Bravestarr

Copyright : US Gold | Reviewed by : Malc Jennings

Does anybody outside the UK remember this cartoon? this great platform/shoot-em-up is based on the comic book hero BraveStarr and his antics.

You are the new sherrif in the wild west only you are not like any that has stepped into those cowboy boots before you. As Bravestarr you have the speed of the puma, the eyes of a hawk and the strength of a tiger (I think that is right, correct me if I?m wrong .. please). It is your job to defend your town and save the innocents from the mutants who also have powers close to your own but use them in a very different way.

The cartoon series was a hit in the UK and I am sure that any person aged 21 or more should remember sitting down after school and tuning in, or at least remembering your children sitting down to watch it. But is the game any good? we all know how bad some movie/cartoon conversions have gone wrong but is Bravestarr an exception?

Graphics

Bravestarr is essentially like any other cartoon platform game to come before it only Probe have also added some interactive content to the game to breathe new life into the already over used format.

The graphics are stunning considering it was developed at the same time as Codemasters Brainache and rather than just using a few colours here and there it looks as if Probe have used as many colours as possible to create the characters and the enemies that come toward you. Your main character does not suffer from the hollow bug (disappearing behind the background) and is easily visible on each and every part of the scrolling background.

Sound

The sound is great also, with full sound on the mutants and Bravestarr throughout the levels. We are also given a remixed version of the soundtrack from the cartoon as an opening credit screen, this is the standard that all games should follow instead of slacking during development time.

Gameplay

Gameplay...mmm well Bravestarr doesn?t disappoint fans of the classic cartoon and it certainly kept me going for a long time when I usually just press the reset keys or switch off from boredom after the first few minutes of the game. Rather than just making you run up and down the screen shooting aliens and mutants over and over again Probe have added the option to grill people in the local bars and stores but it?s going to cost you as these people don?t do anything for nothing. A great game indeed.