Some of you out there may remember the Flintstones, most I would hope. But if you don't then I'll remind you. They were the 'modern stone age family' of the classic Hanna Barbara cartoons, whose lives where clustered with prehistoric gadgets and customs which bore more than a passing resemblance to Twentieth Century American life.
You may also remember me raving about the US Gold import Grog's Revenge earlier this year. The animation was the best I've seen on the C64 - ever. It's failing was somewhere in the gameplay and the same is applicable to this Tasket-developed Flintstones game. The animation and spirit is true to the original, but you're not required to do anything more than in any other run-of-the-mill game.
Yabba Dabba Doo is basically a picking-up-objects style game. You control Fred and work your way around the screen collecting rocks to build a house and other buildings in Bedrock. You'll also need some money to hire out Dino (the pet dinosaur) because you'll have to climb on him when you get to the bits you can't reach. Nasties maraud the screens in the shape of pterodactyls dropping rocks on Fred's head and a boulder that knocks him clean off his feet. As with these kind of games it rests for its appeal on your desire to overcome a challenge.
When you compare the graphics of the game with the quality of its play the discrepancy is disappointing. Taskset say there's more of these to come, so I hope they rethink their approach before they go and release the next one. Cartoon games could be the next big thing on the C64 - Elite's Scooby-Doo may point the way when it's released next year, but until someone can provide some serious interactive gameplay along the lines of Spy Vs. Spy these games will always disappoint. I'm looking forward to seeing it done properly.