Zapper: One Wicked Cricket! - GameCube

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Zapper: One Wicked Cricket! (GameCube)
Also for: PC, PS2, Xbox
Viewed: 3D Combination Genre:
Adventure
Platform
Arcade origin:No
Developer: Blitz Games Soft. Co.: Infogrames
Publishers: Infogrames (GB)
Released: 14 Mar 2003 (GB)
Ratings: 3+
Accessories: Memory Card

Summary

There's already a plethora of platform adventures available across virtually every platform in existence in video games, but it's obvious the games playing community loves them, and rightly so. Well, here's another from Infogrames. It's called Zapper: One Wicked Cricket and it's available on GameCube.

When his brother is kidnapped, protagonist and super-insect Zapper must save his next of kin and seek revenge on those who did the dirty deed. With the help of his electrically charged antennae, Zapper must progress through four bustling game worlds before confronting the evil villain face to face in a final showdown. It's a bug-eat-bug world out there...quite literally.

Some 18 levels stand between you and your brother, and while that seems like a relatively small number for a game of this type, each level is filled to the brim with tasking puzzles, requiring some nifty platforming skills to progress through. One of the most diverse games ever created from an artistic standpoint, players must pit their talents against snails atop a moving train and escape a brush with death in the jaws of a rather large insect-eater.

The birds-eye view scrolling environments are littered with formidable enemies on what is essentially a grid-based platformer. Move left, then up, then right, avoiding all manner of obstacles along the way - you get the idea. As an extra incentive, each of the levels feature hidden areas and there are bonus levels to be unlocked too, but you'll have to figure out that part yourself.

The gaming environmentslook lovely and the GameCube incarnation has no difficulty competing with the other versions available. Environments are colourful and detailed and there is no evidence of flaws or glitches. Cracking control method too, thanks to an uber-ergonomic controller.

So is Zapper one 3D adventure too many? Hardly.