Oscar
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Flair Software | Sound: |
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| Year: 1993 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Platformer | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
6/10 | |
A platformer similar to Trolls (by the same developers), themed around cinema. They tried to copy Sonic; it’s somewhat successful in style (level two), but in practice, the speed is lacking. You’re forced to proceed cautiously, or you’ll lose all your health points in just a few seconds.
The garish colours strain your eyes and make it hard to distinguish enemies, especially in the first world. After that, it gets a bit better. Otherwise, Oscar ticks all the usual boxes: countless bonuses, an energetic soundtrack, and a charismatic character (who goofs off when you stop touching the controller and changes outfits with each world). Fun ideas include: a yoyo for attacking enemies at medium range or grabbing onto ceilings, a “Game Boy” bonus that adds a green filter to the screen (there’s also a “Game Gear” filter for fans), and letters to collect that unlock bonus (or “bogus”) levels…
Though the controls could be improved (only one button is supported, even on the CD32), Oscar easily ranks among the “moderately good” platformers on the Amiga.
Note: This title is also known on Super Nintendo, PC-DOS, and CD32. I recommend the second CD32 version (“V2”), which contains two additional worlds and higher quality music (the first version was apparently released prematurely at the console’s launch).
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