Cool Spot

"An average platformer"

Spot, the 7 Up mascot, is back, but not in a puzzle game like his NES attempt. This time around, Spot's looking for adventure, and he finds it in the form of a side scrolling platformer. You are Spot, and you venture through several different levels, including a beach, a pier, and several others. To complete a level, you need to collect a certain amount of red spots, which then enables you to rescue one of your fellow Spots. Enemies are varied, as the ones in one level are rarely in another. Enemies are usually suited to the particular theme of the level, such as crabs at the beach. There are also bonus levels in the game, in which you have to collect as many red spots as you can in a limited amount of time.

Graphics: 8/10

The animation is fluid, and there are many little touches in the background in each level.

Sound: 6/10

Nothing to remember here. Same for the sound effects.

Gameplay: 6/10

The control in this game is very tricky, especially concerning jumping. In fact, that's probably how you'll lose most of your lives: a mistimed jump into a hole or onto an enemy. This problem causes major frustration in the higher levels, where there is more emphasis on jumps and less on enemies. The game is also not very long; the levels are of decent length but there aren't enough of them. The difficulty is not very high in the first half of the game, but it quickly picks up in the last half.

Replay: 4/10

The game can be very frustrating, so I'm guessing that you won't really want to play again once you've completed it. There is nothing extra to be taken from playing the game a second time.

Overall: 6/10

Nice graphics, and a recognizable character, but this is really nothing more than an average platformer. Play if you want; you probably won't be disappointed, but you will be frustrated at times and won't see anything you haven't saw before.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99