Insert dodgy fish pun here! (James Pond: Codename Robocod (GBA))

Member Name: Burning_Darkness

Product:	James Pond: Codename Robocod (GBA)
Date:	29/09/09 (17 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well designed, varied, large game, appealing visuals

Disadvantages: irritiating music

Originally released back in 1991 on Amica, PC and Sega Megadrive, the cringeworthily-titled 'James Pond 2- Robocod' is a piscine-themed side scrolling platformer in which you play as a secret agent fish on a mission to reclaim Santa's Workshop in the North Pole from the evil Dr Maybe, who is churning out evil toys which populate the game's fifty levels. These are varied, including toy workshops, car factories, a land of giant cakes, towering castles and many others, and there are also bucketloads of different enemies and items to be collected, all of which add to the game's longevity.

Its a fairly formulaic platformer at heart, requiring you to collect points and bounce on enemies to kill them with numerous bosses along the way, including giant ballerinas, evil teddy bears and killer cars. One innovative feature however is Robocod's ability to stretch upwards until he reaches a ceiling, at which point he grabs hold of the roof, regains his original shape and can shimmy along. This gives the game an extra dimension, with many of the levels progressing upwards as well as sideways, as seen previously in the earlier platformer classic Bionic Commando.

The visuals are varied and appealing, and there are also plenty of secrets and hidden levels distributed throughout, making for a more immersive gaming experience, and whilst hardly groundbreaking overall Robocop is an entertaining, varied and well-designed game, although the tinkly and repetitive music does start to grate very quickly.

Summary: a solid platformer