Inspector Gadget: Operation Madkactus

"They're Penny and the Brain, Yes Penny and the Brain"

Inspector Gadget has another case to solve! Dr. Claw, head of the evil agency MAD, has been delivering evil cacti to kill (!) people around the world, in an effort to take over, I assume, and it's up to Inspector Gadget to put a stop to this! As usual, Penny and Brain will follow him to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble, going through 15 stages (and 5 boss stages) to get everything back to normal.

The game plays like a standard platformer. You walk, jump, defeat enemies, etc. At any time you are standing on ground, you can switch between Penny, Brain, and Inspector Gadget. The Inspector himself can take multiple hits from enemies before dying, and is also the strongest when it comes to defeating enemies. He is a pretty good jumper, and is fairly speedy, though he loses control when going too fast (which IS intentional). Brain is as fast as Gadget, but has much better control in running. He can also jump in mid-air to get great height. However, he is weak, taking several punches to kill an enemy, and any enemy can kill him in two hits. Penny, poor Penny, is useless for most of the game. She is the only one who can swim underwater, and the one who can deactivate the computers, but other than that, you won't use her much. She is weak as Brain in every way, not to mention slow, and a horrid jumper. For most of the game, you'll likely be switching between Inspector Gadget and Brain, taking out Penny only when necessary.

The enemies all look nice, though some of them might be a bit tough for how early they come in the game. Namely the mud enemy, which is found abundantly in level 1-1. It's hard to kill the enemy without getting hit yourself, since it usually attacks as soon as you're close enough for it's stinger to reach you. The enemies that shoot things are pretty tough as well, as they shoot fast and furiously, giving you not much time to hit them.

There are, fortunately, plenty of items to go around. Collecting a GG symbol gives you 2 ''G'' points. Get 20 G points for an extra life. Inspector Gadget heads give an extra life. MAD symbols give 3 extra lives. Muffins restore your life meter. Also, there are gadgets that Inspector Gadget can collect and use. Grab a plunger icon and Inspector Gadget can shoot about 10 plungers, which can hit enemies at long distance. Grab a net icon, and Inspector Gadget can shoot out 4 nets long distance, which instantly kills any enemy it hits. Grab a camera icon, and Inspector Gadget can use it to kill every on-screen enemy. And grab a helicopter icon, and Inspector Gadget can fly by jumping up and pressing UP, until the meter runs out! According to the game, there is a way possible to collect every item you see in the game, but, having this game for months, there are STILL some items which I cannot figure out how to collect!

To get past a level, you need to find the word EXIT. Simply go to the sign to get past. More often than not, however, the word is flashing on a computer screen. To get past these levels, you need to use Penny to hack into the computer, and play a mini-game. You are given pieces of wire, one at a time, and you must place them on a grid so that the two ends of the wire at the ends of the grid connect. Do so and you get past the level. Time runs out before you finish, and you lose a life. Once you get the hang of it, though, it's overly simplistic, and dull. Each stage gives you less time to complete it, but it's still more than enough time to do it even at the end of the game. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to do. Occasionally, you'll have to do this in the middle of a level to continue (if you see a ''?'' or squiggly lines on the computer screen instead of the word ''EXIT'').

The variety in levels is pretty good, though not perfect. Many of the levels are the same kind, just go forward and kill the enemies as you progress. There is some variety, though, as some levels are like a maze, and there's also a tough level rather early in the game with water that is deadly to touch, that is rising in a vertical level, and you have to race to get to the top, while avoiding enemies at the same time, and other obstacles....

Graphics: 10/10--Inspector Gadget, Penny, and Brain look great, and how they are supposed to. Especially nice is the detail given to Inspector Gadget's gadgets, which wasn't all necessary. For example, when he jumps, you can see his Gadget legs helping assist his jump. The enemies too all look very nice, and it appears some nice effort was put into them. The MAD agents are recognizable as Dr. Claw's regulars from the cartoon show. The other enemies are interesting to look at too: cactus enemies, a squid enemy that looks like a giant brain, and a weird mud enemy with eyes that change color. Most of the bosses are all large and quite detailed too. Also, the backgrounds are well done too, with some nice touches they didn't have to do, like the palm tree islands in the background of the first level, or the flowing water later in the game.

Music/Sound: 5/10--Nothing out of the ordinary here. Perhaps most disappointing, the main Inspector Gadget theme is nowhere to be found. The in-level music is all right, but it's irritating that the music stops and starts over whenever you switch characters. The music should have been made to just continue when switching characters. The sound effects are OK, nothing really sticks out about them.

Overall: 8/10--It's a good game, with great graphics. If you like platformers, this is a good one, though perhaps somewhat short. But hey, it's a great Game Boy Color game, that is worth checking out for a platformer fan!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/04/01, Updated 12/04/01