Day 43 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: James Pond II Codename Robocod

Dr Maybe has kidnapped all of the penguins at the North Pole and taken over Santa's Workshop! Never fear, because James Pond is here and in this 2D platforming sequel he's got a brand new robot suit allowing him to walk on land and stretch to great heights. No more awkward, difficult to control swimming for Mr Pond.

The aim of the game is to rescue all of the penguins in each level and make your way to the exit. Robocod boasts a huge variety levels each with their own unique theme, some examples include toy boxes, bathrooms, musical notation, candy, factories, fun fairs, barns and even a world crafted entirely from Penguin Biscuits. Occasionally levels can be difficult to navigate as it wasn't always clear where you were meant to be meant to be going, but it was fun getting lost and discovering hidden exits to bonus levels.

James Pond 2 hosted a wide variety of enemies in all shapes and sizes, with huge intimidating bosses waiting for you every 3 levels or so. Luckily Robocod had a selection of power ups at his disposal, including invincibility and a strange toupee that allows him to fly. The best items however, are the three vehicles in the form of a car, plane and a flying bathtub (not sure why they bothered with the plane when you have the flying bathtub), these made levels easier to explore but strangely they didn't protect you from harm much.

The music was a strange mix of repeating melodies and Christmas carols. The constant ramble of slightly annoying tunes doesn't seem to affect the player, but those close by may be driven to insanity after an hour of so of Robocod's soundtrack.

All in all though, it's a classic platformer with some charming visuals and a great sense of humour. So suit up, hold on to your fins and prepare to pick up some Penguins. 

Top Ten Games I Still Have to Finish

There's a ton of games on my shelves that I haven't completed, but here's ten of them that top my 'to do' list and the reasons why. CAUTION: There may be spoilers ahead...

1. Cannon Fodder- I wrote about this in my last blog so here's the link if you missed it.

2. Pikmin 2- Captain Olimar returns to the Pikmin planet to gather treasure to save his company from going bankrupt. I was on my way to finishing this but then I bought my Wii U so it kind of got sidelined. I've only got one or two levels to go so I'm going to make sure to get it done before picking up Pikmin 3.

3. James Pond 3- Not many people know about the third instalment to the James Pond series but it was absolutely fantastic. The evil Dr Maybe has taken over the moon to control the galaxy's cheese supply, so James Pond has been called in to sort him out. The only problem is the game is massive with multiple exits in certain levels, meaning I was eventually left going around in circles.

4. Trolls- A brilliant platform game on the Amiga that sees you rescuing baby trolls in a wide variety of levels. Some brilliant animation and fantastic audio in this game, but it's so bloody difficult that after 20 years I still haven't managed to complete it.

5. Chrono Trigger- A journey through time to stop a huge disaster befalling a planet before it's too late. It's a brilliant RPG with characters designed by Dragonball artist Akira Toriyama, but I would get so far and then just drift in and out of playing it. I need to book a week off work and just sit down and play it.

6. Resident Evil: Code Veronica- Another fantastic entry to the Resident Evil series that follows Claire and Chris Redfield as they take on the evil Umbrella Corporation. I would get as far as the cargo catapult boss fight against the Tyrant but end up getting killed repeatedly. Kind of demotivating when I think about it.

7. Paper Mario- A wonderful RPG that finds Mario in a world made of paper, trying to rescue the Princess from the dreaded Bowser once again. I think I got up to a battle with a dragon but I hadn't levelled up enough so I didn't stand a chance. That dragon fried poor Mario till he was extra crispy.

8. Skies of Arcadia- I'm generally not a fan of RPG's, which may explain why there's so many I haven't finished, but Skies of Arcadia is such a brilliant game that everyone should play. Following the adventures of a group of air pirates that sail the skies in search of adventure, defying the odds as they try to stop an evil empire from taking over the world. I have actually finished the main story but I've always been meaning to back and complete it 100%, BUT THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO!!!

9. Super Mario Sunshine- Mario has been framed for vandalising a tropical resort, so he's got to clean up the mess and find out who really trashed the place. In my opinion this is the last great Mario game as it's extremely tough to beat and had huge levels to explore, unlike Mario Galaxy which is incredibly easy and I didn't like the levels broken into small chunks. I have finished the main story in Mario Sunshine but I didn't collect every Shine Sprite, and seeing as my memory card crashed and wiped my save file I won't be getting around to that anytime soon. (; _ ;)

10. Zombies Ate My Neighbours- A wonderful tribute to the horror movies of old where you play as two teenagers armed with water pistols, trying to save their neighbours from an army of terrible monsters. Don't expect the journey to be easy though, I must have played this over 100 times and thanks to zombies, werewolves, giant mutant babies and aliens; I still can't fight my way to the end.