Man Overboard! S.S. Lucifer

"I was expecting a cool, fun and challenging platformer, and that's exactly what I got."

Sega Genesis - Man Overboard ©1994 Codemasters

~Introduction~
In this interesting action platformer by Codemasters, you (Kevin) must solve several different and relatively challenging puzzles in a submarine in order to save a number of passengers. The passengers always stay in groups. I suppose you can compare this game to 'Lemmings' because the passengers always walk in a certain direction, they always go up ladders as they come in contact with them, and basically do whatever the lemmings would do (without the special abilities). Actually, it's safe to say they are complete morons: they would walk straight into a dangerous obstacle and die unless you change their path.

In order to change the many passengers' path, you must use your bombs to blow up blocks and walls. There are switches you must activate to turn off certain dangerous obstacles (like machines) before they walk into them. But you have to think before you make a move. If you screw up the path, they could walk off a high ledge and fall to their death, or go right back to the beginning again.

~Story~
There is no story to this game... even though story wasn't really mandatory back then for a game to be great (for example, 'Pac-man'). The passengers are always panicking, and the reason is unknown to me. Maybe the submarine is under attack or sinking?

~General~
There is no options menu. There is a password screen with neat graphical effects, though.

~Gameplay, Physics, Controls~
The gameplay is great, and there is always constant thinking that must take place in order to win. The controls are fine, with A used to drop a bomb, B to jump, and C is your action button. If you fall off a high ledge you will lose some life, but not too much. The numbers of passengers vary; how ever if there is, say, 6 passengers, you might only have to save 4. But if you save the other two, then you will get extra points added to your score.

~Graphics, Animation, Effects~
The graphics are actually quite nice, and there are some pretty cool effects in there too. The colors are fulfilling and perfectly brightened. There are also some lighting effects, and particle effects in there but don't be expecting the same lighting and graphics from 'Vectorman' or 'Vectorman 2'. 'Man Overboard' has great graphics in my opinion.

~Sound Effects, Music~
There are no annoying sound effects that will make you want to mute your television in this game, unlike most Marvel games *cough*Spiderman*cough*. Although there may be one sound effect that plays too much: dropping a bomb, and activating switches (both the same sound effect). The music is good for the most part. It doesn't suit the atmosphere of a submarine, but it does suit the motive. It's nice to listen to while playing this game, and the sound effects blend in correctly with the music as well.

~Replay Value, Extras~
The replay value is good because there are high scores. Other than that, the replay value isn't that good because the levels are always the same every time (for example, no random events), and therefore there is no challenge after the first run (if you don't forget how to beat them) but still fun to play. There is a multiplayer mode which is basically the same as the single player mode, but the player who has the highest score and status by the end of the game wins.

~Conclusion~
I was expecting a cool, fun and challenging platformer, and that's exactly what I got. You should definitely check this game out.

Final Rating
7/10
Above average

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/05