Zool: Ninja of the 'Nth' Dimension

"Fun at times, but mainly disappointing."

Zool is a game about an ant-like creature that has to move around and killing enemies by either shooting or jumping on top of them. Other than that, there's not that much left to say about this game, as it qualifies in the category of ''Just another one of those platformers'', and this one ranks way below the average platformer.

Graphics: 7/10
Most likely the best aspect of the game. The colors used in the game are in touch with the general theme of the levels, the only flaw is that at some points the colors are so bright that it becomes an annoyance. The toy world and the music world are probably the best designed ones, but not a masterpiece either.

Sound: 3/10
There are very few FX sounds and tunes in the game that after a few minutes of playing you'll probably press the ''MUTE'' button on your remote control. Seriously, there are, like, 5, 6 different tunes in the whole thing? Not only that, but each tune seems to be a remix of another one, so there's nothing original here. Zool's scream when he gets hit is annoying as heck, and keep in mind that you hear that little sound literally a lot throughout the game.

Controls: 2/10
Controlling Zool is a pain. He moves way too fast, and it's really, really hard to master all those moves, and some of them are even useless. On top of all that, the default button for jumping is ''Y'', and shooting is ''B''. Normally a platformer has those two actions with the buttons reversed, being this by far the only time I've seen that kind of button configuration on a platform game.

Challenge: 5/10
One thing is for sure, you'll be hooked to the game for a couple of weeks and after that, you'll probably become bored as the difficulty is way too high at points, and you'll probably be wandering if the game actually ends, as some levels seem to be extremely long. I have spent about an hour in a single level, without losing any lives, since I couldn't find the exit. Anyway, the challenge is not that bad, but definitely less of what you expect on a platformer.

Overall: 4/10
Zool is generally a funny game, probably to rent one or two times. Just DON'T BUY IT! I made that mistake, and realized it was a waste of money even if it was on discount. The music and controls are bad, and the final bosses don't hold that much of a challenge, the levels do, but they are long and annoying.

Also, if you manage to reach the end of the game on one rental, well... the ending is not that good anyway, it's honestly not worth the effort.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 05/03/02, Updated 05/03/02