Amiga

Pang

A perfect arcade conversion; novel two player mode and heaps of addictiveness make it the last word in cute games. The long wait between games is a bit of a bind though. You'll be blowing bubbles forever.

This is one of the C+VG team's favourite coin-ops, and to say we were over the moon at Ocean laying their hands on the license is something of an understatement. Now Pang is here, I can safely say without fear of error or contradiction that this isn't just a conversion - it is the coin-op! Both the graphics and sound match the arcade machine pixel for pixel, with bright, crisp, colourful sprites and exquisitely drawn backdrops. The whizzy, poppy sound effects are spot on too, and the title music (which sounds like a remix of Puff the Magic Dragon) sets the mood perfectly. These combine with the horribly addictive gameplay to make Pang a really brilliant game. Grab it at the first opportunity, and prepare to stay up until the wee small hours.

Simplicity is the spice of life - and Pang is a spicy product. It's best described as a combination of Asteroids and Arkanoid, and because it's so simple and unfussy the urge to have 'just one more go' is ever present. Despite the relative anonymity of the coin-op, Ocean France has gone to great pains to recreate the look and feel of the machine as accuratey as possible. The whole attract sequence has been squeezed in, along with the 'cute' intermission pictures shown between levels. The graphics are detailed and pleasantly colourful, and there are plenty of jolly tunes to accompany the fun. All in all, Pang is a refreshing blast from your arcade past with enough original elements to let you play it without feeling old. Good, clean fun for all the family.

This is a marvellous game. Okay, so you're not exactly stretched to the limits of your intellectual capacity, but the game does require more brains than your average arcade bash. If you hanker for the days when games were fun and simple, buy Pang - you won't regret it.

I initially found Pang primitive. However, after a few two-player games I became totally hooked by the ridiculously simple concept. At first it's very confusing with balloons bouncing all over the place, but you soon discover ways to limit the number of small balloons and use the collectibles to best effect – it's often unwise (suicidal) to use the dynamite! The presentation is typically Japanese with cutesy animal sprites and jingly tunes, hardly making best use of the Amiga but a suitable enough accompaniment to the fun action.

Also ein Hit wie er im Buche steht? Leider nein: Im Unterschied zum Automaten stürzt das Game nämlich oft und gerne ab, was einem den Spaß auf Dauer schon verleiden kann. Schade, Schade, Schade!

Ocean sollte mehr von diesen niedlichen, prima durchdachten Geschicklichkeitsspielen umsetzen. Nachdem schon "Rainbow Islands" den Sprung aus der Spielhalle in die eigenen vier Wände (dank Graftgold) glänzend überstanden hat, wurde auch Pang hervorragend adaptiert. Die Amiga-Version spielt sich sehr gut und steht selbst in Sachen Grafik dem Arcade-Vorbild in nichts nach. Pang macht alleine und zu zweit einen Heidenspaß und bietet dank der 17 Länder und vier Spielstufen genügend Abwechslung.