Impossamole

Platform game have always been one of the most popular areas of computer games and the Monty games were a huge success, especially on the 8-bit formats. If you've never played one it's probably worth having a look for nostalgia's sake alone.

Bright, colourful, cartoon-like fun! Backgrounds are pretty straightforward but sprites and particularly sound liven it up. Sound effects are unusual and not to say wacky samples, and music is a great remix of C64 Monty on the Run, complete with guitar solo, scratching and house chords.

Plays pretty much like the ST version, but gains extra points for its terrific soundtrack and slightly improved graphics. Impossamole looks and sounds very jolly, but at the end of the day it just doesn't have anything special to make it stand out.

The title screen's pretty naff but in-game graphics are colourful and neatly-defined, Monty looking good and moving well. Sound effects are simple and music warbles away in a crude and mildly annoying manner.

A game with low presentation and some low quality graphics, Monty a very drab little sprite but more colourful backgrounds and jolly alien sprites help liven the game up. Effects are bog-standard C64 and music is a highly naff remix of the utterly brilliant music which backed Monty on the Run

The number of decent, cheap platform games on the Spectrum makes it tough for this version of Impossamole to make an good impression. It suffers form obscure blobby sprites and like the ST version, it's frustratingly difficult from the outset.

I loved the original Monty games and was looking forward to this turbo-charged update very much - but unfortunately it's turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. My main gripe is that it's terribly frustrating. Impossamole looks and sounds very jolly, but at the end of the day it just doesn't have anything special to make it stand out.

The title of Monty's latest adventure is certainly appropriate; I found it impossible to get very far. Just one mistake can cost a huge amount of energy and with only one life things can get more than a bit frustrating. The platforms-and-ladders action isn't exactly innovative, although there are some nice touches with each level having appropriate nasties and features, e.g. snowmen, huge rolling snowballs, and cable cars in 'Iceland'. These don't just add graphical variety but make each level different to play. Pity it's just a shade too difficult for my liking.

Die Grafik ist so lala, ruckeln tut sie außerdem. Zumindest gibt es den alten Monty-Witz noch, neuerdings tritt der niedliche Maulwurf im Fledermaus-Cape auf (spekuliert wohl auf eine Rolle in "Batman II"?). Der Sound ist wieder ein echter Ben Daglish, fast so gut wie immer. Ein paar neue Ideen hat Designer Core ("Rick Dangerous") auch reingebracht, aber dennoch kann das Spiel mit moderneren Vertretern des Genres wie z.B. "Rainbow Islands" nicht ganz mithalten.

All in all, a game for they young at heart and patient of nature. There is lots to do and little thought required to it. It does not take too long to suss out who can and who cannot be beaten to pulp with ease. The additional weaponry which you change upon every so often seems to have a life span close to that of a mayfly at a frogs’ convention. One of those game which you might play from time to time just to see, but not one which you would rummage through your collection for. A nice effort, a cute character and some passable gameplay.

Choice of four starting levels. Appallingly lengthy disk access. Good variety of cartoonesque sprites. Remixed music or FX. Not particularly addictive but choice of levels offers instant variety. Far too tough to be enjoyable.

Die Programmiertruppe Core Design hat qualitativ deutlich nachgelassen. "Impossamole" kann "Rick Dangerous" oder "Switchblade" spielerisch nicht das Wasser reichen.

Die Programmiertruppe Core Design hat qualitativ deutlich nachgelassen. "Impossamole" kann "Rick Dangerous" oder "Switchblade" spielerisch nicht das Wasser reichen.

Impossamole is completely impossible! I was irritated from the moment I pushed start. The gameplay needs work, and the music was less than average! the graphics are decent, but it won't win any awards, that's for sure!! Cinemas are cool, but they don't make a good game.

If you're a Monty fan, don't buy this game - it'll ruin your happy memories. If you've never heard of Monty, avoid it in its own right. Impossamole is slow and tedious, and a bad buy at any price.

There's nothing really wrong with it, but the whole thing is just so forgettable. Impossamole? What's that?