Daffy Duck - Fowl Play

Daffy Duck wants to be rich. His big idea is to go treasure hunting, but to find the bags and boxes full of gold he has to get past a lot of obstacles, such as cliffs, ice and egg-rolling hens. It's up to you to guide Daffy around, helping him defeat the baddies and finding him plenty of money.

The game is really easy to pick up. Basically, you have the usual moves (left, right, and jump) and a smoke bomb to throw at your adversaries. Pressing the B button activates the bomb and all bombs have a timer, exploding on the count of three. If Daffy is too close to the bomb when it goes off, he'll get covered in soot and will lose one of his four lives. The bomb gets rid of most of the obstacles that get in your way, but I've found that they are pretty useless on fires, and you'll have to carefully jump over these instead.

All the baddies range in difficulty. Some - like the hedgehog, pig and bears in the first three levels - are pretty easy to dispose of, but others will not quit attacking you. If you run into one of these you'll be lucky to make it out with any of your lives left. Also watch out for some surprise moves from characters who jump out at you when you least expect it.

As well as looking for money on your travels, you also have to make sure Daffy doesn't run out of energy. If he does, you lose a life there and then, and have to restart the section of the level that you are on. To keep a supply going you have to throw smoke bombs at the baddies, who then either turn into food (which will rebuild your energy levels) or coins (which will add to your fortune). Another vanishing item gives you the chance to reclaim your lives. If an enemy attacks you, you lose a life, which is shown as a heart bouncing away from you. If you manage to escape the enemy and pick up the heart in time, you get that life back. Don't ask me why, but this can work to your advantage. Somehow, after being attacked incessantly by the bull on level two, I ended up with ten lives!

The levels are designed well, with a good mix of obstacles to make your way past. These involve passing enemies, jumping, climbing, and a very long free fall down a cliff that seemed impossible. Some of the levels are very difficult but, overall, they are challenging and well thought out.

At the end of each level there is a final "boss" level, where Daffy has to face Bugs Bunny and a variety of different obstacles to get the level's treasure chest. Once he has made it to the treasure, Daffy can tackle the next level. These boss levels are quite short, but you can lose a lot of lives here as Bugs and the obstacles make quite a formidable team.

Overall, this is a great game. The graphics are great, with detail being put into the background as well as the main characters. I have no real complaints about it other than it can get a little too difficult at times. But if you want a good platform game, then Daffy could be the duck for you.