Cute, Nice - And It's Fun Too
Sydney Morning Herald
Sunday May 2, 1993
MY mum refuses to read this column. She reads the rest of the Herald computer section, of course - every word. She's right up to date with Dos 6.0 and the latest in laptops. But she says the games I review are too ... well, nasty. Maybe she's right. Even my last review of the relatively innocuous Inca featured Mr Kogler's brilliant cartoon rendition of a virgin sacrifice.
So this week, for a change, it's all sweetness and light - I'm adopting a temporary no-nastiness policy. My "ready-to-review" pile is full of war-mongering marvels like A Line In The Sand and Gary Grigsby's Pacific War, and menacing titles like Ultima Underworld - packed full of monsters. But there's one exception to the all-round nastiness - Trolls. It features those cuter-than-cute Troll dolls with the snub noses, black beady eyes and electric-shock hair that you can find in any toyshop. Perfect |
Trolls makes fairly humble demands on your hardware. Booting direct from floppy, it does not even require hard disk installation. It will run on any PC system - including an ancient XT - though the graphics don't really shine unless you're running a 256 colour Super VGA card and monitor.
Gameplay is self-explanatory. Guide your cutesy Troll through the garishly coloured Candyland, Toyland and Medialand - to name just a few - in the quest to find and rescue the kidnapped Baby Trolls.
I began with Candyland, the most sickly-sweet level of all. Icy Poles and lollipops sprout like trees from chocolate bar gardens; candy cane poles reach tall into the sky; liquorice bullets are suspended from nowhere, forming convenient steps between caramel fudge footways.
There are, of course, some hazards. The Baby Trolls are scattered around the playing area, but to find them you'll have to avoid bouncing bombs, a galloping rabbit and a bunch of deadly fat-boys. Too many collisions, and it's curtains.
Scattered through the levels you'll find balloons containing magic yo-yos. These are handy. You can use them to knock out the nasties with a quick blow to the head - oops, sorry Mum - or you can attach them to platforms and swing Tarzan-like across otherwise impassable chasms.
So there it is. A game that's genuinely nice. A boppy little soundtrack, every colour of the rainbow flashing on the screen, cutesy little trolls - and best of all, it's actually pretty good fun to play. Distributed by Electronic Arts, telephone (075) 911 388, Trolls has a recommended retail price of $79.95- and even your mum will like it.
© 1993 Sydney Morning Herald