Previous Next

In a novel marketing approach, Ocean Software has joined forces with the Wimpy fast food chain to bring us Mr. Wimpy, a game of burger building and sausage survival.

The game divides into two sections. Part 1 has Mr. Wimpy collecting three ingredients while avoiding manhole covers, and Waldo the burger thief. Part two has him galloping up and down ladders and across platforms in an attempt to assemble four hamburgers. Trying to thwart him at different levels of the game are Sid Sos, Sam Spoon, Ogy Egg and Pam Pickle.

Mr. Wimpy resembles the Wimpy logo, a small chubby chap dressed in Beefeater costume. Starting with five lives, Mr. Wimpy appears in a recess, stage left. As he moves out of his cubbyhole, his little legs pumping away, our pops a tray which then obligingly follows in his footsteps. Over at stage right are three burger ingredients which have to be brought back to the left-hand hidey-hole, one by one.

Floating up and down in the central position of the screen are three golden doughnut-like manholes which Mr. Wimpy must dodge. A further hazard is the roly-poly blue meanie Waldo who charts a fast and erratic course around the screen. If he hits Mr. Wimpy's tray, the tray (and the ingredient, if one is in tow) return to the starting grid.

Having successfully captured the ingredients, Mr. Wimpy now faces a daunting screen where four hamburgers await his attention. The four constituents of each burger have been stacked vertically, one part per platform. Mr. Wimpy has access to each of the platforms by means of ladders. When he runs over the top of one of the constituents, it becomes dislodged and falls down a level, with subsequent knock-on effects.

Quite simple, really, or it would be were it not for two beautifully animated mischief-makers: Sid Sos, a twitching frankfurter on legs, and Sam Spoon, a perambulating piece of cutlery. These relentlessly pursue Mr. Wimpy who loses a life if caught. He can stop them temporarily by dropping a piece of burger on them or by shaking his pepperpot.

Later, a ferocious fried egg and a precocious pickle add to his problems.

Excellent joystick/keyboard response, humorous graphics, smooth animation and a zany plot - Mr. Wimpy is a real giggle and for my money the best all-round family game to date.