Fatman logo

Before you start, there is nothing wrong with being fat, OK? All of us lug around a bit of excess cellulite somewhere, so what is the harm in taking two seats up on a bus or pretending to be nine months pregnant once in a while? After all, if it is good enough for Bernard Manning, it is good enough for you and me.

Roy Fat - Fatman's civilian alter ego - does not have a weight problem. In fact, he relishes his chubbiness, and so does his wife Blobetta. They run a restaurant called the Stomach Building Centre and fill their not inconsiderable bellies with its tasty fare every night.

Fatman is also a bit of a dab hand at inventing and, after he has polished off nine scrambled eggs for breakfast, he plays with his latest creation - the Food Inventing Processor.

Unfortunately, Fatman's obese jocularity is not shared by everyone and he has made an enemy out of Ted Thinsin, mad scientist, junk food manufacturer and all round miserable thin person who steals his fabulous food machine and kidnaps his cuddly wife to boot.

Cue a seven-world-platforming romp through the streets of cartoonland in search of collectables and grub-related bonuses which can help Fatman get his missus and his invention back. The Caped Consumer has a considerable array of weaponry at his disposal, including The Belch, where the victim is subjected to an earth-quaking burp, and The Belly Butt which bounces opponents into oblivion.

It is all extremely tasteless, of course, but you cannot help marvelling at the way Fatman waddles around the 13 levels, struggles to get up and down the stairs and pulls excruciating faces when he unleashes a burp at the baddies.

However, once you have got over your initial delight of his character, you soon realise how thin (arf, arf!) this game is. It is the kind of game you find hysterical when you are deliriously drunk at 3am, but which looks completely cack in the cold light of day.

To cap it all, Fatman has a problem leaping around levels - not just because he is chubby - and there are some glaring bugs which make it look shoddy. This would have been a great platformer, but it is ridiculously overpriced at £25.99.


Fatman logo

Der Held ist originell, keine Frage - kostümierte Konsumenten sieht man nicht alle Tage auf den Plattformen! Ob man dem Dickerchen bei Black Legend bzw. Kompart auch ein kalorienreiches Gameplay gegönnt hat?

Der ein hat es im Kopf, der andere in den Beinen - unser Kostümträger hat es im Bauch. Mit bürgerlichem Namen heißt er sinnigerweise Roy Fat, aber sobald er sich in sein kleidsames Cape zwängt, nennt man ihn Fatman, den Schrecken aller Schlankheitsfarmen.

Denn er ist Restaurantbesitzer und so ganz nebenbei noch der Erfinder eines Nahrungsmittelduplikators, der über die Reine Vermehrung hinaus sogar aus übelstem Junkfood noch leckere Gaumenkitzel machen kann. Das wiederum paßt dem spindeldürren Professor Thinsin und seinem kalorienbewußten Thindicate nun überhaupt nicht in den Diätplan, weshalb das magersüchtige Gesindel kurzerhand die Gattin unseres Schwergewichtigen Helden in eine Pizzafabrik entführt. Aber da haben die Brüder die Rechnung ohne den Wirt gemacht...

Lächerliche sieben Hüpf-Welten mit insgesamt 15 Levels können einen strammen Burschen wie Roy natürlich nicht lange von seiner Holden fernhalten: Behende schwingt sich Fatman über Plattformen, Dächer oder Säureseen und greift dabei nach allem eßbaren, weil ihm erst eine bestimmte Zahl von Hamburgern, Brathähnchen etc. den Zutritt in den nächsten Abschnitt ermöglicht.

Auf seine sechs kraftstrotzenden Bildschirmleben haben es unter anderem keulenschwingende Säuglinge, glibbereige Schleimtropfen und gefräßige Ratten abgesehen, gegen die er sich mit gekonnten Bauchstöben, herzhaften Rülpsern, Wurfkarotten und Explosivpilzen zur Wehr sezt. Außerdem versperren oftmals Türen oder Gitter den Rettungsweg, für die erst die passenden Schalter gefunden werden müssen.

Trotz des witzigen Plots wirkt das Game auf den ersten Blick eher altbacken, vor allem die bläßliche Grafik und das leicht ruckelnde Scrolling hinterlassen einen etwas unterernährten Eindruck. Doch der Appetit kommt hier beim Essen: Die witzigen Animationen sind für etliche Lacher gut, und der knackige Heavy-Sound läßt Erinnerungen an alte Extrabreit-Titel aufkommen.

