Sunday, February 23, 2014

News::Classic Review: Windjammers (Neo-Geo)






This review was first published in E10, July 1994.



Hold on a minute, this can’t be right. Windjammers is a non-violent Frisbee throwing game with cuddly dogs in it – this can’t possibly be for the Neo-Geo. Anyway the box claims this is a 74 meg game; Windjammers doesn’t look or sound like a 74 meg game, so it can’t be for the Neo-Geo, can it?


But wait, what’s this? There’s a price tag; ‘one hundred and seventy five pounds’ – oh dear, this is a Neo-Geo game alright. Here we go again with another of those ‘big memory, big money, big disapointment’ Neo-Geo reviews that seem to have graced the pages of our magazine in recent months.


As a concept, Windjammers isn’t too bad. The idea is to score more points than your opponent by throwing a Frisbee into their goal. Of course, things aren’t quite as easy as they sound. First, the Frisbee can be thrown at ludicrous speeds, can be bounced off the scenery to create angles, and even lobbed high into the air over your head.



Secondly, there are Super Throws. When your opponent lets loose with one of these curling, twisting super fast throws, there’s very little you can do to stop it reaching the goal. There are also two rather smart bonus rounds: one throw and catch game (complete with cuddly dogs) and a skittles game.


So, as a concept, Windjammers is fine. It’s playable, fun – especially against another human opponent – and action packed. But as an overall package, it’s let down by three major factors. Number one, it’s far too easy to complete in one player mode. Two, the rounds don’t last long enough. And number three, there’s nothing particularly outstanding about it; Windjammers could have done just as well on a SNES or Mega Drive – and at this price, you’d expect more than that…




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