Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle

"Smurfs are absolutely Smurfy....?"

Back in the day, there was one cartoon that absolutely revolutionized cartooniness. Of course, everybody knows that this cartoon was none other than the smurfs. These little blue guys lived in mushrooms and foiled Gargamel's evil plans every week. Of course, they had a crappy game released which ruined their reputation. However, luckily for them, the game went by almost unnoticed.

The object of Smurf Rescue is simple. You play the role of the lovable smurf named Smurf (that is really his name). Smurf has to run through scary woods and creepy caves and other places to reach Gargamel's castle and rescue Smurfette. So, what is the arsenal of this brave Smurf? Well, for starters he can walk. And...uh, he can jump. And the expert player will realize that he can duck as well...so he doesn't have much of an arsenal. There are bats and hawks and spiders to avoid, and you'll also have to jump over holes and fences. That's pretty much the whole game. Smurf has a power meter, but it doesn't work like a normal power meter. As Smurf is in one environment (for example the forest), if he's there for a long time, he'll start to get bored and discouraged, and his power meter goes down. When it runs out, he dies. But when he gets through the forest, he'll be excited 'cause he'll be in a new environment...I guess. It's basically just a time meter.

The graphics of this game are pretty good, considering that it's a Colecovision game. Instead of having a blue square for a smurf, Smurf looks just like he would if he were on the cartoon! The sound is just your average Colecovision fare, nothing spectacular.

Smurf Rescue is an incredibly easy game, where you just walk to your right and jump over things until you win. There different difficulty settings, but these don't really help the game out any. If you're lagging on your self esteem, pick this game up. You'll be able to beat the game in under 5 minutes, and you'll think you're a great game player. If not, watch somebody play. The great graphics might trick you into thinking you're watching the cartoon. Just avoid actually playing the game.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 08/07/01