Duck Dodgers Starring Daffy Duck

Unless you've been living in a hole for the past two decades then you'll know that Duck Dodgers is the space hero alter-ego of wise-cracking Warner Brothers cartoon character Daffy Duck. It's actually a little longer than two decades since Daffy first donned his space helmet because the Duck Dodgers character was created by cartoonist Chuck Jones in 1953. For those who don't know him, Jones is a cartoon God, who brought to life Daffy, Willie E Coyote and Bugs Bunny to name a few. A few years on and the clumsiest duck in the world is heading full speed towards the N64!

In Duck Dodgers Starring Daffy Duck you play the feathered superhero whose job it is to save the world from his arch-nemesis Marvin Martian. The pesky little alien with the ridiculous voice has created a huge cannon with which to destroy Earth and all he needs now is the energy to fuel it. As Duck Dodgers you must get to all of the energy atoms first and stop Marvin from laying waste to the planet Earth, once and for all. What this means for you is an epic platform game filled with all the fun you'd expect from a cartoon universe.

Split into five planets of more than thirty levels the idea in Duck Dodgers is to collect as many of the green glowing atoms as you possibly can. The more atoms you collect, the more levels of the game are opened up for you to access. The age-emphasis of this game is definitely on the younger audience but there's plenty of challenge for the older gamers too. Especially if you're intent on collecting every single one of the energy atoms. The majority of the gameplay involves platform negotiation but the odd puzzle and a mini-game or two have also been thrown in to keep you on your toes.

If you make a mistake in this game it won't be because of the controls, as they have been designed with the younger games player in mind. Moves are restricted to jump, kick, tail slam, double-jump and tiptoe. This might sound limiting but they're all you really need. There are no multi-button-spin-the-stick-whilst-holding-the-pad-backwards-and-standing-on-your-head moves in this game! You also have the options of firing weapons or using objects when you get them but even this is kept fairly basic to ensure maximum fun. If there's one thing this game guarantees it's bringing a smile to your face!

Putting cartoon characters into any game is always a good recipe for a few laughs but Duck Dodgers makes up a hearty four-course meal of chuckles. The cut-scenes in particular are hilarious – it's just like having a series of mini Daffy cartoons on your N64! To top it all off you even get speech from the in-game characters. Duck Dodger's lips on their own lend an element of humour to the cut-scenes that no boring subtitle ever could. This isn't only the case with our feathered hero either as other game characters including Marvin Martian orky Pig and Yosemite Sam all have their own speech. Loads of phrases have also been specially recorded to complement the in-game action – Duck Dodgers gets quite upset when he's the victim of one of the game's many hazards!

Something else which helps give the game a cartoon quality is the range of character animations. The movements and mannerisms from Daffy as he makes his way around the levels are superb. There are silly additions like Daffy's flurry of feathers and some lovely facial expressions which all add to the feel of the game. In fact, it's quite surprising just how many facial expressions a duck can have! With the impressive animations and in-game speech it's almost as if you're controlling your very own cartoon adventure! The finishing touch which gives the game that true cartoon quality is the splendour of the spectacular 3-D worlds. Each of the five themed planets could easily have come out of a Warner Brothers cartoon. All five are littered with ACME gadgets and precariously balanced rocks just waiting for someone to topple them! With fog and pop-up free levels the graphics are actually very impressive too. From the top of a Roadrunner-style cliff on the first level you get a gorgeous panoramic view of the canyon and waterfall below. Other nice touches include an overly reflective floor in the Sultan's palace on one of the later levels.

This game's not all in full 3-D, as some of the levels switch to a fixed top-down or a side-on viewpoint at times. One stage for example requires you to find your way through a maze and the camera switches to overhead to give you a helping hand. With this and the mini-games scattered throughout there is always enough variety to hold any gamer's interest. Throughout the course of the game you have to guide Duck Dodgers down a water slide, through a rat run, take part in a boxing match, play Pong and shoot a few basketball hoops!

Infogrames is about to take you into a new mil-Looney-um with a wealth of Looney Tunes games. Duck Dodgers stars that web-footed wonder, Daffy, as a space case attempting to foil Marvin the Martian's plans. Daffy's sidekick, Porky the Pig, comes along for the journey as they try to find Marvin's PU-36 space modulator ("I'm going to blow up the Earth!") on seven planets. Nostalgic for some cartoon fun? Bet on the Dodger this winter.