Previous Next

Monty Mole has come out of retirement! Our furry friend has had some interesting adventures in the past, doing coaled turkey for his thieving exploits before escaping to Europe where he 'found' enough money to but the paradise island of Montos. But lying in a deckchair wasn't Monty's style; once again he longed for the excitement of adventure. It was perhaps just as well then that a passing alien spaceship decided to beam him up for a new mission!

Apparently the aliens' sacred scrolls of eternal life have been stolen by five Guardians. Each of these is hiding at the end of one of five levels, ranging from the homely mines of the Klondike to the mysterious Orient. Each level comprises several layered, horizontally scrolling sections linked by chasms, ropes and ladders. Of course, they are also inhabited by plenty of evil minions which reduce Monty's energy on contact. Mind you, Monty has now developed a powerful kick which can boot the weaker nasties into touch.

And by picking up treasure he can get powerful weapons like bombs or even a laser gun. He's also starts with a superweapon (smart bomb) although this can only be used once.

The first four levels can be attempted in any order, but all four must be completed to allow access to the final one.

A good dose of nostalgia came with this game. A pity the latest instalment just doesn't have much in the way of a thrill factor, the game ideas have undergone very little improvement over the originals of years back.

I'm sure Core Design have original ideas coming out of their ears, but Impossamole just didn't have the pace or the depth to keep me hooked. It's got good variety, with the five worlds proving significantly different to give it some short-term appeal. Unfortunately, the one-life only 'feature' discourages further progress as it's a tough game of limited innovation.

The C64 version comes off quite a bit better with nice shading and good recreations of the 16-bit graphics; also the multi-load is a lot more intelligent. The Amiga game certainly has a finer edge to the graphics and the cartoon feel of it all works better. Not too sure about remixing an old Mole tune though, isn't ths supposed to be the *new* adventures of Mr. Mole?

The title of Monty's latest adventure is certainly appropriate; I found it impossible to get very far. Just one mistake can cost a huge amount of energy and, with only one life, things can get more than a bit frustrating.

The platforms-and-ladders action isn't exactly innovative, although there are some nice touches with each level having appropriate nasties and features, e.g. snowmen, huge rolling snowballs and cable cars in 'Iceland'. These don't just add graphical variety but make each level different to play.

Pity it's just a shade too difficult for my liking.

The Amiga game is equally tough and nothing special to look at with typically cutesy sprites gracing adequate backdrops. But by far the worst feature is the irritatingly lengthy and frequent disk accessing (on starting a game, and dying).

Like so many comebacks, Monty's proves disappointing.

Presentation 62% Multi-loaded levels, but good option to play any of the first four.

Graphics 80% A good variety of creatures and enemies, totally different for each level.

Sound 42% Ear-wrenching remix of an old tune which can thankfully be swapped for sparse FX.

Hookability 70% Tough to start with but frustration is avoided by choice of levels.

Lastability 68% Challenging, perhaps a bit too tough.

Overall 69% Fairly standard arcade adventuring action.

Presentation 36% Choice of four starting levels. Appallingly lengthy disk access.

Graphics 70% Good variety of cartoonesque sprites.

Sound 59% Remixed music or FX.

Hookability 64% Not particularly addictive but choice of levels offers instant variety.

Lastability 57% Far too tough to be enjoyable.

Overall 59% Meagre mole meal.