Banzai Bug
Bugs Can Be A Nuisance
A Review of Banzai Bug
Craig Majaski
Every now and then a game comes along thats different from the rest ofthe pack. Thiscan often be a mixed blessing, as is demonstrated in Banzai Bug. Surethe game isoriginal, but it takes innovative control, sparkling graphics, a decentsoundtrack, and ahigh replay value to make it fun. Unfortunately, all that Banzai Bugseems to deliver is aheadache, and there isnt even any aspirin included in the box.
So, whats Banzai Bug about? Well, the front of the package calls thegame a “flight-simwith an attitude.” Id hardly call Banzai Bug a flight simulator,although he does have abit of an attitude. The basic premise of the game is to fly Banzaiaround and collectvarious items, such as food crumbs, to make it to the next level. Laterin the game thereare different missions that gamers must pursue, such as a search andrescue operation.Theres plenty of obstacles in your way, like the nasty robo-bugs thathome in on you, orthe laser turrets that try to knock you down from the sky. Of courseyoull need to steerBanzai away from any humans that may stagger along since theyll beoften have bugspray ready to use on him. Banzai can fight back against his enemies.His basic weaponof choice, which happens to be unlimited, are spitballs. These oftentake out an enemywith one shot, but its a bit difficult to aim while flying around thehouse. There arepower-ups that can be found which allow him to zap or punch his enemies.
The graphics are mediocre. The backgrounds and surroundings are made upof basicpolygons. There isnt any texture mapping so everything looks plain anddull. Theframerate is fairly high, so the game does run smoothly. The graphicsdont really showoff what a computer can do nowadays. The opening cinema scene is morelike what theentire game should have looked like. It showed a world comprised ofrenderedbackgrounds, and the characters were portrayed much better.
Musically, Banzai Bug really suffers. The entire music track sounds asif it belongs in anelevator somewhere. This game is on CD, and while I dont know what kindof musicwould be best for this type of game, the music they chose certainlyisnt it. I havedefinitely heard worse music in other games, but none of them put me tosleep the waythis one did. On the other hand, the voices were pretty good. Its toobad that there isntmore voice during the actual playing of the game instead of just in thecinemas.
Controlling Banzai Bug isnt too much of a problem if you use ajoystick. The keyboardand mouse just dont cut it for this game. By using a joystick insteadof the keyboard, itspossible to make Banzai move around much easier and the entire gamebecomes a littlemore fun to play. The games designers decided to make the controls morecomplicatedby adding three different modes of flying. Theres the helicopter mode,the plane mode,and the look around mode. During most of the game youll probably usethe helicoptermode since its the default setting. The other two modes seem as if theywere thrown inthe game as an afterthought.
Banzai Bug proves that just because a game is semi-original (basicallythis game is yourbasic shooter disguised as a kids title) doesnt mean its any fun.Theres nothing in thistitle that makes you want to come back and play it again. Most of thelevels are prettysmall, especially when you compare them to flight simulator games, whichthis gametouts itself as being. Some kids may get a kick out of playing thisgame, but I think mostwill become bored after several hours of doing the same things over andover. But thenagain, what do you expect from Grolier Interactive, a company known fortheirencyclopedias, not their games.
Gamer’s Zone Scorecard
| Product: | Banzai Bug |
| Company: | Grolier Interactive |
| Cost: | $39.99 |
System Requirements:
A Pentium with 90 MHZ or faster processor,
Double Speed CD-ROM drive or better, 8 MB RAM,
Windows 95, Windows 95-Supported sound card,
20 MB available on hard disk, mouse/joystick.
This reviewer used:
200 MHZ Pentium IBM Compatible, 32 MB RAM,
16X CD-ROM drive, and Windows 95.
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 2
Graphics 3
Sound 1
Interface 2
Replayability 2
Overall Score:
(* 0 rating, 0 votes)
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