Dizzy Down the Rapids

Sinclair User

Graphics 78%

Sound 65%

Playability 70%

Lastability 65%

Overall 67%

Ed Lawrence

Jason Baptiste 67%

Label: Code Masters Memory: 48K/128K Price: £3.99 Tape Reviewer: Jason Baptiste Are you feeling under the weather and haven't had a laugh in yonks? Is your head is in a dizzy spell and seeking an adventurous game. Well look no further, this game is a right barrel of laughs! Yes indeed, Dizzy down the rapids is a game which will put egg on your face if you're not a bit of a dab hand at steering barrels over waterfalls. Two players can play the game simultaneously, one controlling Dizzy himself and the other controlling his ubiquitous sidekick and long time beau Daisy. The story all started in an enchanted forest while the two young eggs were picking blueberries. They were having such a good time they didn't notice that they were drifting further and further into the forest when suddenly, in its depths, they were confronted by their old adversary Rockwart the troll and a gang of ferocious looking henchtrolls. To escape these evil enemies Dizzy and Daisy run to the river, jump into two barrels and shoot off down the rapids. You'll certainly crack some shells in Dizzy Down The Rapids as you control your individual egg in a barrel, trying desperately to avoid collisions with rocks and islands and vicious animals. There's is no wine in this barrel, just a limited supply of apples which Dizzy and Daisy use to defend themselves. Face crazy crocodiles, barmy butterflies and terrifying trolls all of whom will try to sink your barrel and boil your egg. On the river bank there are also people throwing apples in an attempt to halt your characters as they ride through waterfalls and frantically negotiate the rapids. There's only a limited amount of apples so use them carefully or you'll quickly find your self unarmed. However Dizzy may collect extra apples by shooting crocs and other creatures who leave behind a supply of fruit. There are also bonus points hidden on green rocks in the middle if the stream. But watch out, you can lose a lot of energy points by doing this as the barrel might take the wrong direction on the stream and you'll have to work your way into the centre again. When your energy has been completely depleted you will lose a life but luckily Dizzy has four in store so the game doesn't finish too quickly. Graphics are clear and colourful and the game handles well but it could have been made a bit more adventurous by having many different enemies and more varied landscapes as you travel down stream. To sum it up in an egg shell Dizzy down the rapids is a very simple game concept, reminiscent of Toobin' that is moderately enjoyable but wont retain your interest for long.

Baddies can chuck apples too!

Dizzy goes over a waterfall, not too much danger though.

It's a troll in a barrel!

Your Sinclair

Overall 65%

Jon Pillar 65%

REPLAY Hush, hush - whisper who dares! Who are those figures there on the stairs? It's the Replay gang! (Oh dear.) DIZZY DOWN THE RAPIDS Code Masters £3.99 cassette [redacted] Reviewer: Jon Pillar Have the Codies flipped, or what? First they blatantly ripped off Bomb Jack with Super Seymour Saves The Planet, and now they've pirated the ideas behind Toobin'. I thought this sort of blatant rip-off went out of fashion in 1984. Anyway, you play the indestructible avoid (and his gal Daisy if you've a pal handy) and you have to paddle your way down an endless river. Luckily, you've had the foresight to pack your barrel with a load of apples, as it turns out the river is full of nasties, all hell-bent on having an omelette supper. The graphics and sound are bright and cheerful, with loads of fluffy effects and squeaky noises respectively. The actual gameplay, I can't quite make up my mind about. I really liked Toobin' - it was spectacularly good fun whizzing along, dodging nasties and scraping through narrow gaps - so logically, I should be flipping over DDTR. You've probably guessed that I'm not, and the embarrassing thing is, I can't quite put my finger on the reason. Perhaps it's something to do with the control method - in Toobin', you rotated your, um, toob. then moved it forwards. In DDTR you simply move in four directions, and sadly this takes the manic urgency out wibbling around the screen. In addition, the whole game seems to move much more slowly than Toobin' - it's really more like Dizzy Down The Municipal Boating Pond. DDTR isn't a bad little game - it's quite fun with two players, and will probably be a smash hit with teeny Dizzy fans. It's just that if you re going to rip off a game, why not do it properly?

Are those barrels? Or are they sticks of dynamite? Does anybody care? Oh.