Computer Gamer


Big Trouble In Little China
By Electric Dreams
Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Computer Gamer #27

Big Trouble In Little China

The Evil mandarin, Lo Pan, is in search of a body in order to appease a demon. To do this, he must marry a green-eyed girl and then sacrifice her. Jack Burton and Wang Chi have girlfriends who both have green eyes so they are kidnapped by Lo Pan's henchmen. Our two heroes set out with a third friend, Egg Shen, to rescue the damsels in distress.

Based on the film of the same name, Big Trouble In Little China is little more than a glorious beat-'em-up. The difference is that you can switch between the three characters at will, making the most of their various talents. For example, Jack can use a gun - if he can find one, Wang Chi, a sword and Egg Shen, a magical bolt.

There are four levels to pass through before the inal confrontation with Lo Pan. The Streets of Chinatown level is reasonably easy, but there are monsters to be avoided in the sewers - level two. Level three is Lo Pan's headquarters, complete with elementals, and the final level is the marriage quarters. Armed guards plus Lo Pan - who can regenerate and must be killed by each of the heroes in turn - feature here.

Each character only has a limited amount of energy shown by yin-yang symbols, although there is energy-restoring food to be found. One thing I didn't like was the fact that you can dodge *under* some of your assailants and, indeed, it is often sensible to do this if, for example, someone has a gun and you don't; but if you choose this manoeuvre, points are deducted from your score. On one occasion, I found myself at the end of level two with nothing to show for my troubles as a result of my dodgems - not exactly a great incentive to play, eh?

Big Trouble In Little China is a better than average beat-'em-up and will no doubt appeal to fans of this type of game, but there is nothing in the game to make you sit up and take notice; especially if you are fed up with the seemingly endless run of martial art games.