Revenge of the 'Gator Game by HAL Laboratory Reviewed by Philip Wesley Released: 1990 Works with: All Game Boy units excluding Game Boy Micro ESRB Rated: NR Quick Opinion: Own. **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: There are a lot of pinball games on the hand held systems; so I will get the expected joke over with now. "Pinball Wizard" There you go, I got your obligatory The Who's reference out of the way as quickly as possible. Revenge of the Gator is a pinball game from Hal Laboratory, the makers of Kirby, and it features prominent alligators as its theme. An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae and they love themselves some pinball. Seriously, that is all they do all day. True story. When not playing pinball, the American Alligator is busy chomping down on Florida Panthers, birds, dogs, cats, and Miami-Dade County residents. Apparently, the residents of Broward County just are not as delcious? It may have to do with AIDs, but we can certainly not be sure. Many a Florida tourist from Canada has been spirited away by the amiable scamps known as 'Gators. Maybe they want to teach them their ways, their funny moonlight courting dances, or their hidden stashes of missing ballots. Or maybe they just want to eat them. So, Revenge of the 'Gator. It is a pinball game dedicated to a 'Gator motif and we do not mean McKlusky! **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: The main game is a basic four part pinball board with three bonus stages, a "one armed bandit" board, and the usual pinball trappings. You start by holding A or B to pull back the plunger and then releasing the button to launch the ball. You control the Left Flippers by pressing any direction on the D-Pad and you control the Right Flippers by pressing either the A or B buttons. Start pauses the game. Keep the ball in play by aiming at various targets to proceed further up the board. You start in the second board where you can open up side/drain stops and rack up your X multiplier. Advance by opening side doors or finding warps to the higher boards. There are no multi-ball scenarios, but there are kicks, holes, and ways to trap the ball. You can not tilt the machine or save your high scores. There are four modes of play: GATOR 1PLAYER GATOR 2PLAYERS MATCH PLAY A MATCH PLAY B The first option is a single player mode, the second is a "pass" mode where player two goes after player one loses a ball. The Match Play modes are a bit like air hockey, but with pinball flippers. The items that appear on the screen are slightly different in each mode; but the point remains the same in both modes. If you get the ball past your opponents flippers, you win points. Get to a set amount of points and you win. This requires the Game Link Cable and two copies of the game to play. Oh! I forgot to mention something! If you end up down the drain, your ball ends up getting eaten by an Alligator. Do not let the Alligator chomp your balls! Think of it like a reptilian version of Mr. T and you do not want Mr. T to ate your balls. Yes, it is 1997 all over again! This game is just a lot of good, clean pinball fun and I like it. Liked: It is simple, elegant pinball with no major problems. Hated: No multi-ball mode. Only one play field. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: The game looks adorable and great on any screen. Easy to see, easy to follow, and brimming with dancing alligators, fish, eggs, and character. The animations are adorable and the alligator motif works well for the game. Liked: The dancing gators on the title look like Kremlings from the Donkey Kong Country series of games. Of course, everything Rare makes is original and not in anyway a copy of anything ever. Easy to see and charming. Hated: Nothing at all actually. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: The music is an odd mix of New Orleans style simple pop: Bouncy, happy, and a bit irritating after about five minutes. The sound effects are all appropriate and match the actions on screen. The plunger sounds a little weird, but that is the only oddity in the sound. I wish that there was a way to turn off the music and just keep the sound effects. Liked: Appropriate sound effects and fun music. Hated: The music gets old really fast. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Sheer simplicity and decent gravity. Now, the ball does have a tendency to jitter when you try and trap the ball in a flipper for better aiming. This means that the ball has perpetual motion gravity and not actual gravity. This means that it occassionally does not conform to normal pinball physics. It is a bit of a blemish on an otherwise solid pinball experience. Most players will not notice this at all and just enjoy a quick game of pinball. This is the epitome of a quick play game and it is very fun. There is no way to tilt the board though and many players will miss that control option. There really should be more boards, but what is there is fun. The bonus rounds add nice variety and the way to get to them is hidden. So, it has some replay value, if only to get a high score. Liked: Simple, fun, and easy to control. Hated: No tilt. (Although tilt is "cheating" anyways. Do you really want ball lock?) **************************************************************************** Improve: I would add online leader boards, high score saves, and more reward animations. RIYL: Pinball, 'Gators, and eating those tasty, endangered Florida Panthers. **************************************************************************** Final Words: This is a fun title and worth owning for a cheap price! **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: **** Graphics: **** Sound/Music: ** Play Control/Game Design: *** Value: **** Star Total: 51 Personal Opinion Merit: 20 Final Score: 71% Letter Grade: B ****************************************************************************