Lucky Luke and Spirou are two relatively obscure 2D side-scrolling platformers designed by Infogrames based on popular Belgian comics. Lucky Luke is a Western cowboy, while Spirou is a bumbling bellboy who looks like he could be Tintin's younger brother. In Spirou, you task is to rescue the world-famous scientist Count Champaignac from the clutches of an evil organization intent on using his latest invention to take over the world, while in Lucky Luke your job as the good sheriff is to restore order to town. Both games sport colorful cartoony graphics, fluid animations, and funny antics that fans of both comics will recognize. If you enjoy the likes of Pitfall, Jungle Book, or Infogrames' other licensed cartoon platformers (most notably the Tintin series), you will probably also like these two less known games. They offer solid plots, crisp graphics and sound effects, as well as a challenging but fun gameplay. I prefer Spirou of the two: it has more "interactive" backgrounds, interesting levels, and more surprises than Lucky Luke. Too bad the variety of gameplay is not as good as Tintin games. Recommended, although not quite Top Dog materials. If you like these games and own the PlayStation or GameBoy consoles, check out more recent releases from Infogrames based on the same licenses. Reviewed by: Underdogs |