Punky & Joe 2: The Caverns of Darkness
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Last modified 2012-02-02 14:46:19
"Uh, oh..."
First off, Punky and Joe 2 claims that it's the sequel to the first full 2-play co-op game. This isn't true; apparently, Eddy O'Malley never played Bomb Brothers. That aside, Punky and Joe 2 shows a lot of ambition - two players, four large levels, multiple weapons, bosses, and cutscenes. Unfortunately, an awkward control scheme (no better in two player mode), poor level design, and some laughably hard bosses drag this down.
The enemies in all four levels are generated by spheres, which makes the game sort of like Gauntlet. Before you know it, though, the level becomes swarmed with enemies, and it takes forever to bust your way through (though it is quicker if you have a weapon upgrade). Level 4, the factory, is made even more annoying with the addition of explosions being thrown all over the place. When combined with the swarms of enemies, you're going to need some godlike timing to survive that level. Also, the Controls section of the game's Help files doesn't tell you that Punky can lay bombs (press 3), and Joe can run in a straight line throwing bullets everywhere (press U). It's not like these make the game much easier, but he still should have made mention of that. Speaking of which, I find it hilarious that Punky has to pause for a second and crack a smile before laying a bomb. "ahh that feels so much better :DDD"
On to the bosses; I'll only mention the ones that I had great difficulty fighting. In level 2, you have to fight these two lightbulb shaped UFOs that randomly teleport around in bursts of flames and shoot exploding fireballs at you. The only way to hurt them is with a direct hit from your laser or a bullet, since they're invulnerable to explosions for obvious reasons. As we all know, lasers and bullets can't go through explosions, making the fight longer and more difficult than it should have been. You'll be extremely lucky if you get through without using at least one credit. If you manage to make it through level 4, the final boss uses this exploding teleportation as his PRIMARY attack, repeatedly, and with gradually larger explosions as you deal more damage to him, which will really devastate you. Unless you're really lucky, or resort to cheating, there's no way you will make it through this fight. Demon Earth is a difficult game, too, but at least it's fair and balanced.
You also have the option of fighting against each other in versus mode. This is the only place where the game tells you about the aforementioned abilities. Eddy must have been in a rush to get this out, because this menu looks absolutely awful. Four of the five arenas you can choose are based on the levels you play in single/co-op mode (and yes, level 4 still has explosions everywhere). Though I've never actually played with or against a second player, I'd suspect it would be a nightmare, because the control scheme is simply awful. If Eddy had found a better place to assign the fire and bomb keys for Punky, it would have been a drastic improvement, but as it is, you'd have to crush the other player's hand if you wanted to attack at all. I wouldn't recommend it.
The graphics? The cutscene graphics are, quite simply, pretty bad (with the exception of the Sol logo, which fits more under mediocre). The level graphics are vaguely reminiscent of Catacombs Of Zeux with their 3D appearance, but don't look nearly as good. And what's up with that overlay that keeps passing you by in level 2 and impeding your vision? I know Eddy is trying to emphasize the fact that it's underwater, but come on, he could have done it better than that.
The music is all ripped, about 1/2 of it being rearrangements of Squaresoft and Megaman games. There are two original songs, but they were first used in Eddy's previous game, Traumatic Tails, so they don't really count. There isn't much sound - the finger sound on the menu is fine, but the FF5/6 battle sound seems a bit awkward being used before each boss. CLINK.SAM is used to tell you that the bosses have been hit. I think more sounds (such as your player being hurt) could have gone a long way.
Like most mediocre games, P&J2 is worth your time if you're bored (at least in single player mode), and it's an improvement over the first installment. If you're looking for a better two-player experience, though, I'd recommend Bomb Brothers instead of tackling with this game's miserable control scheme.
First off, Punky and Joe 2 claims that it's the sequel to the first full 2-play co-op game. This isn't true; apparently, Eddy O'Malley never played Bomb Brothers. That aside, Punky and Joe 2 shows a lot of ambition - two players, four large levels, multiple weapons, bosses, and cutscenes. Unfortunately, an awkward control scheme (no better in two player mode), poor level design, and some laughably hard bosses drag this down.
The enemies in all four levels are generated by spheres, which makes the game sort of like Gauntlet. Before you know it, though, the level becomes swarmed with enemies, and it takes forever to bust your way through (though it is quicker if you have a weapon upgrade). Level 4, the factory, is made even more annoying with the addition of explosions being thrown all over the place. When combined with the swarms of enemies, you're going to need some godlike timing to survive that level. Also, the Controls section of the game's Help files doesn't tell you that Punky can lay bombs (press 3), and Joe can run in a straight line throwing bullets everywhere (press U). It's not like these make the game much easier, but he still should have made mention of that. Speaking of which, I find it hilarious that Punky has to pause for a second and crack a smile before laying a bomb. "ahh that feels so much better :DDD"
On to the bosses; I'll only mention the ones that I had great difficulty fighting. In level 2, you have to fight these two lightbulb shaped UFOs that randomly teleport around in bursts of flames and shoot exploding fireballs at you. The only way to hurt them is with a direct hit from your laser or a bullet, since they're invulnerable to explosions for obvious reasons. As we all know, lasers and bullets can't go through explosions, making the fight longer and more difficult than it should have been. You'll be extremely lucky if you get through without using at least one credit. If you manage to make it through level 4, the final boss uses this exploding teleportation as his PRIMARY attack, repeatedly, and with gradually larger explosions as you deal more damage to him, which will really devastate you. Unless you're really lucky, or resort to cheating, there's no way you will make it through this fight. Demon Earth is a difficult game, too, but at least it's fair and balanced.
You also have the option of fighting against each other in versus mode. This is the only place where the game tells you about the aforementioned abilities. Eddy must have been in a rush to get this out, because this menu looks absolutely awful. Four of the five arenas you can choose are based on the levels you play in single/co-op mode (and yes, level 4 still has explosions everywhere). Though I've never actually played with or against a second player, I'd suspect it would be a nightmare, because the control scheme is simply awful. If Eddy had found a better place to assign the fire and bomb keys for Punky, it would have been a drastic improvement, but as it is, you'd have to crush the other player's hand if you wanted to attack at all. I wouldn't recommend it.
The graphics? The cutscene graphics are, quite simply, pretty bad (with the exception of the Sol logo, which fits more under mediocre). The level graphics are vaguely reminiscent of Catacombs Of Zeux with their 3D appearance, but don't look nearly as good. And what's up with that overlay that keeps passing you by in level 2 and impeding your vision? I know Eddy is trying to emphasize the fact that it's underwater, but come on, he could have done it better than that.
The music is all ripped, about 1/2 of it being rearrangements of Squaresoft and Megaman games. There are two original songs, but they were first used in Eddy's previous game, Traumatic Tails, so they don't really count. There isn't much sound - the finger sound on the menu is fine, but the FF5/6 battle sound seems a bit awkward being used before each boss. CLINK.SAM is used to tell you that the bosses have been hit. I think more sounds (such as your player being hurt) could have gone a long way.
Like most mediocre games, P&J2 is worth your time if you're bored (at least in single player mode), and it's an improvement over the first installment. If you're looking for a better two-player experience, though, I'd recommend Bomb Brothers instead of tackling with this game's miserable control scheme.