In a shady city of the future where crime is rife and the streets need cleaning up, Robotcop's a villain's worst nightmare! After a terrible accident all looked to be lost for the lardy one, but (as the aaying goes) 'We had the technology to rebuild him'.

Now the inimitable turnip's back, badder, faster and tougher than before! With his new-found bionic powers, he must run round each single-screen maze, duffing or arresting the baddies.

This is done (very satisfyingly) by grabbing them with his extendible bionic arm and hurling them against the walls. Get rid of them all and you've busted that level's Mr. Big, but be quick - he's producing more henchmen all the time. There are lots of collectable power-ups to be had, such as a bionic arm extension, bullets, fireable handcuffs, smart bombs and the like, all of which enhance Seymour's crime-busting capabilities.

Seymour Goes To Hollywood

This is a real throwback to the old days of computer gaming. No sampled sound, no work-of-art sprites with fifteen frames of animation per limb: just compact, uncluttered playability (Steve says it reminds him of an ancient arcade game called Berserk, but no-one else in the office is old enough to remember it). Simply moving a poor sprite around a simplistic maze may sound seriously tiresome, but all I can say is play it and then judge. Jolly good japes!

Seymour Goes To Hollywood

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Whoopie - Seymour's got his first big acting break, and he's taking the leading role in a new megabucks movie. Trouble is, the director's gone on holiday and left the movie scripts locked in his safe. It's down to Seymour to get the cameras rolling himself... but he's going to need help. Some of the people he meets around the place muck in, but others are just a nuisance.

If you've ever played a Dizzy adventure (and if you haven't, where in toasted-cheese-sandwiches have you been?) then you'll have a pretty good idea how Seymour Goes To Hollywood plays - wobble round collecting objects and dropping them on the correct places. For some inexplicable reason, the programmers have seen fit to incorporate a very strange maze element in the studios section - it's all-too-easy to get hopelessly lost unless you painstakingly map every single step! This can be incredibly frustrating and sent me diving for the reset button a couple of times, so be warned and have a pen and paper handy.

Seymour Goes To Hollywood

Graphics are drab and sometimes a little flickery, and the screen update is virtually paralytic. However, it's still reasonably playable and a dozen times better than Seymour's other adventuring effort.

At the risk of being repetitive, it's just not as good as Dizzy, that's all. Sorry!

Stuntman Seymour

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Having previously been the star of his movies, Seymour finds himself pining for a little more action. After some serious workouts in the gym, he emerges looking sleeker, smoother and nothing like the lardball we have all come to know and tolerate.

Seymour Goes To Hollywood

Now he's ready to swap the trappings of stardom for the thrills and (mostly) spills of being chief stuntman on four major new pictures. His job is to make it across each film set in as few 'takes' as possible, by leaping across platforms and avoiding the bad guys, making the most exciting action sequences possible.

The 'stuntman' theme's just a thin veil for a another platform shooty, a shameless CJ clone! Change the main sprite and no-one would know the difference. Not that that's a problem though. Graphics are clear and attractive and the eight-way scrolling's very smooth. Most importantly, the game's great fun to play and the difficulty curve's pitched just right. This is one that'll keep you coming back for sure, and just beats Super Seymour as the best game in the pack.

Super Seymour Saves The Planet

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Seymour turns green, and it's not 'cos he had too many pints of lager the night before either. He's actually become afflicted with that most depressing of ailments, environmental awareness!

The world's in a heck of a state. Everywhere you look there's canisters of nuclear waste, piles of discarded rubbish, not to mention the mutated nasties who have grown up amongst the filth (sounds like the Commodore Force office!).

This is clearly a job for Super Seymour - faster than a speeding cow, braver than an anorak, and a dedicated cape wearer to boot!

Leaping from platform to platform on each screen, dispose of all the toxic waste and destroy the mutants by leaping on them, belly cutting them from underneath, or simply touching them and scarpering before they explode - though tricky at first, you soon get to know which baddies need bashing in what way.

The game makes absolutely no bones about being a virtual carbon-copy of that old classic Bombjack but, as with Stuntman, why tamper with a winning formula? Seymour himself is back to his old podgy state but leaps about the screen with an ease unbecoming of such a porky persona! Each level has an attractive background giving an overall cosy feel and gameplay is both engaging and challenging. Splendid.

Wild West Seymour

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This one's also released separately this month so we won't dwell on it here, and believe me there's not much too dwell on anyway! Turn to page 42 for a full review.

Conclusion

Two great games and two good games make Superstar Seymour a well-worthwhile buy, despite the obligatory duffer. Okay, so everything here's been done before - sometimes better. sometimes not, but who cares with this kind of value? Search it out - you won't be disappointed!

Miles Guttery

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