Hook

The Good
The fact that it was the only good Hook game, and it was good enough to nearly make me want to play the other ones. Almost. And the awesome Peter Pan sprite.

The Bad
A little bit shallow; too short

The Bottom Line
Hook is a competent and fun platformer based on the movie of the same name ( which I liked- it was awesome to see Robin Williams kick ass with a blade and pixie dust). The high point of the game are the graphics, some of the best on the SNES. The Peter Pan sprite is smoothly animated and the overall look is nice. The gameplay itself was a little shallow, but fun and action-filled enough to satisfy. A good game overall.

The Good
The Sega CD version offers new and improved music, sound effects and intermission sequences.

The Bad
The Sega CD version is a carbon copy of the Genesis version with a few cosmetic changes. If you played the cartridge version on the Genesis you will notice far too few improvements to justify the investment. Even worse, it cannot match the 256, on-screen colors found on the Super Nintendo version of Hook!

The Bottom Line
Hook is a carbon copy of the Sega Genesis version with a few minor changes. It is a decent, single player, side-scrolling platformer, but if you already own the Genesis version, then you can safely give this one a pass.

The Good
The graphics are great with very smooth animation on your character. I recall Hook being one of the most popular games of 1992 and almost all my friends had it and were blown away. The cut scenes serve their purpose and do not obstruct the game

The levels and the game's story follow the movie closely while taking a few liberties here and there. The music also borrow tracks from the movie (which are great to hear in all their 16-bit glory) and the controls are very responsive, making this a very well-rounded game on every level

The Bad
The game is 11 levels long, but most are just too easy due to a not-so-good AI, with the possible exception of Level 10 (Aboard Hook's Ship) where spiked pits and traps are everywhere.

The golden Sword, while a essential weapon, you lose it with only one hit and getting it back requires searching for hidden areas, especially in the latter levels. I wish you kept the sword permanently after level 2.

Lastly, Peter Pan moves a little show at first but, like in the Mario series, he gains pace while holding the attack button. But this is not a serious flaw and it doesn't hinder the gameplay.

The Bottom Line
if you liked the movie like I sure did, then this game is definitely worth buying because it follows the storyline pretty closely. In a sea of often terrible games that insult the movies they're based upon, this one is definitely a diamond in the rough.

This game is also a must-have for any avid video-gamer or SNES collector.