Aber auch das Gameplay weiß durchaus mit Abwechslungsreichtum zu motivieren, so stößt man hier ständig auf Geheimräume, Levelabkürzungen und immer noch schrägere Gegner. Andererseits ist auch der Sättigungsgrad recht bald erreicht, denn den späteren Abschnitten mangelt es an frischen Ideen, außerdem frustrieren die (gottlob nicht allzu häufigen) unfairen Stellen, gerade weil auch die Steuerung ein wenig hakelig ausgefallen ist.

Insgesamt ist Fatman also eine etwas durchwachsene Angelegenheit, die besser zur Budger-Schiene von Kompart gepaßt hätte als auf den Vollpreis-Markt. Aber eine Chance bleibt den Jungs ja noch: Vielleicht würzt man die angekündigte A1200 Version deftig nach und serviert dann zumindest den Neu-Amiganern rundum schmackhafte Plattformkost? (mic)


Fatman logo

Is one page big enough to hold Fatman?

Douglas the Dog sat in the armchair, listening to the clock ticking. It was not a particularly nice clock. And, now he thought about it, its tick was rather irritating. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Douglas ignored it for a few moments, and then put his crossword to one side and went to answer it. On the doorstep stood Carol the Cat and Squeaky the Squirrel.

"Hello, Douglas", said Carol.
"You are looking great!" squeaked Squeaky.
"I suppose you'd better come in," said Douglas.
Douglas stood aside and let Carol and Squeaky file into the hall.

"We brought you a present, Douglas!" squeaked Squeaky. "It is the A500 version of Fatman! For your A500!"
"Squaeky chose it," stressed Carol.

Presently, Fatman had loaded on Douglas's Amiga. The three of them sat and watched the humorous animated introduction, which clearly showed that the game's Hungarian programmers cannot have been too far removed from the people behind those wacky cartoons you see on Channel 4 sometimes.
They all laughed dutifully as Roy Fat, incensed by the kidnapping of his wife and his revolutionary Food Duplicator machine by the evil Ted Thinsin, ripped off his clothes to reveal that he had forgotten to put his superhero costume on, and had to do a Double Take.

"Go on, Douglas," said Carol, "you go first."
"Er," said Douglas. He quite liked Carol, but could not possible admit it.
"Go on, Douglas!" squeaked Squeaky.
Douglas sensed that it might be simpler to comply, picked up the joystick, and pressed fire a few times. Fatman walked onto the screen.

"It is a platform game," said Douglas.
"What do you think, then?" squeaked Squeaky.
"What do I think?"
"Yes!"
"Why has he not got any momentum? I mean, none at all?"
"Eh?"
"And how come I only move him forward a little bit, his legs do not move at all?"

"The graphics are nice and colourful, though, aren't they?" Carol asked.
"And the levels are really big, with lots to explore!" squeaked Squeaky, squeakily.

Douglas reached a door market 'Exit'.
"Why won't he go through it?" he demanded.
"Er, I think you are meant to collect all the burgers first," said Carol.
"So how do I know when I have collected them all? How do I know how many more I have got to collect? It does not say how many of each sort of special weapon I have got left, either. They just suddenly run out."
Douglas went back to look for some burgers.

"Ooh, bad luck!" squeaked Squeaky, as Douglas fell too far off a platform and died.
Douglas was asked to type his name into the high-score table. D-O-U-G-L-A...
"Why am I only allowed to put six letters in?"

Douglas looked at the game. Then he looked at Squeaky. Then he looked back at the game again.
Then he went to put the kettle on.


Wo bleibt der Zusatzspeck?

Fatman AGA logo AGA A1200 Speziell

Im letzten Heft beobachteten wir Black Legends dickbäuchigen Batman-Verschnitt beim Herumtrampeln auf den regulären Amiga-Plattformen. Schon einen Monat später macht sich der hüpfende Gigant auch am 1200er breit...

