Previous Next

Ah, the peacefulness of an island paradise. Sunshine and scenery, not a care in the world. But wait, what's that noise? A ferocious monster! Aaargh!

Such is the pitiful scene on the island of Darance - a normally quiet place, but when the evil creatures decide to end their banishment, life becomes rather difficult. It's not easy to go about your normal everyday business with a marauding meanie smashing up your town!

It seems that the two creatures are searching for a golden Roc's egg, hidden deep inside a volcano, which will give them untold power. The humans must show respect... or else!

Aaargh! commences with the selection of the creature you wish to control - either a scaly Dragon with a whiplash tail, or a musclebound Ogre with a horn sprouting from his bonce. You are then transported to a randomly selected city, where buildings must be smashed by punching, whipping or setting fire to them, until a Roc's egg is discovered and collected to end the level.

Unfortunately for you, the residents don't take too kindly to having their homes destroyed and hurl missiles at you with their giant catapult. Also to contend with are giant hornets, buzzing around trying to sting you. All the damage inflicted upon you is shown at the top of the screen, as is the word "Aaargh!" gradually issuing from the monster's mouth. When the word is completed, the monster dies a hideous death, ending the game.

Fortunately, buildings sometimes reveal items of food which restore your health - such as hamburgers, pizzas, taacos and hot dogs - and there is always the odd person, running around just asking to be munched!

When an egg is collected, a one-on-one battle with the other creature ensues, the wnner claiming the prize. Five such battles must be won to gain access to the volcano, where you must negotiate a path through the lava pools to the great golden Roc's Egg.

This is a game for misanthropes everywhere, giving them a chance to splatter mankind all over the shop! Why does this kind of game appeal to so many people?

If I could answer that I'd be a leading psychiatrist earning more money than PG can imagine! In any case, Aaargh! is beautifully designed with some very pretty graphics and sound, which create loads of atmosphere.

The cities are brilliantly drawn and it almost seems a shame to smash them up. OK, I admit it, it doesn't - smashing them up is great fun! The only roblem is that the game is too easy to complete (I finished it on my tenth attempt - but that was only 'cos Maff had discovered the secret and told me what to do), and many players may tire of the destructive action once all the city scenes have been seen.

However, others may return every now and then to devastate a few townships - maybe, like me, you're one of them. Try it out and see.

When Rampage first hit the arcades, it brought an original twist, in that the nasty creature was the hero.

This made the game a lot of fun and Aaargh!'s appeal is in a similar vein. The wanton destruction for some reason appeals to a lot of people, and when it's presented in such an impressive package as this it's a sure winner!

The graphics are extremely good, as good as any I've seen on the Amiga (the food sprites look good enough to eat!), and these are complemented by very good use of sampled sound. Both of the monsters are impressive, each having lots of character - you feel like there is a real battle going on when you're scrunching the cities into rubble!

The only disappointment is the head-to-head section. Because it's so easy to win once you've mastered the technique, it means that the game doesn't take too long to complete, thus affecting the lastability. Even though many people (myself included) will enjoy the odd scrap from time to time to relieve the tensions of the day.

As Arcadia coin-ops are based on the Amiga custom chips, it's hardly surprising that Aaargh! is faithful to the original. The monsters are very well defined and neatly animated, and go about their monster-like business of guzzling and roasting accompanied by atmospheric and amusing samples.

The battle between the lizard and ogre is very impressive indeed, with a suitably raucous Heavy Metal guitar thrash backing the frenetic arcade quality battle. Another treat is the grunt of 'Fooood!' whenever a helpless human or piece of pizza is chomped - the chewing and gulping sounds and the graphical munching of the ogre's jaws and very amusing.

At the other extreme, the death sequence is gory and bloodstrewn - almost horrific! The only drawback to this addictive fun is the dubious lasting interest: apart from layout, the cities are identical to play, and the combat section is unchanged, so variety is lacking.

If a slick arcade game is what you're after, though, it's well worth a try.

Presentation 88%
Rather slow multi-load, but many amusing touches throughout.

Graphics 94%
Varied, colourful and atmospheric, showing off the Amiga's potential.

Sound 91%
Effective sampling and good monster-like music.

Hookability 95%
Instantly playable and compulsive.

Lastability 68%
Interest is very likely to wane after the game has been completed.

Overall 87%
An extremely playable and 'fun' game, marred only by its ease of completion.