Hi there!

Aside the Last Ninja series did System 3 try a variant of their hit formula with:

Tusker (1989):

Programming: Duncan Meech

Graphics: Hugh Riley, Matt, Rich Hare, Gary Carr, Duncan Meech, Tony Hager, Paul Docherty

Musician: Matt Gray

Ratings:

Zzap! Rating: 90%

Lemon64 Rating: 7.9

Overview:

Well, I bet it takes nothing more but a quick glance at the "Tusker" logo to get an idea of what this game is all about. I didn't read the story, but it's quite obvious that you're playing a Tomb Raiding Indiana Jones in this one. You start the game in a desert, then making it through a jungle into a village, then to the temple.

What I find rather odd about Tusker, is this: See that it credits 7 artists? Well, all artwork in Last Ninja was done by Hugh Riley alone, yet Tuskers graphics are just on par with Last Ninjas.

Considering Last Ninja, of course System 3 tried to do something like it again. What I don't get though is, that with more than twice the man power, they only managed to produce half the game.

Really. You only get 3 levels instead of 6. They roughly have the same number of screens than a Last Ninja level, but instead of full isometric 3D, they're only 2D. (Giving it some pseudo depth by letting you walk up and down on the screen). The game only got 4 different compositions from Matt Gray - excellent of course, but that's only a third of the Last Ninja score. "Indy" also only has a fraction of the movement repertoire of the Ninja, as he can't jump or climb. While that makes it a bit easier to learn, it also allows for less variety in the game design.

The item/weapon system is nearly identical to Last Ninja. The red and blue flasks you see on the screenshot represent "Life" and "Water" (=> Timer!).

Summary:

Well, this is gaming on the highest level, only too short an experience. It seems System 3 set the bar too high before, even to reach for themselves. The game has brilliant graphics and music, a good storylike flow, some easy battles and a standard dose of "Bring item A to B to execute C" riddles. Nice in itself, but no more than an appetizer for a rainy afternoon, along the road to Last Ninja 3

Closing here, as this game deserves only half a review

You'll find a complete longplay video here at the usual address:

http://www.c64-longplays.de.vu/

It's well worth watching. Start to finish takes less than 10 minutes!

Greetings,

Manuel