Personal Computer Games


Tarzan

Author: Robert Patrick
Publisher: Alligata
Machine: BBC Model B

 
Published in Personal Computer Games #13

Tarzan

If you think when you buy this game that you'll be transformed into a musclebound apeman in a loin-cloth with a scantily-clad Bo Derek swinging after you, I'm afraid you're in for something of a shock. This game has no swinging vines, no savage lions and no resemblance to its arcade counterpart. You don't even get to see Jane until the final screen!

You, Tarzan (sorry, but I had to fit it in somewhere!) must look for your own true love, Jane, and rescue her from the clutches of a vicious Thingummy-jig. Actually, the instructions don't tell us what it is and I've not got far enough into the jungle to find out.

You travel through the forest by jumping between platforms and avoiding various hazards such as a bear dropping apples on you. Your progress is assisted by some patches of ground which, strangely enough, rise and fall in rhythm. There are also a series of arrows which indicate the way out.

Tarzan

Tarzan reminds me more of Jet Set Willy and Donkey Kong than the arcade original and it is, in fact, quite a good platform game. But this kind of thing is rapidly becoming old hat and BBC owners already have a multitude of Kong derivatives to battle their way through.

Graphics are fairly good, though they do lack clarity and there is only limited animation. Control of your character is reasonable with a sensible choice of keys but it is easy to overshoot and successful play will rely on precision and patience.

If you have a penchant for this type of game then I have no doubt you will enjoy this. Alligata have obviously put a lot of thought into what makes an exciting platform game. I just long for something more original. However, until that day comes 'Unk mangana'.

Shingo Sugiura

Tarzan

The sheer detail of the background graphics, the smooth and extraordinary animation make this game a joy to watch as well as to play.

Unfortunately, the detailed graphics mean that there are only four screens to complete but you will need to think hard under pressure as well as be nimble with your fingers to get through all of them. There is no pause facility to help you either.

Bob Wade

I've got a sore throat and bruised chest because of this game - I had to do all the jungle sound effects myself!! Apart from that, it's a compelling game where every failure drives you on to have another try.

Being a platform game, it isn't very original, even for BBC owners now, but the challenge of completing the four extremely difficult screens keeps driving me back to the keyboard.

I'd have to give this a pretty high score for lasting interest, if the time it took me to get to the end of screen one is anything to go by! Not that this excellent platform game is by any means impossible; frustration and hope are finely balanced.

Robert Patrick

Other BBC Model B Game Reviews By Robert Patrick


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