James Pond - Codename Robocod

"A remake of a classic title. Holds up well, but there are too many changes."

Introduction
Back in the days of the Commodore 64 (no, I'm not old. This game was made in 1992 and I was only a little kid at the time) before games got all technical and all visual, games were all about Gameplay and the C64 had gameplay in abundance. Now faithfully restored, though not its original version, the GBA got its own taste of super fish spy, James Pond. So does the classic gameplay stand the test of time?

Gameplay 9/10
James Pond: Robocod 2 is about spy fish that obviously utilises the fame of James Bond to support itself in a set of quirky yet often amusing series of platforming levels of increasing difficulty. You control James as you go through numerous colourful and vivid environments saving penguins, collecting odd items like Christmas trees for points and jumping continuously over platforms while avoiding a torrent of enemies.

James Pond is a standard platformer that ticks all boxes correctly. It provides gamers with interesting worlds from Sweet Land to Toy Land, Bath Land to Sports Land and none of them fall short of anything but platforming perfection. Although the conversion from C64 to GBA isn't the same as the GBA version is somewhat easier.

The C64 version required patience and if you haven't got patience then you were going to struggle. The GBA version though is the complete opposite. You can literally run through most levels with ease as James Pond has become more about speed than it is platformer. There are still the usual pits, spikes and plenty of enemies that will relieve you of any health, but these enemies aren't even a challange and most of them will frustrate by blocking small holes by spikes on the ceiling. Why do they frustrate? James moves too fast sometimes and the enemies tend to get cheap shots on you all the time becasue the collision detection is a little off.

James Pond doesn't require as much precision as it did before, and if you persevere you are really don't feel as rewarded as you did with the C64 version. You'll also get to drive cars, fly planes, the scuba dive has been taken out. At least you still get to ride in bathtubs under water, complete with shower cap.

The gameplay plays similar with the collecting but at the same time it feels as though it has been reinvented. There is more emphasis on speed than on timing your jumps. This for me actually lowered the titles overall appeal as it lost a lot of its charm due to this huge change.

Visuals 8/10
For its time I believe that this was one of the C64s loveliest looking titles. Visuals were impressive and boasted interesting backgrounds full of stuff like Dominos, Candy Canes, and Tennis Rackets and would you believe it, P-P-P-Penguin Bars. There is also fantastic enemy design with enemies such as the Dolly Mixture man that bore an uncanny resemblance to 'Berty Basset'. Now though the GBA version has taken most f those precious things away. There are no more penguins, penguin bars or basset men, most levels have been redesigned and for the worse.

Worlds aren't as appealing as they were back in 1992. Sure they seem prettier, but somehow they now feel overused and are dull. At least there are plenty of worlds on offer that all offer something different. This title is pretty and would most likely appeal to kids than it does adults. Adults who played the older version may be interested in this remake.

Audio 8/10
Back then the loopy tracks were cute and definitely appealed to the younger audience as I can remember them very well all these years later as they appealed to me when I was little kid. They are classic unforgettable themes that stick with you. Yet I could probably see an adult player quickly becoming increasingly frustrated by the cutesy themes and most probably will turn the sound down. Music here is a bit hit miss and only really appeals to the younger generation of gamers- more specifically anyone under the age of ten.

The music has been remastered and for the better and the worst. Themes have been jumbled around matching odd levels that they didn't before. They aren't as tinny as they used to be, which is an obvious plus, but certain tracks are used too much for their own good.

Replay Value ??/??
This is entirely down to love for the game. If you enjoyed this game then you will most likely go back to it a few more times. Maybe older gamers will return for that nostalgic feeling.This title will appeal to younger children.

All the secrets the original had are now gone. Shame really.

Conclusion
James Pond was a brilliant title that is was severely underrated and probably not well known despite being released numerous times.The C64 version was better despite being older. James Pond is a cute platformer all any kid can enjoy. It provides simple challenge and above all it is fun to play for a while, this title will probably only appeal to the younger market though..

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/08/09

Game Release: James Pond: Codename Robocod (EU, 02/11/05)