Spirits & Spells

"The most average generic platformer imaginable"

This game seems to have been made for no one, which would explain its total lack of sales. At this point in time it has become pretty hard to find, new, and since no one seems to have bought it to begin with, there are not that many used copies for sale either.

GRAPHICS: 5/10 The game neither looks good nor bad, it just is pretty average. The dark lighting does tend to make jumps that much harder to see though, adding to the already high frustration rate of the game play.

MUSIC/SOUND: 5/10 Perfectly bland and average, and forgettable. What more can I say.

CAMERA/CONTROL: 5/10 This isn't really a 3D game, so why is the camera an issue? You can not change the angle, so it becomes an exercise in frustration not to die. The controls themselves, though, are fine, and very simple, since all you do is jump, attack, or switch characters.

GAME PLAY: 5/10 It's not that this game has stolen its ideas from another, its stolen them from every other. Every platforming cliche is here. Then there is the lack of having to think, as every solution is all but obvious. It is clear that this game was meant for very young players, or was it? Jumps are all but impossible too much of the time. It is one hit and you die. Frustration abounds as you try to get from one end of a level to the other. The only thing you collect are crystals, which give you extra lives and allow you to switch characters. Since the crystals are fairly plentiful, there is really no incentive to veer off and get the ones in hard to reach places. Extra men are plentiful, and if you run out, you just start again, with three more. The level restart markers are too far apart, but the levels are not all that big. Basically each level is a matter of trial and error, repeating it ad nauseum, till you get it right.

VALUE: 5/10 Depending on what you pay for this, this rating could go up or down. The game is fairly long over 24 levels, but only because you have to keep repeating the same thing over and over. Most people probably won't bother to finish.

FINAL COMMENTS: If you could find this new it would be $30, and if you pay that, I have a bridge I can sell you. Used, you can get it for around $15 or less. I would only consider getting it if I were a platforming fanatic, and loved doing the same thing over and over and over. It really isn't that bad though, just perfectly average, and far too difficult.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/04