INTRODUCTION
Rasputin Software has got its head in the clouds quite literally! Well, at least its game has. Given the curious name Base Jumpers, it’s basically a sports game – but with a difference. In fact, it involves climbing to the top of a high building and then throwing yourself off the top. It’s not most people’s idea of ‘sport’, but to the East Beckinsdale Pigeon Fanciers Association this is their favourite hobby.
The game is divided into two main sections, a platformer where you have to get to the top of the building, and the jumping off part – you have to race your opponents to the ground, avoiding the various obstacles and deciding just when you should open your parachute.
SOUND
The intro tune that starts the game is typical lively game music and works well enough. Sound effects are good and are mainly there to create humour. For example there is the horrible squelch noise that occurs when your limbs fly off if you hit a drainpipe, or the good "Yeehar!" sound as all the jumpers throw themselves off the building. Other effects like springs, bombs and crashes add to the fun.
58%GRAPHICS
Base Jumpers doesn’t look the most wonderful of games. There are no 3D rendered graphics, no ray-traced effects, no futuristic backgrounds but hey, we’ve seen what happens to playability when you do have all these things (mentioning no games in particular!) So luckily, Rasputin has concentrated on things that really matter like gameplay.
The graphics aren’t bad, by any standards, They do their job well enough and the cartoon-style sprites are quite charming. The background for the platform section is designed around the puzzle elements like using stairs, springs and laser beams, rather than an intention to prettify the game. More functional than fancy.
50%OPINION70%
At first it’s easy to pass this game off without so much as a second glance. You may even scorn at its simplistic graphics, but play it and play it again with one, two or three friends and you’ll find it a really fun game.
Rasputin has done a fine job in mixing as many possible types of game into one. First you have the platform section where you’ll have to negotiate all the spikes, lasers and springs to get to the top of building, then billions of sub-games like beat-’em-ups and Portal Wombat, where you need to bash your opponent up a bit. And finally, the Base Jumping itself where you try and race your three opponents to the ground, opening your parachute at the last possible moment.
There are some classic comedy moments in this game, such as in Mortal Wombat where the death move is a falling sheep (you had to be there) or when you barge your opponent into a drainpipe, resulting in a rather gory squelch and their bloody limbs falling off! The cartoon speech bubbles are also a nice touch, like the odd "Oops" or "Yikes" as you head towards the ground too fast.
Base Jumpers is a great game. It’s original, which instantly earns it extra Brownie points, it’s fun and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I don’t know how long the game would last you but it really does come into its own when you have the multi-player option on, and for a competitive game with a bit of humour you can’t go far wrong!