Sein Name ist Roy Fat, nur wenn e rim Einsatz ist, nennt man ihn Fatman. Was der Restaurantbesitzer und Erfinder eines Lebensmittelduplikators am liebsten tut, erkennt man an seiner Figur, neben der ein ausgewachsener Blauwal wie eine Ölsardine wirkt - im Moment sieht er jedoch eher wie ein wütender Killerpudding aus, denn sein neidischer und natürlich spindeldürrer Gegenspieler Professor Thinsin hat gerade die Ehefrau unseres Dickerchen entführt.

Der joystickgesteuerte Rettungsweg führt durch 15 auf sieben Welten verteilte Levels, in denen kein Mangel an hinterlistigen Krabbelkindern, Schleimkugeln, Fledermäusen etc. herrst, die dem Helden an die (wahlweise) zwei, vier oder sechs Bildschirmleben wollen.

Er verteidigt sich mit kräftigen Rülpsern, Bauchschubsern, den eingesammelten Karotten bzw. explosiven Giftpilzen oder beherzten Sprüngen auf die Feinde, denen dann sein pures Lebendgewicht zum Verhängnis wird. Außerdem gibt es verschlossene Gitter und Türen sowie aufklaubbare Fressalien, die den Eingang zum nächsten Abschnitt öffnen.

So weit, so alt, was hat sich mit dieser angeblich so speziellen 1200er-Version geändert? Obwohl die bläßliche Grafik, das dezent ruckelnde Scrolling und vor allem die etwas hakelige Steuerung eine kleine Auffrischung durchaus vertragen hätten, leider nichts!

Daß zudem nicht mal eine HD-Installation spendiert wurde, ist endgültig zuviel des Altgewohnten und wird daher mit einem Abzug von drei Kalorien bestraft. (ms)


Fatman AGA logo AGA

Is one page big enough to... Hang on. What's going on?

Douglas the Dog sat in the armchair, listening to the clock ticking. It was not a particularly nice clock. And, now he thought about it, its tick was rather irritating. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Douglas ignored it for a few moments, and then put his crossword to one side and went to answer it. On the doorstep stood Carol the Cat and Squeaky the Squirrel.

"Hello, Douglas", said Carol.
"You are looking great!" squeaked Squeaky.
"I suppose you'd better come in," said Douglas.
Douglas stood aside and let Carol and Squeaky file into the hall.

"We brought you a present, Douglas!" squeaked Squeaky. "It is the A1200 version of Fatman! For your A1200!"
"Squaeky chose it," stressed Carol.

Presently, Fatman had loaded on Douglas's Amiga. The three of them sat and watched the humorous animated introduction, which clearly showed that the game's Hungarian programmers cannot have been too far removed from the people behind those wacky cartoons you see on Channel 4 sometimes.
They all laughed dutifully as Roy Fat, incensed by the kidnapping of his wife and his revolutionary Food Duplicator machine by the evil Ted Thinsin, ripped off his clothes to reveal that he had forgotten to put his superhero costume on, and had to do a Double Take.

"Go on, Douglas," said Carol, "you go first."
"Er," said Douglas. He quite liked Carol, but could not possible admit it.
"Go on, Douglas!" squeaked Squeaky.
Douglas sensed that it might be simpler to comply, picked up the joystick, and pressed fire a few times. Fatman walked onto the screen.

"It is a platform game," said Douglas.
"What do you think, then?" squeaked Squeaky.
"What do I think?"
"Yes!"
"Why has he not got any momentum? I mean, none at all?"
"Eh?"
"And how come I only move him forward a little bit, his legs do not move at all?"

"The graphics are nice and colourful, though, aren't they?" Carol asked.
"And the levels are really big, with lots to explore!" squeaked Squeaky, squeakily.

Douglas reached a door market 'Exit'.
"Why won't he go through it?" he demanded.
"Er, I think you are meant to collect all the burgers first," said Carol.
"So how do I know when I have collected them all? How do I know how many more I have got to collect? It does not say how many of each sort of special weapon I have got left, either. They just suddenly run out."
Douglas went back to look for some burgers.

"Ooh, bad luck!" squeaked Squeaky, as Douglas fell too far off a platform and died.
Douglas was asked to type his name into the high-score table. D-O-U-G-L-A...
"Why am I only allowed to put six letters in?"

Douglas looked at the game. Then he looked at Squeaky. Then he looked back at the game again.
Then he bit Squeaky's head off.