C&VG


Pang

Author: Robert Swan
Publisher: Ocean
Machine: Amiga 500

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #107

Pang

Bubbles! Who'd ever thought that they could be such a pain, eh? Well, they are in this game, so the only thing to do is go out and burst 'em! And so the scene is set for Pang, a conversion of the recent and totally hilarious Mitchell coin-op.

You (and a friend, if you're playing in dual player mode) are cast in the role of globe-trotting bubble-busters and, armed with a harpoon gun, you must blast the bubbles before they bounce into you. Sounds like a piece of cake, yes? Well, you can forget that for start, because once one bubble is hit, it splits into two smaller bubbles, each of which splits again, and again!

When certain bubbles are hit, however, they drop power-ups like ray guns and dynamite, which bursts every bubble on screen at once, as well as shields and timers, which stop the bubbles dead in their tracks, giving you time to blow 'em away.

Pang

Once you've cleared a screen, it's on to the next in a different part of the world, with more obstacles, monsters and, yes, even more bubbles!

Amiga

This is one of the C&VG team's favourite coin-ops, and to say we were over the moon to hear of Ocean laying their hands on the licence is something of an understatement.

Now Pang is here, I can safely say without fear of error or contradiction that this isn't just a conversion - this is the coin-op!

Both the graphics and sound match the arcade machine pixel for pixel, with bright, crisp, colourful sprites and exquisitely drawn backdrops. The whizzy, poppy sound effects are spot on too, and the title music (which sounds like a remix of Puff the Magic Dragon) sets the mood perfectly.

These combine with the horribly addictive gameplay to make Pang a really brilliant game. Grab it at the first opportunity, and prepare to stay up till the wee small hours.

Robert Swan

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