The SHOCKMAN Show (c) BASIC GROUP

The Shockman® Show is an action-adventure game, based on the characters Shockman®and Tuth-a-Ball™ and their great adventures. Their arch nemesis is the villain Shadow, a master criminal planning to take over the world. Shockman® and Tuth-a-Ball™ don't know about about villain's existence, but unknowingly twarth his evil plans. All this is about to change. Shockman® and Tuth-a-Ball™ have recently recorded their first TV-show and are now taking a vacation in the Caribbean. In the meantime evil Shadow steals the tapes to their show. So now they must cut their vacation short, come home and retrieve their tapes before Shadow puts his evil plan in motion. Of course evil villain Shadow will not let that happen. Our 2 heroes are stranded on a tropical island filled with hostile natives, pirates, psycho monkeys. Mysteries, puzzles and action are what stand in between Shockman® and Tuth-a-Ball™ completing their mission.

So much for a brief introduction to the game ... Ohh did I tell you that our 2 characters are Aliens from outer space?

With names like THAT, did you expect anything less?

The Game

The game kicks off with a short introduction explaining what is going on. It is clear from the beginning that you do not have to expect any high tech 3D animation's since this entire game is based on a real cartoon series much along the lines of South Park, Beavis & Butthead and the likes. So static backdrops with point and click is what this game is about. The main title song even sounds like it was performed by South Park's "Chef". Oriented towards the younger audience this game is easy to use and play but yet it has a "mean" streak since our main character Shockman® loves to talk dirty, fart and slap his enemies around. There is no explicit violence or blood and gore in this title since he indeed just "slaps" his enemies around therefor only putting them temporarily out of action. Everything about this game points to the 10-15 year-old age bracket so I let my son, who bas become a Shockman® fan, play this one to the bone. From the great laughs and fixation on the screen I could judge that the aimed at audience will get its worth for the 30$ retail price. The game itself is spread over 8 levels, from the Caribbean all the way back to the studio. In between you have to solve puzzles and pick up items to be able to complete the level and move on to the next.

To game is kept pretty simple and easy to operate such as the Shockman® Interface on the screen displaying your money, collected stars and your inventory with various items to use. Pay attention to the fact that certain items may have to be combined in order to be used properly (for instance in level 1 you need to pick up a branch, fishbone, line and a worm to be able to catch fish and provide the locals with food). This is the puzzle part of thegame (next to beating up natives/monkeys being the action part). You can use certain items by clicking on them and moving them on the screen to apply or also just moving them to your left/right hand in the interface to use. Your character walks in the direction of the hand (mouse) when you left click on the map and right click if you want to fight. Once you knocked down an enemy they often drop money (to buy goods) or food (to restore your health). Apart from slapping your enemies you can also fart on them (food is required) and you have a selection of 5 different "sort of farts".

The main goal of the game is to get back your 5 stolen video tapes spread around the 8 levels (a smart person will notice that NOT every level has a tape so don't run around like a maniac looking for them :)

The Level

Level 1 : "The Island"

Battle bone-knocking Natives and psycho monkeys while collecting your required items to free your little yellow companion. Level 2 : "The Pirate Ship"

You have to deal with mutiny on board of the Pirate ship. Steer clear from getting Tuth-a-Ball™ captured and thrown in the dark and damp cell. Level 3 : "The Pirate Cave"

Sail the pirate ship to the cave where you have to plunder and steal the pirates loot! Escape from the cave and find your way back to the City to get your tapes.

Level 4 : "The Snowy Mountains"

Crash, boom, bang...Trouble in paradise .. You crashed with your plane.. Avoid avalanches, yetis and killer monks with tricks up their sleeves (and skirts).

Level 5 : "The City"

You finally get to the City but end up caught between street gangs and their turf wars ... make sure you chose the right side because you might need their help later ...

Level 6 : "The Sewers"

You're in it over your head now .. literally ;) Find your way through the sewer system to get to the TV station ... there is no other way in, and the sewer doesn't like uninvited visitors ..

 

Level 7 : "The Lab"

You are still not at the right destination... Find your way out of the lab. Avoid the mad scientists, crazy professors and the lab's security system. And don't forget the TAPES! Level 8 : "The TV Station"

Finally .. At Last ... but ... where is everybody ... You can smell the danger lurking around the corner ... Better hurry to stop the villain and fight the bad guys ...

Its not all that easy as it looks and sounds ... so saving your game periodically is always a good idea (F5 for quick save and f9 for quick load) Overall this game is good for a few laughs but mainly aimed towards kids. The movies between levels could be done a lot better (or actually have MADE it REAL animation's) and more levels would have been a good idea.

System requirements are low so nobody should have any problems getting this one to work and installation was a piece of cake.

System used : PIII600, Geforce ©Guillemot, 256mb ram and a lower end system : AMD K2-233, 160mb RAM, Ati Rage Pro