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There's foul play in the land of Gaul

Set in the time of Gaul, under the rule of Caesar, our two heroes Asterix (the pint-sized Gaulish warrior) and Obelix (the menhir delivery man) have returned to the Game Boy Color to battle through another fun-filled platform adventure. This time we follow Asterix and Obelix as they struggle to find their faithful pet, Dogmatix, who has gone missing.

The gameplay is very similar to the 1993 version of Asterix - you still have to jump over running wild boar, punch all the Romans that get in your way and scramble up into trees for pick-ups like coins for buying items or get passwords for the mini-games. There are also magic potions to find that Getafix, the village druid, has left scattered around the level - if you are already a fan of Asterix and his crew then you will know that his bosom buddy Obelix fell into a cauldron of magic potion when he was younger and asborbed enough magic power to last him a lifetime, so when it comes to picking the potion up in a level, it will only work for Asterix, not Obelix.

Asterix: Search For Dogmatix features two modes of play. Firstly, there's the Adventure more, which offers a real quest through 30 beautifully animated levels and secondly, there's an Instant Fun mode which requires you to enter a password in order to play a mini-game or a forced scroll level that you have previously completed while playing the game. Among the twelve mini-games the most notable are Launching The Romans, Shield Matching and Catapult.

The animation is outstanding - Asterix and Obelix look like they've just stepped out of the comic book for this epic adventure - and the game runs at a fast pace as well. In fact, there's enough speed to make Speedy Gonzales jealous!

You can take control of both Asterix and Obelix in the game and they each have their own advantages - Obelix has strength, for example, whilst Asterix is the brains of the outfit.

At the end of each level you will have the opportunity to buy a password for the mini-games, gain roast boar for health and have a money count to see what you can afford. The music for Asterix doesn't sound that bad - it doesn't have that boring droning music like other games, and you can tell that more effort has gone into it. When you are playing a scrolling level, for example, the music will be all panicky and rushed, but on a normal level, the soundtrack will be calm and jolly.

Asterix has a lot of in-game features to assist the younger and inexperienced player - there are plenty of hints and tips available and short levels so that the gamer will feel that achievement feeling once through - and overall, there are enough features and mini-games to keep you entertained for months.

Everyone's favourite ancient geezer arrives back in style with this fast-paced Game Boy treat. The graphics are top notch, the sound is tinkly but bearable and the gameplay is pure platform action - the perfect Game Boy Color game!

Graphics 100%
Bright and breezy.

Sound 80%
Quality stuff this.

Playability 80%
Simple, fun gameplay.

Lastability 80%
Plenty to find.

Overall 89%
Virtually perfect platforming!