Skweek

Copyright : Loriciels | Reviewed by : AndyH

From the back cover:

"Have you ever wanted to paint the town red? Well, now you can paint it PINK instead!

A fast moving arcade game that?s a bundle of fun. Our hero Skweek keeps you on the run! Go through 99 levels - get that winning score - It?ll drive you crazy, but you?ll be back for more.

A Game that?s a winner, without a doubt, WATCH OUT, WATCH OUT - THERE?S A SKWEEK ABOUT!"

Graphics

The Skweek universe seems to ooze cuteness in it?s own special pink way. The main character is bold and colourful, yet not irritating, in his simple furry fluff of a blob shape. Surprisingly the few animation frames on him are sufficient to make him look soft and cuddly and very alive.

Skweek contrasts well with the background graphics, which are also bold and well defined. The use of colour is what makes the game instantly appealling. Blue tiles, pink tiles, walls, special tiles and the ?Schnoreuls? (the enemy of Skweek) are varied and animated well.

Sound

There is always music playing which fits in well. Painting tiles can be hard work so good music is a must to keep focused on the task at hand. Sound effects are adequate and merely serving as confirmation of events - collecting bonuses, shooting or freezing the Schnoreuls, picking up Teddy Bears etc.

Gameplay

The Amstrad version of Skweek suffers slightly from its flip screen approach. Where as the more powerful Atari ST version had a vertically scrolling world this makes the gameplay a whole different experience. However, saying that the action does not slow down and the screen redraws are handled at high speed. You soon get used to the flip screen approach, the hardest part is that you may be wandering a little closer to an Schnoreuls and when the screen flips up to reveal more you suddenly have to react and dodge out of the way.

The tile painting can seem a little daunting at first. Afterall, there are loads of tiles on each level to paint. The first level introduces you slowly into the game, with only a few special tiles like the pushing tiles that push you off in certain directions. Only a few holes to fall down but there are plenty of Schnoreuls wandering the playing field to make life difficult.

It?s strangely addictive though, just to paint those last tiles. I don?t know why, I mean who likes painting? It?s a chore! But with all the power ups, lots of secrets to discover and ever harder levels I find Skweek keeps me coming back time and time again.

99 levels is way too many considering the size of each level and the difficulty of the game, but I guess if you stick at it you?ll appreciate the vast variation. Sure to keep you busy for a while!