Jim Power

~ JIM POWER ~

Loriciel / Micro World

Super CD-ROM

1992

Much-maligned Jim Power has more going for it than most reviews would lead you to believe. To be sure, it's an imperfect effort, with its biggest problem being horrid jumping controls. Expect to experience plenty of mid-air misadventures when you first start playing the game. But you can develop a feel for the initially awkward leaping mechanism, and once you've got that down, you can start to notice and appreciate all the good stuff.

The adventure is a bit too short at five stages, but each level can take a while (not an irritatingly long while, mind you), and there definitely is variety here, as three of the stages are run-and-gun fare, while the other two play like side-view shoot 'em ups. The former aren't nearly as intense as a Contra, but they do make you deal with a lot of tricky platforming sections, and you've always gotta be on your guard because of the quick, bizarre enemies that roam the grounds.

The shooter boards toss more strange foes your way, and these guys are typically too strong to face head-on, so mindless blasting won't cut it; you've gotta come up with plans to get by.

The music is very good throughout and the graphics are great, particularly the shooter-stage backgrounds and the boss sprites. Speaking of the gargantuan bosses, they're pretty awesome-looking and fun to fight, even though they're basically jokes.

The jokes don't end there; the game displays a fine sense of humor with amusing opening and closing bits. But, really, as long as you don't give up on it early, the entire adventure should give you plenty to smile about.