Mr & Mrs Tarzan
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| Mr and Mrs Tarzan

Back in his heyday Tarzan was up to all sorts. Wrestling gorillas and rhinos and resisting the mind control of sorcerers – that sort of thing.

So it seems almost a shame that nowadays he's been reduced to swinging around the jungle using his numerous ape-learnt skills to essentially do Jane's shopping for her.

Still, at least it's pleasing he's embracing life as a new man and has ditched the chest-beating chauvinist routine. His dodgy 'natives' bashing of the past has also long been abandoned and now he just kills dangerous snakes and frogs that block his path. Not the platypus, though – because they're endangered. Times have definitely changed.

But some things remain familiar. Tarzan is still wearing that rather unfetching loin cloth, for instance, and he still likes nothing more than a spot of swinging on tree vines. It's just that nowadays he's using these skills to forage in the jungle for flowers to decorate the house and ingredients for Jane to bake a cake.

Mr & Mrs Tarzan begins with some levels designed to ease you into the role of man about jungle Tarzan. Which is just as well, because this game doesn't control exactly like other similar platform games.

The main difference is that Tarzan's feet never stop moving when he's on the ground. The game automatically moves your character onwards for you. If he hits a wall or other obstacle he simply turns and runs the other way.

However, there are lots of other commands you are responsible for. When near climbable surfaces, vines or low platforms you can jump to get Tarzan over or onto them. If an enemy is in the way, pressing '5' attacks it with his knife. And you can also change direction at any point, should you need to retrieve an item or avoid one spiky or deep water hazard or another.

This control system isn't bad at all. In fact, it's very good for the opening few levels. And Mr & Mrs Tarzan delivers good early first impressions too with its colourful and detailed levels and convincing animations.

However, when exploring and more complex leaping and balancing come into play, they do start to become frustrating. The problem is simply that Tarzan is a split second too slow to react to your instructions at times. He sometimes turns just that touch too late to avoid falling into some water, or you strike a bit too early at an enemy with your knife then have no chance of getting in another attack before Tarzan goes and auto runs straight into danger, losing you one of three precious lives.

It's these annoyances that are responsible for Mr & Mrs Tarzan being knocked down a point in its overall score.

There's plenty that's good about the game, and it's certainly among the better platform adventures you'll get on your mobile. Its levels contain plenty of variety – from fleeing to higher ground to avoid a flood to those aforementioned item gathering levels (these are repeated quite a bit). There are also bugs and hidden diamonds to collect on each level, which give incentive to replay levels.

Not that replayability is that important here anyway, since this game's a lengthy old trawl even without the secret stuff. With 20 levels, each containing a unique challenge, no one can accuse Mr & Mrs Tarzan of getting up to any monkey business when it comes to longevity.

If only the controls had been a touch more responsive, this would have been a considerably better game. As it is, it still comes recommended, as long as you're prepared to cope with the odd jaw-clenchingly frustrating moments.

Mr & Mrs Tarzan

A surprisingly solid and lengthy platform adventure which might look a bit like a kids' cartoon game, but which is actually fun for all bar a few control frustrations
Score
Kath Brice
Kath Brice
Kath gave up a job working with animals five years ago to join the world of video game journalism, which now sees her running our DS section. With so many male work colleagues, many have asked if she notices any difference.