This might be the shortest title - referring
to just the title, not the game itself - that
I�ve played since N+. Yet, it encompasses
the gist of what the game�s about: a bug.
Exclamation point. Granted, this bug just
happens to be special: He�s starring in
one of the first-ever 3D platformers, one
that hit the Saturn in the States well over
a year before Mario would take to the third
dimension. So what does he get for his pioneering?
HIS GIRLFRIEND STOLEN. Man. Bug can�t catch
a break. So begins his quest, to traverse
various constructions of platforms suspended,
apparently, in space, in an attempt to defeat
a boss and... then walk across the soundstage
to the next level. What is this, Dynamite
Headdy?
No, it is in fact, a fairly bug-standard platformer,
at least by today�s standards. But back
in �95, the prospect of moving into the
foreground and background of a stage - barring
Virtual Boy shenanigans - was pretty darn
impressive. And frankly, Bug exclamation point
has got some tricks up its sleeve that would
look right at home in today�s games - the
use of foreground objects to obfuscate a path,
enemies moving between planes to get a better
attack, a postmodern sense of self-aware artifice.
But mostly, it�s a green bug, jumping on
other insects, trying to get to a goal without
getting squished. And trust me, dude gets
squished, fried, drowned, squashed, and otherwise
annihilated pretty regularly. Fortunately,
strewn throughout each impressively-sized
level are one-ups, gems, and backup cans of
bug juice that... eew, bug juice... that can
keep Bug exclamation point going throughout
the battle ahead. While the controls in early
3D platformers were notoriously finicky, Bug
exclamation point manages to handle fairly
well, mostly by the unabashed use of very
narrow walkways. I mean REALLY narrow. One
bug exclamation point wide in most cases.
It certainly feels restricting, especially
when said walkway�s boundaries prevent Bug
exclamation point from making a jump that,
to all the world, he should be able to make.
That said, the upshot to such restriction
is that you�re rarely if ever going to get
screwed by misjudging the depth of a jump
- a right boon in a game where the camera
maintains one constant angle, just zooming
in or out as Bug exclamation point progresses.
And, in the great tradition of strange action
platformers since time immemorial, you�ve
got some downright strange boss battles. How
about badminton-ing fish back at a cthulhian
monstrosity, or catapulting boulders at a
weird spike-tongued... um... spikey-tongued-thing.
Frog, maybe? I dunno. They�re all nice little
mixups in a game that really explored new
space in gaming, coming up with some pretty
elegant little maneuvers and puzzles... that
look pretty dated by our standards, though
if you look hard enough you�ll certainly
see elements of your current favorites in
the choreography of floating platforms or
the timing of springboard jumps. In fact,
you�ll probably find Sonic in there somewhere,
nudge nudge. So scratch that nostalgic itch
and embrace that period in the industry when
innovation was paired with absurdly cocky
mascot characters, and give Bug exclamation
point a try. Special thanks to friend-of-the-show
Jeanie in PA for giving me something else
to do with my Saturn.
