I don’t know why, but I could never play Jungle Hunt in the arcades. There was just something about watching a guy in a leopard skin swing on vines that just made me laugh. In fact so much so, that I wasted quarter after quarter launching him away from vines and to his death. For some sadistic reason, it was just funny and I’d be on the arcade floor laughing my butt off until I couldn’t breathe.
When I finally decided to actually play the game and control my giggles, I kept sending my guy into alligators during the next stage. Then getting crushed by boulders, and jumping right into the boiling vat of hot water in the last stage. I never finished the game, ever. It was too funny sending the guy to his death.
Well, the ColecoVision we just bought off of Ebay, included a copy of Jungle Hunt. This game is almost exactly like the Apple IIc versions in terms of graphics, with just a little more detail. Compared to the arcade version, sounds and graphics are just slightly lost. Some character designs are different and more simple, but gameplay is totally retained. loads more fun because I’m not feeding quarter after quarter into it.
The idea here is simple. You must traverse through jungle (swinging vines, river swarming with alligators, rolling rocks, and finally the restless natives) to rescue your sweetheart from becoming jungle soup.
Simple really. Each stage had it’s own unique style of play. Swinging vines was all about timing, like a jungle trapeze artist. Swimming, is all about knifing your way through the gators and coming up for air once in a while. Jumping over boulders is about timing your jumps and ducking when the big ones come. And the last stage is about jumping over the natives and not getting a pike through your butt. Timing, jumping, moving, all the mechanics of a solid game.
Fun? Yes. Did I get through it? No. Old habits, it seems die hard and I couldn’t help sending Jungle Jim to
abc
