Sharkeys Moll

Copyright : Zeppelin Games | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

Lt. Sharkey finds himself on the mean streets of Chicago, the Governmentâ??s main man in their quest to bring down Rubbers Malone, once and for all.

Take control of Sharkey as he battles his way through six levels of action to reach Maloneâ??s warehouse hideout and take him down once and for all.

Graphics

Immediately upon loading you realise with grim horror that this is a yet another sub-standard spectrum port. The fact that everything is dipped in a sickening yellow is very off-putting and this migraine inducing colour scheme completely dominates the entire experience of playing the game. If you penetrate further though, sadly thereâ??s not much else to write home about â?? the cross-hair is too big, the explosions are neither realistic nor cartoony but occupy a strange middle ground of dissatisfaction. Likewise, the targets range from too big, to too small.

Sound

After the garish loading screen, the player is greeted with an excellent title tune. Upbeat and in stereo, the tune is fantastic and fills you with a false hope that maybe this wont be too bad after all. Upon starting the game though, the sound falls back into line with the rest of the game as the music is replaced with dodgy explosions and gunfire noises.

Gameplay

As ever though, it doesnâ??t matter too much what a game looks like if it plays well. Unfortunately, Sharkeyâ??s Moll is too slow and repetitive to leave a lasting impression. The curser drags along the screen and your reactions are much slower than the bombarding enemy. To add to the insanity, towards the end of the level, an informer will appear on screen (youâ??ll recognise him as the one who shuffles sideways across the screen for no readily apparent reason) who you must avoid shooting at all costs. Considering the speed he moves and the way that enemies can still hit you by firing through him, this is no mean feat. Youâ??ll require the patience of a saint to sit through the first level and will find little reward in that the second is the same stuff with a different background.

In this instance, with better graphics, you might have come back and given it another chance but the lack of speed is terminal.