Elroy Goes Bugzerk

Games

Elroy, Headbone Interactive’s hyper-active character from Elroy Goes Bugzerk, returns in Elroy Hits The Pavement (ages 8 & up). His mission: find his dog Blue and thwart a mob-connected ring of pet thieves, all before his homework assignment is due. Fans of Bugzerk will be happy to see that the jagged style of animation and wise-cracking sense of humor have made the transition to this sophomore installment in the series. The disc kicks off with a long animated movie, in which Elroy and friend receive a homework assignment (create a machine that can modify animal behavior), and then promptly misplace Elroy’s dog Blue just as they prepare to test the device. Blue, a veteran of the FBI, has gotten himself up to his collar in hot water – he’s investigating the aforementioned crime ring – so Elroy, hot on his heels, is bound to run into some trouble himself. We would like to give this disc a rave review, because the writing and the animation are so witty and refreshing, but we’re afraid we need to temper our praise with some reservations. The fact is, the game is not really all that much fun. You get to choose Elroy’s path, but your choices come between lengthy cartoon clips that take the weight of play-action off the player; you might as well be watching a good animated episode on TV. You also get the feeling that your choices don’t count for much – the story will plow ahead regardless of which path you take. That said, Elroy Hits The Pavement certainly has a lot to recommend it, including a lengthy plot, a razor-sharp sense of humor, pleasant visuals, and a veteran crime dog who makes McGruff look like a pansy.

– July 1996

Previous | Games Index | Next

.