Genesis ~ Chuck Rock 2 Review

Overview

Chuck Rock 2: Son of Chuck is the sequel to Chuck Rock. In the original Chuck Rock, Chuck's wife Ophelia was captured by the evil Gary Gritter. Chuck embarked on a wonderful yet dangerous journey to save Ophelia. He rightly got the job done, and came home for some much deserved beers. However, it isn't over yet… Chuck himself is captured by the Gary Gritter and now it's time for Chuck Junior to step up to the plate and save his daddy!

Gameplay

Chuck Rock 2 is quite similar to the first Chuck Rock. Every part of this game matches up with the original and better in some places. The objective of the game is to try and get Chuck Jnr onto the other side of the level without losing all of your energy. Chuck Junior is quite different to his dirty old daddy. Chuck Jnr is a cave-baby with a very large forehead. Unlike Chuck Snr's trademark belly attack manoeuvre, Chuck Jnr is armed with a very big wooden club that he uses to swing at his foe. Not only that, Chuck Jnr can also stand his club up on the ground and tippy toe on it to avoid dangerous oncoming objects like rolling boulders. His energy meter is represented by a milk bottle. If Chuck Jnr's milk bottle is all out, he will cry, go on a tantrum, then go to sleep until you push a button for him to get his baby bottom up off the ground to continue.

Every now and then, you will be faced with a big boss, each requiring a different way to smash up and defeat. One complaint I do have is how Chuck Jnr can be a bit sluggish to move around. Then again he's only a baby, lets forgive him!

8 out of 10

Graphics

Like the first Chuck Rock, the best part of Chuck Rock 2 are the graphics and the animations.

They are excellen-taay, with a stylised cartoonish nature that delivers substance and presence. Everything stands out with bright, bold and beautiful colours, effectively bringing the prehistoric atmosphere to life. Brilliant!

5 out of 5

Sound and Music

Both the sound and music are excellent complements to the graphics. The music does a great job of putting you in an excited, happy mood. What's noticeable is how the music has a toddler feel to it, but without sounding too childish. Sound effects aren't perfect however, mainly due to the lack of proper monster sounds.

4 out of 5

Game Design

The design of the levels are awesome! What makes the game really fun are the involvement of prehistoric animals, especially the dinosaurs. Sometimes when you want to get to the other side of a platform, you hit this dinosaur so it can extend it's neck out creating a bridge. And even cooler, one of the levels is on this dinosaur's back that sways up and down in the water.

What I found most interesting are how modern day elements are incorporated into the prehistoric environments, like power-lines that you can walk on and fire hose outlets that automatically spray away incoming enemies.

Although the levels are indeed very fun to play on, they do start to get pretty challenging after about 10 levels, so you better start looking after Chuck Jnr then, making sure he doesn't lose his diapers.

4 out of 5

Longevity

Unlike the first Chuck Rock where you start the level again after losing all of Chuck's energy, Chuck Jnr will remain lying on the ground until you tap a button to continue. Also after you've lost all your lives, you can continue with the game by using your available credits. This certainly increases the replayability of the game. Still, I can't help but wish for at least a password save option making it easier to complete the game.

3.75 out of 5

For: Chuck Junior with his large forehead and massive club, big colourful graphics and animations, happy music, interesting levels.

Against: Very difficult to complete without any save option, sound effects aren't so convincing.

Chuck Rock 2 is a cutely packaged game that's oozes with charisma making it fun for every to play. This game is worth giving a go just to see the awesome graphics. If you decide to play Chuck Rock 2, then good luck to yah. May the cave-baby become the hero of the day!