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Mayhem in Monsterland Developer: John & Steve Rowlands Publisher: Apex Computer Production Year: 1993 Rating: 9/10 Review: A mere screenshot will never do this beauty justice. Particularly since WinVICE seems so bad at taking shots and CCS64 doesn’t want to run on my computer. Oh well, you’ll just have to trust me on how good Mayhem in Monsterland really is. Coming from the same guys that bought us the excellent Creatures 2: Torture Trouble, expectations were high for this game when it first came out. I was one of the eager people that cut the coupon out of Commodore Force magazine, and sent off my postal order to buy the game as soon as it was released. Mayhem was probably the only full-price game I ever bought, and it was worth every penny. You play as Mayhem, a cute dinosaur living in the peaceful kingdom of… somewhere that I don’t quite remember. But I could go look in the book... Anyway, for some reason the local wizard (and your best friend) happens to pull off a mistake of epic proportions, and winds up casting a spell that turns the whole place into a sad depressing monster-filled nasty world. Idiot. Anyway, as you’re the hero and all, it’s your job to go and collect bags of magic dust from each level, and bring it back to the inept wizard so that he can make everywhere a happy place once more. Ahhhhh…. But in games things are never that simple, and so it all goes horribly wrong… again… It seems that Mr. Wizard can’t spread the magic properly, and it clumps together forming Magic Stars. Now, obviously these stars would be bad if they got into the hands of bad people, so it’s your job to run around the level again, this time collecting as many stars as you can find, before crossing a giant finish line. So enough plot, what about the actual game? The levels are split into two parts, Happy and Sad. It’s a really cool idea, and works great. Places you see while you’re exploring the sad levels will only be open when you make the return lap in the happy version. The graphics are sublime. The sad levels are suitably dull and dingy, but not very impressive. Whatever you do, don’t turn the game off at the first level, wait until it gets happy! Apex used a great blending technique to make the C64’s weedy 16 colour palette appear do a whole lot more; giving the games happy levels a real rich, vibrant look to them. It looks great. Mayhem in Monsterland plays like real Old Skool retro platforming at its finest. Mayhem can run, jump, skid, duck, bounce on enemies heads and all the usual funky stuff. And in a shameless rip-off of a certain hyper hedgehog, he can also use a Charge attack. You heard me right people, Mayhem can Charge along at breakneck speed using his little yellow horn as a weapon, in much the same way as Sonic the Hedgehog’s legendary Spindash attack. Mayhem’s charge is at least as fast as the first few Sonic games, possibly faster. Considering the rather weedy C64, that’s a real surprise to me. Sound is great too. The sad tune is moody and dull, fits the levels well. The happy tunes are bouncy, fun and full of life, perfectly fitting the bright landscapes you’re wandering through. Oh and get this – the music changes depending on what part of the level you’re on! It’s only a little touch, but it makes the game that much more interesting to play. Overall, I would recommend you at least try Mayhem in Monsterland. It’s great fun. It maybe hasn’t aged quite as well as I thought it did though, I don’t quite get the same buzz from playing it anymore. Maybe it’s because I’m using a pad now instead of a proper joystick, but it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. A case of rose tinted glasses? Possibly, but the fact remains that Mayhem is still a great game. Definitely one to try :) Review by LD |
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