C&VG


It's A Knock-Out
By Ocean
Amstrad CPC464

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #62

It's A Knock-Out

I never thought anything could actually be worse than watching that dreary TV show which encouraged people to dress up in inflatable chicken suits and roll around in a vat of foam while attempting to empty buckets of water into a giant eggshell. But there is! And it's the game of the show!

The only good thing about the game is that you don't get the over enthusiastic commentator giggling like a loony all the time.

This is a collection of dodgy games which are about as much fun as having a sharp stick poked in your eye - which, if I remember right, was one of the events Eddie Waring used to enjoy inflicting on foreigners.

It's A Knockout

There are five events - Flying Flans, Harlem Hoppers, Titanic Drop, Diet of Worms, Obstacle Race and the Bronte Bash.

Now the Bronte Bash might appeal to those of you who were forced to read Wuthering Heights for your exams, but unfortunately this isn't the literary criticism that the title might lead you to expect. What you have to do is drop ton weights on the heads of unsuspecting dinosaurs who appear from craters.

Flying Flans put you in the shoes of a catcher attempting to collect up flans hurled over a wall. Drop any and the "floor" gets "slippery".

It's A Knockout

Harlem Hoppers is odd. There's a person perched on top of a camel and sending balls up and over its hump. Again you control the catcher who is hampered by an "elastic hand" which always pulls you back to the side of the screen.

Titanic Drop puts you in charge of a team of our people sliding down a rope over water. Floating in the water are four lifebelts. Your jobs is to score points by dropping the people into the lifebelts.

Diet of Worms is the silliest game. You control a chicken - see I told you they had a thing about chickens! - strolling about a "farmward" eating worms. You have to catch worms and put them in a tray at the bottom of the screen.

It's A Knockout

Then it's onto the Obstacle Race where you have to run and jump over various obstacles. The runner is badly animated and hard to get going despite the normal Decathlon-style joystick movements.

You play each event at random and compete against six other "countries".

Up to six people can play the game which is about the only original thing about it.

Graphics on the Amstrad version we looked at varied from event to event. They were mostly colourful - but chunky.

There have been several budget games worthy of a full-price rating - It's A Knockout should have been a budget release. Come on, Ocean - you can do better than this!