4 in 1 Funpack Vol. II Game by Electronic Arts Reviewed by Superguy3000 superguy3000@juno.com Size: No idea. Save: Not needed. Released: 1993 Works with: All Game Boys. **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: Running out of really "classic" games to stick into a Game Boy game, Interplay gives us 4 in 1 Funpack Vol. II, bringing some strange-sounding games to Game Boy. Can Vol.II fill the satisfactorily large shoes worn by the first volume? Hopefully not, seeing as they probably became very sweaty and stench-causing! **************************************************************************** Gameplay Descripion: The first 4 in 1 Funpack gave us checkers, chess, backgammon, and reversi, games which we've all played before at one time or another. But have you honestly played cribbage? Or Yacht? Will these no-namer games be a waste of your money, someone else's silicon, and a bunch of review lines? Read the noteable gameplay notes so you can note what kind of notes this game is deserving of. Solitaire: Um, ouch! I bought this game in part to prove that the Game Boy can serve the main purpose of most desktop computers. I guess my Game Boy needs a mouse to make solitaire fun at all. Gameplay in solitaire is so hampered by the control system that it's just not fun to play. Surprisingly, solitaire offers a weird kind of multiplay option. Players take turns drawing cards from their decks. With those cards, they do something or other that looks only vaguely like Solitaire. Steer clear of this one and enjoy the other games. Yacht: Judging by the picture on the cartridge sticker, I thought this might be some rich people's betting game. I was wrong, it's Yahtzee! The subtlety of the name resemblance is just astounding (yacht, yahtzee)! Yahtzee is a timeless treasure to anyone who plays it, no doubt. Just hear what these satisfied gamers have to say: Billy Joe: I sold away ma house and the wife as well, just so ah culd keep on playin' that there dice game. It ruined mah life, what I had of it anyway. Uh, bad example. Anyway, Yahtzee cannot be called boring, because it's a lot like poker and you can pop in some betting to add a little flavor to the game! Dominoes: Well, it's not like the dominoes I used to play, but I think it's the real way to play. The "bones" in this version of dominoes go around in a pattern much like this: |------------------| |============| |------------------| The starting bone is the one in the middle left. Two rows of bones stem off that, curving around the edge of the screen and ending up at the left edge again. It's not what you remember, but it's suitably fun. I still don't understand the rules. I remember the instruction manual explaining everything, though. Cribbage: I had never played cribbage before I bought this game. In fact, before I wrote this review, I had never even played cribbage on my Game Boy. The only times I had seen people playing cribbage were when movies cut to scenes of people in nursing homes. Needless to say, I expected a very boring game. But that's not true. Cribbage is half card game, half leap frog. You get 6 cards, 2 of which go into the "crib," which, in turn, gives you bonuses at the end of the round. The two players then take turns putting down cards into a play pile, trying to form combinations much as one would in poker. Except now the combos are like "fifteen," "thirty-one," "his knobs," and "run." They seem to be made in medeival England or something like that. Don't over look cribbage, because if you do, you'll be missing out on a very unique game. Liked: Everything except Solitaire Hated: Solitaire is too hard to control! **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: There aren't as many graphics in Volume II as there were in the first volume. Everything that's here is good, though. You'll have no trouble trying to figure out what that card is, or which cribbage board is yours. You'll never have to strain your eyes to see the point options on Yacht or see how far along that one stack is in solitaire. Heck, you won't even be playing solitaire, so it won't matter! What's here is nice, but again, some smiley face cursors would have been nice:) Liked: Nice! Hated: We want smilies! **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: Once again, there are two theme songs. They are at best okay and at worst a little out of place. Following in the tradition set by the first Funpack, the SFX consist of basic beeps and bops. They do their job as well as anyone would have hoped, though. Pick up a card and you get a confirmationary beep. Roll the dice in Yacht and you hear a rattling noise. Pretty basic, but what else could it have been? Liked: Everything fulfills its respective job quite nicely. Hated: It's mediocre. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Most of the games have excellent control with the vital exception of solitaire. Solitaire, when you first play it, will make you want to cry--and cry you will, for it's impossible to get a good time with all that cursor position shifting! Read on: The Lowdown On Solitaire: It takes about five seconds to move a stack onto another stack. It takes about three seconds to get a card from the deck to wherever you want to put it. Clever double-click strategy allows you to get a card on top of an ace stack in a fraction of a second. If you really like solitaire, however, you might be marginally pleased. Yacht: I had a hard time figuring out whether a highlighted die was to be tossed or held. If you have the instruction manual, (I have it somewhere deep in the anals of my closet) you might not have any trouble. Picking the types of points that you get for different "hands" is a cinch. Just scroll down and press A. Dominoes: Since you only have two places per turn to put dominoes, not much can hamper the ease of play. Just call up the bone pile, press A on the bone you want, and scroll between the two bone positions. Then, to put the bone down, press A again. Cribbage: In Cribbage, you just click on the card you wish to play and the Game Boy does the rest. All in all, good control. Liked: Everything except Solitaire Hated: Solitaire **************************************************************************** Improve: Take out solitaire and put in a good card game like poker or Crazy Eights. That would be cool, Yahtzee, Dominoes, Cribbage, and Crazy Eights all in one cartridge! RIYL: The games included, 4 in 1 Funpack Vol. I **************************************************************************** Final Words: Believe it or not, I prefer this one over the first version. Most of the games, surprisingly, are not offbeat cheapo monkey games, they're very good and marketable games. Go buy them both at your local Funcoland! **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: **** (1 off for Solitaire) Graphics: ***** (no complaints except the smiley face thing) Sound/Music: *** (Dull!) Play Control/Game Design: ****1/2 (1/2 off for Solitaire) Personal Opinion: ***** Total: 21 1/2 Final Score: 86% **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: None known.