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Cave Jumper

Score: 90%
ESRB: Everyone 10+
Publisher: Addictive 247
Developer: Addictive 247
Media: Download/0
Players: 1
Genre: Platformer (2D)/ Arcade

Graphics & Sound:

I started playing video games back on an Atari console and later the Apple 2e and way back then, the graphics were blocky, the sound was electronic beeps and whistles and not much else. But at that time, I had so much fun playing the games!! Cave Jumper by Addictive 247 takes you back in time to those first games and gives you a taste of what us older gamers started with.

I guess you would call Cave Jumper very retro, but to do that would be unfair to the game. The retro 2D styling is almost hiding some higher quality aspects to the graphics. Yes, your cave jumper is made out of blocks and so is his pick-axe, but when you use that axe to kill the spider, he oozes very bright blood. When your cave jumper’s helmet batteries run low, the light will start to darken and I don’t ever remember Pitfall doing that.

The soundtrack comes straight from the 80’s video games back when your machine could only reproduce sounds from the computer internal speaker and didn't require stereo cubes and a subwoofer. This is not a complaint, as it really adds to the feel of the game so Addictive 247 really delivers a blast from the past!


Gameplay:

Put on your hard hat and lets go find some treasure! Cave Jumper is designed like games on the old platforms from years gone by. Your goal is to collect as much treasure from the mine, find all the hidden passageways, and whatever you do, avoid being eaten by the spiders or bears!! There are some other nasty creatures that you have to look out for, but I will let you find that out on your own.

What makes Cave Jumper so enjoyable is that after you have completed a level, if you go back and replay it, you might have a slightly different experience, depending if you find more of the hidden treasure or axe upgrades. One time while playing Level three, I found a flaming axe. I have tried many times since to find that axe but can’t do it. Keep an eye out for your battery recharges and health boxes to keep you going when you fight the nastier opponents. I really enjoyed the fact that there seems to be so many different things you can do, like climb existing ropes, place your own ropes to climb, set dynamite to clear a path, elevators to find the hidden switches for, it goes on and on. I am really looking forward to continuing to play so I don’t miss a thing!

After you complete one of over 100 levels, that level is unlocked so you can go back and master it, or find a specific hidden upgrade. Now if you happen to die and start over with a new game, you can go ahead to the last level you were on, but you won’t have any of the upgrades. You might want to go back to some specific points to get those upgrades, because you will need those upgrades on later levels. I won’t mention on how long it took me to get through level six!


Difficulty:

The difficulty of Cave Jumper is really determined by your blood-thirsty opponents. The first creatures you encounter are the spiders. They usually just walk around until you step on them, so it’s a good idea to get on a ledge or higher level and throw your axe down to kill the spider and it will usually take about three hits. The other creatures, including bears and bats, are a lot harder to hit and they don’t wait for you to come to them -- they will come for you. The farther into the game that you go, the harder it is to kill the opponents so make sure and find as many of the hidden goodies as you can. The machine gun axe is very handy.

Gathering treasure is the easiest thing you do in the game and you just walk by the diamonds or gold coins to claim them. Did I forget to mention that when you kill various creatures in the game, they not only ooze blood, but you do get some bonus treasure.

The game does give you a helping hand along the way with various signs that you have to figure out how to read, because you just can't look at them, you have to do something to read the sign. Nope, not gonna tell ya!!


Game Mechanics:

Most of the games I have played lately have been point and click games, so it was refreshing to get an old style keyboard game where you have to learn certain combinations of keystrokes to be able to survive. For example, it took a few tries to get the speed and keystroke combination right to drop some dynamite. A helpful hint, after you do drop the dynamite, it is a good idea to run somewhere else. Most of the keys that you use are at the bottom of your keyboard, concentrating on the arrow keys and the control and shift key. Now, you also use the space bar, but don’t hold the space bar down until you are ready to quit the game.

I was all in all very impressed with Cave Jumper. I really enjoyed it’s retro style, and the homage it pays to a bygone era in game-play. I have played many games that were more up to date that I haven’t enjoyed playing nearly as much. Bravo to Addictive 247!!


-Wickserv, GameVortex Communications
AKA Eric Wickwire

Minimum System Requirements:



Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT, ME, 2000 or XP, Pentium 400mhz or higher
 

Test System:



Windows XP, 3.00 GHz Pentium 4 Processor, Integrated 5.1 channel audio 1 GHz of RAM, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 9002

Macintosh Tribal Trouble Windows Balloon Express

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated