Donald Duck's finest moment (Quackshot (Amiga))

Member Name: sagat

Product:	Quackshot (Amiga)
Date:	17/03/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb graphics, wonderful vibe to the game

Disadvantages: Odd moments of frustration, limited replay value

Quackshot is one of the Megadrive's earliest, and greatest releases. I was lucky enough to be bought a Megadrive as a yound lad (although I had to share it with my brother) and every birthday or Christmas, we would be allowed to choose a game as our present.

My Megadrive came with Altered Beast (meh!) and Ghostbusters (wahey!). My birthday followed soon after Christmas and we travelled to the games shop to reward me for surviving another year of childhood. The first game that caught my eye was Quackshot. Donald Duck graced the front, decked out in his explorer garb and plunger gun in hand. I wanted that game!!!

Unfortunately, my father could not stretch to the £39.99 it cost, and I ended up going home with Forgotten Worlds (yippee!) which was five quid cheaper. I eventually managed to borrow Quackshot off of a friend a few months later and instantly loved it.

You are Donald Duck, out to find treasure and stop evil Pete! You will travel all over the world in your adventure and encounter a variety of friends and enemies along the way!

Quackshot is a real gem of the game. It is genuinely enjoyable and quite simply, just puts a smile on your face. The graphics were amazing for the time and still hold up today. Donald's waddle is simply hilarious and such touches really endear the game to players.

The locations are pretty standard, you fight Dracula in Transylvania, a Tiger in India, a Viking ghost on his ship, but the effort that has gone into these levels is sublime. The Northern Lights of the North Pole are simply glorious to watch as you race around the icey landscape.

The soundtrack is of an equally high standard. The Duckberg theme is still a favourite of mine, and I always hum along as I traverse the death slides of the Duckberg skyline.

Each level has its own themed enemies; Transylvania has bats, North Pole has penguins etc and you can dispose of these with a variety of weapons. Your primary weapon is a plunger which freezes opponents, but other weapons are available which will kill them outright.


The difficulty curve is spot on, although the Raj's maze still frustrates me to no end. The solution can easily be found online, but it does detract from the game's enjoyment slightly. The bosses have strict patterns to be learnt and countered, but they do present a decent challenge.

Playing through the whole game will probably take around one to two hours, depending on skill levels. Some of the jumps can be a bit strict (the Egyptian level almost made me tear my hair out at times!). Although it is a fairly linear route through the game, it is such a joy to play that you will definately feel the desire to play through it multiple times.

Summary: You'd be quackers not to play it!