Zapper

The main character of Zapper is a cricket who must rescue his brother, Zipper, from a pilfering magpie. With a storyline that doesn’t go much deeper than that, Zapper very quickly becomes about as exciting as watching real crickets. The goal of the game is to maneuver Zapper through a completely linear 3-D world filled with angry bumblebees, picketing beavers, giant snails, blade-swinging statues, cascading waterfalls, and various other exotic dangers that make you feel like you’re in a hybrid version of A Bug’s Life and Indiana Jones. There are six worlds and 20 levels to Zapper, and experienced gamers will have little difficulty moving through all of them quickly. Helping Zapper is his ability to zap lightninglike sparks out of his antennae, which causes some bugs to jump and some boxes to open. By freeing enough fireflies, Zapper gains super-zap abilities, which will eliminate certain dangers and open otherwise locked boxes.

Anyone who has played Frogger will immediately recognize the similarity of Zapper. Each level has a grid as its base, which itself is well integrated into the six unique worlds. Zapper jumps and zaps his way from square to square and is able to rotate in place--a very useful feature when trying to avoid a swinging blade to your left, a river to your right, and the void behind you. Early in the game these dangers are easily navigable, though even the most deft gamer will die often before figuring out exactly which obstacles can be traversed. Later in the game these dangers multiply to such an extent that getting past them requires more commitment than the game deserves. And because the game is not much fun, finishing it feels more dutiful than challenging. --Bill Hummel

Pros:

An unassuming and nonviolent game that might hold young gamers’ attention

Cons:

Superficial storyline
Repetitive gameplay
Not a lot of fun

(This review refers to the Xbox version of this game)

- Atari