Chuck Rock

"I give it points for the Flinstones nostalgia"

Released for over one billion game systems, I got this piece of Flinstones nostalgia for the SNES. This game is basically a slapstick side-scrolling platformer in which you play Chuck, a human living in the Stone Age with dinosaurs and saber tooth tigers. Chuck is your typical stone-age man, sporting a grass skirt and a huge belly; what's not typical is that he's a rocker in his own prehistoric band that features a rocker dinosaur.

Chuck is slow and gains little momentum throughout the game to make this platformer any intense. A puzzle element makes its debut mostly in the form of rocks that chuck "chucks" at see-saws, enemies, and whatever prehistoric thing coming his way.

On his quest to rescure his wife Ophelia from the clutches of the evil T-Rex, Chuck will tread colorful land and get aided/attacked by dinosaurs, just like in the show the Flinstones. However, the funny technology found in the Flinstones is not to be found here, since Chuck has minimal brain power and so is constricted to attacking foes with his belly and indulging in dull puzzles and boring platforming.

A winner in this game is the catchphrase Chuck shouts at the beginning of every level, and that is "Unga Bunga!" Game's only grace along with the colorful graphics imo.

I can see that if someone is a fan of stone-age games and dinosaurs, this someone can squeeze a bit of enjoyment out of this, identifying dinosaurs with their scientific names and twitching on the floor from all the fun of riding atop a dinosaur, but let's be honest here, that's not the purpose of games. The purpose of games is to be fun, and this ladies and gentlemen, isn't.

The game isn't that long, and the replay value is limited to how much fun you had on your first run, which is mostly nonexistent. So, if you're looking for a stone-age game worthy of your bucks, look elsewhere, but if you find little else, give this a whirl and enjoy *laughs

Pros

+colorful settings
+Unga Bunga

Cons

-Platforming lacks any intensity
-Puzzles are stone-age material
-Bosses and enemies offer little challenge

Story - 5
Visuals - 8
Audio - 7

Gameplay -
-FUN Factor - 2
-Controls - A
-Difficulty - Normal

Lifespan - 2

Overall - 3

This makes you want to say, "What's in the stone age, better be left in the stone age." Unga Bunga indeed

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/08

Game Release: Chuck Rock (US, November 1992)