"I thought games got tested before release..."

Bought this game when I had some birthday money to spend and I saw it in a toy shop with a great discount on it. I know why now.

Gameplay
Well, I doubt there is a game that is harder to control than this one. Your character (whose name may or may not be Richard) moves incredibly fast, jumps so high he's always out of the screen where he usually gets hit by a bat or something like it, and he is tall and thin which makes it a very good target for the mostly horizontal attacks by enemies. The messy moving and jumping only gets worse (faster and higher) once you get the shoe, but you have to get that shoe in order to get a sword, and you have to get a sword because it's the only way to kill enemies while controlling yourself a little. Beating levels is a lot of luck and a little wisdom. And that is stupid. I didn't buy this game for gambling reasons.
Then there's this: there is hardly any development in the game. The levels get a slight bit more difficult but it doesn't even matter much, your character stays the same, doesn't get any new abilities or something. In a new chapter, there are some new enemies, but you'll not come across a boss of any kind or other problems. Usually, you'll have to beat a level to go to the next. Which is quite the same stuff. A real pity.

Story
I believe you're some Harry Potteresque nerd teen who suddenly (*startle*) finds himself in some book! Oh my, well maybe you should try and get yourself outta there by finding... uhm... Library Cards! Yeah that's it and perhaps you'll be able to find the legendary Pagemaster! With the scrolls for the beard! Three chapters: the horror world, the adventure world and the fantasy world, should be ''read''.
I still don't quite get the story, it's very farfetched and complicated and, frankly, uninteresting.

Music
The compositions are rather good although they don't really apply to their context (Horror?). What displeases me is the way it sounds. There's your gargling noise being the rhythm section. Farting sounds for the melody. It gets on my nerves quicker than a nerve-loving humming-bird.

Sound effects
EVEN MORE ANNOYING!! If I'm not already mad because I get hit by some enemy I can't even see because I'm way beyond the screen limits, I'll lose my temper because I hear ''kttttsssch'' and then I drop out of the air, all blinking and uncontrollable like some kind of stupid wussy. It irritates the hell out of me. The other sounds are more of the same, they sound very hollow (overechoing) and dull and they are too loud and too long. Terrible.

Graphics
Now these are not bad. The sprites of your character and the enemies are fine, and the scenery is also very nice, with a few, sometimes funny details. You'll find yourself in strange places sometimes. However, overall, the game is much too dark. Due to this you'll miss a lot of gems and stuff like that.

Replayability
I beat this game once and it took me quite a while because I got bored or annoyed so often. The ending was a complete disappointment to me but it might have been so because I didn't have all the Library Cards. Anyhow, it has cost me so much negative energy to beat this game, and the anticlimax I experienced makes me never want to touch it again.

Buy? Rent?
I wouldn't bother. Find a nice game, first.

In conclusion
I hate this game. The only thing about it that doesn't suck right down to the bone, are the graphics. And well, that's not enough. For me. Not by far. By VERY, VERY far.

The 2 is actually a 1,5.

That's right!

Have a nice weekend!

Say hello to your parents from me!

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 03/23/03, Updated 03/23/03