Genesis

Cool Spot

I normally do not like product placement games, but Cool Spot is a clear cut exception. This is one of the best titles I have seen on the Genesis for quite some time. Spot really brings the characters to life! Worth seeing.

What should make these games especially worrisome to parents is that they're so much fun to play. Like a million-dollar, 60-second advertisement, except about a hundred times as long, Cool Spot is loaded with production value, from the opening scene of Spot surfing on a giant 7UP bottle (to the tune of the Surfaris' ''Wipe Out'') to the panicky expression on the little guy's face when he takes a tumble. And the action, as in all good commercials, is relatively unobtrusive vis-a-vis the company that's doing the advertising- except when Spot replenishes his energy by quaffing you-know-what along the way.

Autant les bons points que les mauvais sont révélateurs du style Virgin Games tel qu'il se perpétuera dans leurs jeux suivants. Mais pour Virgin, Cool Spot marque surtout le début d'une période de succès, brève et ardente, sur consoles 16-bit.

The bright, colorful graphics and outstanding reggae music effectively put you in the mindset of being at the beach on a hot summer day - it's great! The second stage takes place on a dock where you climb ropes and wooden planks Donkey Kong Junior-style. The next few stages take place in less-inspired indoor environments, but they do contain interesting toys like miniature versions of the robot from Lost in Space (the old 1960's television program). Fun bonus stages take place inside a green bottle of 7-Up, where you bounce around on (and in) bubbles trying to collect as many red dots as you can. With tight controls, stylish visuals, and a kick-ass soundtrack, Cool Spot should win over just about any Genesis fan.

Cool Spot är ett riktigt bra plattformsspel som ingen med intresse av dylika bör vara utan. Snudd på högsta betyg.

But that little downfall isn't half as bad as I'm making it sound; if it were an earthquake, it would register on the Richter scale (just enough to lower the score from a 9 to a high 8), but it wouldn't be that big. I always enjoy most of the levels, and the bonus stages are some of my favorites from any video game. The gorgeous graphics, the mood-fitting music, and the addictiveness and fun that Cool Spot has to offer makes it a must-have title for any platformer fan. That leads one to wonder why the game was named Cool Spot instead of Awesome Spot!

Virgin and their development team, headed by Dave Perry, have crafted a classic 2D action/platformer in the tradition of Aladdin, Terminator, and Global Gladiators. Featuring highly detailed and appropriately colorful graphics, fluid and cartoony animation, and huge levels, Cool Spot is the logical progression of Virgin's line of great platformers.

Hey, if you didn’t play this game when it came out nine to ten years ago, you really should have at least rented it. I mean, come on, wasn’t the funny cop commercial for it convincing enough? Oh well, it’s not like I’m going to beat you with a salami until you go out and buy this thing. It’s a pretty good game, but you’ll need a lot of patience to cope with all of the time-consuming long jumps where one wrong move will mean your doom. Hmm, on second thought, maybe it will mean the controller’s doom.