Frank Gasling needs no introduction in the C64 community, with his efforts to
find and preserve lost games reaching legendary status. Many of the games he's
unearthed were due for release during Zzap!'s initial run but, for one reason
or another, they never quite made it. We thought it might be fun to look back
at these games and give them the review they would have got, if they hadn't
slipped through the cracks. First up, Paul looks at Karl Hornell's 'shrooming
sequel, Fungus II.
A mere 35 years after his first outing, Fungus is back! Well, he's been back
for a few years, but he's about to be released physically unto the world in this
sequel to one of Players' finest budget games (80%, Issue 19). To
compensate for his age, this latest game is a more leisurely affair than the
fast-moving first, with Fungus able to walk left and right at will in his
efforts to collect mushrooms and bricks. The height of each level varies in
steps, so Fungus will need to do plenty of leaping if he wants to clear them all.
Naturally, it's not a mere walk in the park as hostile creatures roam around
every stage. What's worse is they appear and disappear whenever and wherever
they like, and with no way to destroy them, Fungus must be on his guard at all
times. There are teleporters on each level though, and these handily allow
Fungus to bypass areas, which saves the need for endless backtracking.
Each level has a tight time limit, but should Fungus manage to collect
everything and get back to the starting point before time expires, it's onto
the next level to do it all over again.
PM
I enjoyed the original Fungus up to a point, but eventually it became too difficult
and I grew tired of it. This belated sequel is played at a more sedate pace,
and consequently I found myself wanting to play it more.
That's not to say it's easy, but now it's possible to stay still, survey your
surroundings and plot your moves... well, to a degree as there's a very tight time
limit to deal with too!
I found the controls a bit sticky at times which was frustrating, but on
the whole it's easier to make progress than in the original. The levels are
pretty samey, but Fungus II would have made a nice little budget game and
it's worth a look for fans of the original, or platformers in general.
1st September 2021