Zzap


Bouncing Heads

Publisher: Zeppelin Games
Machine: Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Zzap #78

Bouncing Heads

"A surreal trip into a programmer's subconscious" according to the packaging - funny, it looks awfully like a game to me, I must be missing the point somewhere. Anyway, crap jokes aside, what exactly is Bouncing Heads? Well, *you* are Phil King's disembodied head, and you must fulfil your destiny by bouncing around a maze and being chased by nasty monsters (this game is *full* of new concepts!).

To escape from each level of maze, you must bounce on so many pouting lips (which are scattered around on most squares) and then get to the 'GO' square to be teleported out. To ease your stressful lifestyle, you can collect "Zzaps!!" (original name, that) to shoot monsters with and various other goodies which just lie around waiting for you.

There are numerous other features designed to add something to this Pac-man clone, but unfortunately most are pinched from existing games of this sort (what isn't nowadays, mumble, grumble). The graphics aren't bad and have a few nice touches nestling among the well-presented rest of the game, although sound is limited to a few blips and a munching sound when you get eaten by a monster. Talking of presentation, the title screen is quite good, with a crude bouncing logo and options that let you start on different levels. The gameplay is fast and very simple but still enjoyable for a while.

One very frustrating thing in Bouncing Heads is that, when on Level Two, as soon as you lose a life, you get whisked back to the start of Level One. So presumably to complete the game you have to do it without even dying once. Yeah, I'm *sure* that's possible!

A simply and nostalgic little game, it lives down memory lane (probably next door to the acid junkies who wrote the packaging blurb about surreal mind-trips and other weird stuff). Not bad, but I bet they can't put a fruit pastille in their mouth without chewing it.