Para Academy

Copyright : Zeppelin Games | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

Earn your stripes in the Para Academy by trying to earn enough points over a series of six events. Succeed and you get promoted, fail and its game over.

Graphics

Despite your lead character (and his trainer!) looking like a crash test dummy in an army uniform, the graphics arenâ??t too bad although they arenâ??t as polished as some of the earlier event style games. Plenty of colours that make sense, Para Academy certainly looks serviceable.

Thereâ??s a nice variety in backdrops that change dependent on what event you are in â?? a stadium, a swimming pool, a gym and a target range. One slightly worrying aspect though is the way that your character disappears during the swimming eventâ?¦

The loading screen is worthy of note too. A nice monochrome picture of a marine in full battle gear (quite what this has to do with a training academy is never made abundantly clear, however)

Sound

Limited to the sound of footsteps and the odd beep to indicate the end of a round

Gameplay

If you havenâ??t already guessed by now, Para Academy is a joystick waggler in the same style as Daley Thompsonâ??s Decathlon. The game is initially fairly simple and you should have no problems in being promoted the first time around. The problems set in when the target times are cut in half for the second promotion and you find yourself faced with some really strict limits.

The inclusion of an event which does not involve waggling (the target shoot) is a welcome addition, however, it could have been placed better to help the player regain stamina.

Some of the events are harder than others â?? the 100m sprint and 100m freestyle are easy enough but the Tug of War, Rope Climbing and in particular Weight Lifting can prove problematic.

If you like joystick wagglers then Para Academy can certainly provide a challenge as the difficulty quickly increases.