Previous Next

Imagine the music world with no Kylie Minogue, no Jason Donovan, and no New Kids On The Block. It might be most people's paradise but Jumping Jack Son is a bit peeved now that classical music has taken over and rock 'n roll is dead.

Jack's determined to save the few remaining rock records. On each level, he jumps around square platforms, avoiding angry classical instruments. Certain squares change colour when jumped on: when a group of them is made all the same colour, a record appears for Jack to place on the relevantly coloured record player. Playing records gradually builds up a rock tune - when all the records are playing, Jack can teleport to the next level.

Occasionally, special tiles appear which can give our hopping hero such extras as a juke box (to carry more than one record simultaneously) and sunglasses (cause classical instruments to flee in terror!). Every four levels, there's a challenge round where Jack must top once on every platform to gain a password.

Jumping Jack Son is full of humour with a wacky plot and a particularly cute hero. The music is great to listen to with a brilliant Rolling Stones-style title song and classic in-game blues riffs. The simple action won't exactly tax your brainpower but it's great fun to play and should bring a smile to the grimmest of players. The challenge levels are a particularly good idea, providing both extra variety and passwords to avoid frustration.

This is great fun with plenty of humorous touches to raise a smile. The way the tune builds up is particularly good with each record adding an extra instrumental part.

The game concept is a simple but addictive one, and with oads of different level layouts and extra features (plus a few surprises) it never seems to get repetitive. But then maybe I just love the music!

Presentation 85%
Options include two different sets of levels (easy and hard) and an alternating two-player mode.

Graphics 80%
The cute hero bounces around colourful platform worlds.

Sound 90%
A good selection of rockin' in-game tunes and humorous FX.

Hookability 87%
Easy to pick up and extremely addictive.

Lastability 81%
An enjoyable challenge.

Overall 84%
Plays as good as it sounds.