Previous Next

Take control of hardline communist Radical Rex in this platform expose of the underhand dealings of capitalist governments the world over.

Guide unwashed pinko Rexinald across the hazardous landscapes of McCarthyism, Reaganomics and the final territory of Facistnaziland to claim the Golden Sickle of Marx, whereupon all the good citizens of Anarchosyndicalsville receive a second-hand Trabant and live happily ever after.

Oh alright, we admit it, that was all made up. However, it'd probably have been more interesting than the actual plot of a skateboarding, fire-breathing dinosaur traversing a bunch of prehistoric environs collecting eggs. Just think, you could have a bonus game where you have to sell as many copies of Living Marxism or the Morning Star as possible to scared commuters.

Ah well, another wasted opportunity.

Once upon a time, there were these big lizards called dinosaurs, who ruled the Earth...

Rescue lots of eggs and defeat the evil dinosaurs.

Rex, as you may have guessed, is no ordinary dinosaur. For starters, he's still alive in this day and age (something of a rarity in itself!). For seconds, he's not a real one, he's just pretend and for afters he can ride a skateboard. Now, Rex may not be the first platform game character to ride a skateboard (that was Wonderboy, fact fans!), but he's certainly the most reptilian.

Once Rex comes across a deck, he's an unstoppable skate animal, which basically means he goes very very fast, is practically invincible and can't come to a stop until he jumps off or hits a wall. Can't pul an ollie, though.

Fire-breathing not your style? Well, fret not, for there's more than one way to skin a Catosaur. Collecting whirly icons which look not unlike The Time Tunnel from the programme of the same name endows your fresh-faced sauropod with roaring abilities (a bit like Simba in the Lion King game).

One single yowl depletes even the fullest roar bars, but the power of the attack increases greatly the more icons you've collected.

Like platform games? In that case, you've probably already got a million of them in your collection. Radical Rex, whilst appealing enough in itself, doesn't really add anything to the genre (unlike Activision's last effort Pitfall).

If this doesn't bother you and you're after an imaginative (if not original in terms of content) platform game which packs a good challenge, you could do worse than try this out, but you're still better off investigating the Earthworm Jim/Dynamite Headdy/Sonic And Knuckles triumvirate first.

If dinosaurs were as dull as Radical Rex then they deserved to die out if you ask me. With very little to differentiate it from the likes of Wonderboy and countless other platformers, Rex looks extremely tired and lacks the injection of humour or originality that makes the likes of Earthworm Jim and Pitfall so innovative and playable.

In these days of well-animted sprites and intricate backdrops, Radical Rex falls way short of what we expect, with minimal use of colour and bland and unimpressive characters. The gameplay is adequate with some nice ideas - have you ever explored a reptile's internal tract before? - but overall Radical Rex comes across as a very poor second to recently-released platform heroes. Destined for extinction methinks.

Graphics 84%
P. Cute sprites and some great backgrounds. The dinosaur intestine level definitely deserves a mention for sheer guts (ha ha ha).

Sound 81%
P. It's sound alright. You can't argue about that.

Playabilty 84%
P. Rex has a pretty impressive range of abilities for a platform character.
N. Sadly, most of them are geared towards combat.

Lastability 79%
P. There's something of a challenge in store here, even for more experienced players.
N. Unlikely to hold your interest if you're a platform veteran.

Value For Money 77%
P. If you get into Radical Rex, you'll play it for some time.
N. The breaking of ground deficit makes this more of a rental option than purchase.

Overall 78%
Competent platformer with a good difficulty level but few new ideas besides cosmetic ones.