Previous Next

Space: the final frontier. Also, a quiet collection of lay-bys, one-way streets (Black holes) and roadworks. Travelling home one night (how could you tell if it was day or night?) Puggsy barely glimpsed at the large and ominous asteroid floating by on the hard shoulder. But, inside, something was stirring - the fearsome shape of the space pirate vessel.

Crack! Laser-fire strikes Puggsy's shuttle. Vainly, he tries to make a jump to lightspeed, but the pirates follow him into the wormhole. But too hasty to seize their prey, they bump the tiny craft out of the warp and send it tumbling towards a nearby planet. Puggsy passes out during the crash landing, and awakes to find his ship has disappeared, and the rustling of native life...

To dispel any illusions, Puggsy CD is much the same game as Megadrive Puggsy, reviewed in Mean Machines issue 12. We tell you this, so anyone with the cartridge version appreciates the Mega-CD version isn't really worth getting. Of course, we'll explain the basis of the game to newcomers.

The puzzle element is the strongest part of Puggsy. Each level may feature up to twenty objects. These cannot be carried to later levels, and have their use on that stage. Objects are programmed to react naturally to the effects of gravity, buoyancy and weight. For example, a beachball is blown by a fan, a stone is not. Some objects also have specific uses - remote controls, water pistols, axes and matches, for example.

The most striking addition to Puggsy is the extended introduction, using rendered images of the pirate spaceship and Puggsy's craft. The story of his arrival is relayed using some nifty camera angles and special effects.

Originally there were six World Guardians in Puggsy. These have been retained, with another two added at salient points of the action. The bosses are single screens of arcade action, but defeating the massive creatures requires a bit of analysis.

Puggsy has two modes of defence. The first is the classic, but risky, bottom-bounce attack, fave of many platform games. But Puggsy positioning must be just right. Much safer is the use of a gun - most enemies may be blown away.

Puggsy's story is the property of Psygnosis, who must have learned of his interstellar adventures by radio telescope.

Each of the platform stages has a puzzle to be solved to reach the exit. There are also eight bosses to beat.

Opinion is divided as to Puggsy's merits. People who persevere with it end up enjoying it a lot. Others, more used to accessible arcade action are instantly put off by the "floaty" control method and the lack of instant thrills. To its credit, Puggsy CD boasts some stunning graphics and absorbing gameplay, but it isn't really that removed from the original cartridge game.

Psygnosis have handed in a quality product here, but since the company has so much previous CD experience I was expecting a lot more.

Puggsy is basically the same game on CD as it is on cartridge. The music is better and the added intro is nice, although the extra bosses aren't much of a threat to Puggsy.

It's a thorny question as to whether a CD game should be marked down because the potentially better technology has not been utilised. As in the case of Ecco CD, I think it doesn't matter with Puggsy. The game is as fun to play as it ever was, and it's still a neat combination of platformer and puzzler. The added features aren't going to sell it as a CD product, but since it retails for the same price, there's no real grounds for complaint.

By and large, Puggsy is still a fine game.

Presentation 90%
P. A good intro, added to the previous high standard of presentation, including a good password system.

Graphics 88%
P. The intro looks slightly blocky but has some fab angle shots. The in-game graphics are radically different: flat but detailed.
N. The sprite animation is quite poor.

Sound 85%
P. Very "summery"-sounding music, which changes frequently to match the location.
N. For "summery", some would say "cheesy".

Playability 90%
P. A well structured difficulty curve, allowing you to get acquainted with the controls.
N. Some of the puzzles require some laborious to and fro-ing.

Lastability 88%
P. Tons of levels, spread across a massive and changing map. Loads of puzzles to solve.
N. The continue option might mean finishing the game quickly.

Overall 90%
One of the few true arcade adventures for the Megadrive, and even rarer on Mega-CD. However, there is no distinct difference between the two platforms.