Duckburg P.D. - Donald on Duty

Why is it that a police officer directing traffic is such a seemingly attractive role? Whether it's adverts for indigestion remedies, kiddy story books or mobile phone puzzle games, waving traffic through like a uniformed majorette is a seriously desirable job.

Maybe that uniform is the draw, or maybe there are too many of us with Napoleon complexes who harbour a desire to wield power over the masses. Either way, it makes for a pretty mean and frantic game in Duckburg P.D. - Donald on Duty.

You play as the eponymous duck who's taken the job as junior traffic officer in Duckburg in an effort to impress your girlfriend, Daisy Duck. The fact that your cousin, Gladstone, has joined the force and is attempting to woo her too adds impetus to your endeavours and it's not long before you and him are competing to be the best traffic officer in the county.

What follows is a madcap and maddening game that drops you in the traffic control centre where you switch traffic lights from red to green on junctions all across the city. While it's not as glamorous as directing aeroplanes, it's certainly a step up the ladder from waitressing in a café.

But still, it's not the most obvious plot device to build a puzzle game around. Nevertheless, Duckburg P.D. - Donald on Duty succeeds and offers up as intense a mix of formulated chaos and micro management as we've played since Air Traffic Controller.

You see, you need to keep the traffic moving smoothly through the individual junctions you're tasked with controlling, and that means operating anywhere from two to four sets of traffic lights. This is achieved by pressing '2', '4', '6' and '8' on your keypad to switch the northerly, easterly, southerly and westerly lights from red to green and back again, respectively.

The challenge lies in your self-imposed aim of keeping people waiting at the lights for as short a time as possible. The quicker cars get through, the happier the drivers and the more points you garner. Score enough, and promotion and the affection of one Ms. D. Duck await.

It sounds like a rather simple, straightforward proposition, but in practice that couldn't be further from the truth. As you work through the game's 15 levels the junctions get ever more complex with filter lanes, and the amount of traffic builds, too, leaving you with no time to really think, just react.

Mini-games pop-up every now and again, requiring you to clear snow from the wintery streets, photograph speeding motorists and even provide lost drivers with directions. Additionally, different types of traffic move at different speeds, adding another factor to the decision making process.

All of which leaves you with a game that'll test your focus like few others (the aforementioned Air Traffic Controller being one). Duckburg P.D. - Donald on Duty features no let-up in the action and you'll quickly be hooked by the deceptively simple concept.

The visuals and sound are exactly as you'd expect them to be in a Disney game – that's to say bright, detailed and polished – and the fluidity with which the traffic zips about on-screen serves to heighten the mania. The ability to adjust the speed of the game seems like a case of making life more difficult for you, but it's another way to increase the longevity of the game.

It's not as if the game's lacking on that front, mind you. While the 15 levels might be despatched within a few hours' play, the Survival mode provides a longer-term challenge and it's entertaining enough in its hectic energy that it'll draw you back time and again.

Maybe it's time we considered a career change.

Duckburg P.D. - Donald on Duty

Manic enough to make Donald's tantrums understandable, this is a fraught, frantic and fabulous puzzle game
Score