Spannerman

Copyright : Amsoft | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

You and your trusty spanner are all that stand in the way of nuclear disaster!! The reactor coolant pipes at your local nuclear power station are leaking. Can you evade the anti-matter rats and the falling debris to cure the leaks, or will you and the reactor go up in a blaze of glory.

Graphics

Simplistic mode 1 graphics are the order of the day here with a fairly inexplicable colour scheme of green, orange and blue.

As you?d expect, the graphics are detailed enough to be clear but are still somewhat lacking in inspiration.

The fact that all of the ?action? takes place on one screen doesn?t help and that screen is designed to look like a poor man?s Donkey Kong.

There?s little else that can be said really, the stuff that HAS been done is effective enough if a little under whelming.

Sound

A ghastly tune plays upon loading and immediately after a game ending. It is the true dictionary definition of awful. I?ve checked. I know it used to be ?Pass the Douche? by Musical Youth but it?s been changed.

There are some sound effects - they?re not very good. Truth be told I turned the sound down pretty soon after the ?Spannerman? theme kicked in, in a vain attempt to save my sanity.

Gameplay

Still, it doesn?t matter what a game looks or sounds like as long as it plays well (how many times have I found myself saying that?) Spannerman though fails miserably on this last count too.

Firstly, it?s impossible to actually win. You just keep going and going until you lose all you lives or will to live whatever comes first. The fact that all you are doing is one simplistic task over and over again doesn?t help.

To be blunt Spannerman is just no fun. Charging around a single screen trying to repair leaks and kick rats with your slow to respond plumber is as frustrating as it is dull.

There are five difficulty levels but I can only assume the highest one is a joke as it is impossible to do anything except run up and down avoiding the constant barrage of rocks. Part of me hopes that the programmers of this have had a similar experience of running down the high street with stones being chucked at them?