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Foreword: The game allows you to play sound effects or music during the game and not both. I played through the game with effects on and then mixed the music in post-production (easy to do as there's only one music track). For today's video, I wanted to check out Chuck Rock, a platform game designed by Core Design and is a title that I expect a lot of Amiga owners will remember fondly. The game opens with a great little cut-scene where the dastardly Gary Gritter spies Chuck's wife pegging out the washing. Taking a shine to her, Gary wallops the unsuspecting Opheila over the head with his club and carries her back to his hideout. Determined to save his wife and teach Gritter a lesson, Chuck springs into action. Taking control of Chuck, the player must guide our knuckle-dragging, cro-magnon hero through multiple levels of platforming action, dealing with all manner of saurian foes and avoiding a multitude of traps and hazardous environments along the way. Chuck's beer gut comes in handy as he can use it to belly-bounce foes out of the way, as well as administer a pretty mean kick to the face whilst jumping. In addition to his natural combative talents, Chuck lives up to his name by being able to hoist rocks and boulders over his head and hurl them at enemies to dispose of them at range. In addition to their offensive capabilities, rocks can be used as platforms to reach otherwise inaccessible areas (usually hiding bonus items or extra health). Certain rocks can also be used as a shield to protect Chuck's head from from falling rocks and other debris. As with many other platform games, there are plenty of collectable items to be found within each of the game's levels, each of which increases Chuck's score. I did have to chuckle at the somewhat anachronistic inclusion of a giant bag of frozen peas during the ice levels - if Chuck Rock fails to make you smile then I think you need to check whether you actually have a pulse. The game boasts some impressively drawn and animated visuals, all featuring a great cartoon art style and ultra-smooth scrolling. Although the game was ported to other systems, this is still a game I consider first and foremost as an Amiga title and synonymous with the platform. As a well as impressive graphics, the game also features top-notch music and sound effects. The rock-inspired title and in-game tune is great and there are plenty of comedy effects and speech samples that make the game an audible treat. Sadly, the game does not allow simultaneous music and effects whilst playing and is a real shame (I mixed the music and effects together for the video so you get to hear both); I can only suppose that there was a memory or other technical limitation that prevented this, but it's still a shame considering it's so good. Despite being a generally impressive package, there are a few niggling issues. Chuck's attacks need to be timed correctly if they are to be effective, particularly the belly-bounce with it's short wind-up animation that lasts a couple of frames; Chuck remains vulnerable during this period and will still take damage if it. The other thing that I found somewhat annoying was the way smaller enemies are masked by foreground scenery, leaping out and striking you when you least expect it. This leads to a similar issue during underwater levels where a graphical dithering effect is used to give the impressing of being submerged in water, but has the side-effect of making enemies difficult to see. Fortunately, these issues aren't serious enough to detract from the fact that Chuck Rock is great little platformer. It might be on the short side, but there's just enough in the way of levels to have warranted the original release price of £24.99. So, what are you waiting for? Go grab your club and get those knuckles dragging - Opheila isn't going to rescue herself! #retrogaming
