Game Reviews

Goatup 2

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iOS
| Goatup 2
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Goatup 2
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iOS
| Goatup 2

When you come to play a sequel, you usually have a reasonable idea of what to expect. However, in typical Jeff Minter fashion, Goatup 2 is something of a departure from its forerunner, which nestled itself neatly in the endless-jumper sub-genre.

Goatup 2 retains the hairy protagonist, but now you're expected to traverse platform-filled levels, collecting various items in order to unlock the exit.

Your four-legged avatar is capable of double-jumping to reach high locations - an act which has the fortunate side-effect of unleashing a shot of flatulence. Fortunate, because this noxious gas is fatal to foes.

Getting on your goat

Goatup 2 is constantly placing demands on your fingers and your brain. Levels need to be tackled in a certain fashion in order to collect all of the important items and open up the exit before your goat dies of starvation. Munching away at grass will restore vitality, but there's a finite amount on each stage so you need to plan your route around the various platforms carefully.

No Minter game would be complete without a healthy dose of insanity, and Goatup 2 is no exception. From sprites cheekily borrowed from titles like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong to sound effects just as gleefully stolen from other famous titles, Goatup 2 looks and sounds like a mash-up of every retro classic you've ever played.

There's also plenty of amusing text floating about the place, usually telling you that you've missed an object or warning you of an upcoming threat in the funniest way imaginable.

Gruff, not rough

Goatup 2 has some rough edges, though. The eclectic presentation can sometimes be more bewildering than bewitching, and the controls are occasionally a little awkward, with jumps sometimes not registering as precisely as you might like.

Neither issue is a game-breaker by any means, and Minter's legion of dedicated fans are likely to forgive them readily.

Like so much of Llamasoft's output, Goatup 2 manages to combine madcap comedy with a razor-sharp old skool gaming ethos.

The unhinged weirdness that typifies Jeff Minter's games is here in abundance, and could possibly intrude on your enjoyment if you like your platformers to conform to a system of logic, but the tight gameplay and engaging challenge will mean that fans of the genre - and of Minter's previous offerings - will lap it up.

Goatup 2

Don't be fooled by that '2' at the end of the title - Goatup 2 is a very different beast from its prequel, although its fusion of platforming action and gloriously bonkers retro-tinged presentation arguably makes for a more entertaining romp
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Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.