BARGAIN BASEMENT
Chirpy, chirpy, cheap, cheap, chirpy, chirpy, cheap, cheap, chirpy, chirpy, cheap, cheap, BLAM! Nuff of that it's time for another trip to Cheapsville, with Marcus "mothballs-in-the-wallet" Berkmann!
Rack-It
£2.99
Reviewer: Marcus Berkmann
When you load this up, you realise with a certain element of shock how long it is since anyone released a platform game in the traditional Jet Set Willy mould. After all, shoot 'em ups haven't gone out of fashion, 3D isometrics are still with us, and there are still games coming out called Revenge Of The Ninja Aubergines, but nothing quite as platformy and pixel perfect as Technician Ted ever sees the light of day
It's very similar to Jet Set Willy, but far far slicker, with more to look at and more to do. Getting past each screen requires thought as well as arcade skill, and initially it's hard to get anywhere. For one thing, you soon learn not to jump down every hole you chance upon, and of course every femtosecond counts. I'd never recommend this to everyone - because, let's face it, lots of people detest this type of game with a vehemence bordering on violence - but if you caught onto JSW on its recent rerelease, then you'll lap this up too.
Roger: Well even Willy has had to leave the Jet Set, apparently, changing nomenclature and seeking humble employment, just like the rest of us.
The Job Centre has fixed him up with a technician's slot in this chip factory, but the broad and erratic selection of munchkin equipment doesn't give much of a clue about whether we're talking silicon or spuds - whichever it is we're still talking the same old game...
Being hamstrung with such a blatantly derivative and unoriginal nature isn't going to do a great deal for Technician Ted's popularity but, having said that, it is still a well-crafted slice of software.
The programmer's claims that: "graphics are ultra-smooth and collision detection is exact" are actually truer than the average sales blurb's pork pies and the result is an extremely difficult platform job that demands practice and concentration. It is, nevertheless, best described as a triumph of technique over new ideas. 3/5 HIT
Dave: Some day all games will have graphics that animate this smoothly. This makes it one of the best platform games I've ever seen. 4.5/5 HIT
Ross: Willy by any other name... yes, it's another Jet Set copy! I'd like to know who still buys them all. If it's you, then you could do worse than this. 3/5 HIT
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