INTRODUCTION
So there's this rabbit, see? And as all his woodland friends have suddenly turned into slavering beasts, he's feeling a bit put out. So he stops day-dreaming about the foxy,m she-rabbit from the Cadbury's Caramel advert and hops off to dispense the long ear of the law to his violent ex-friends. It's a platform game, obviously.
GAMEPLAY
Make your way from one end of the level to the other, jumping on plat... stop me if you've heard this before won't you? To be fair though, despite its generic appearance Quik is a very playable little game.
He can spin into enemies to kill them in a quite hedgehog-
You can also collect hearts to keep your energy up and potions to enhance his natural bunny skills (no, not those rabbit skills). The potions come in two flavours, red and green, and allow him to jump extra high or to zoom along at thunder-
While under the influence of the super speed beverage, our hero is impervious to damage from enemies but can easily lose his power by crashing into a wall.
At the start of each level you'll be told what you must do. Some levels simply require a speedy exit, whereas others demand that you find a clock before making an exit.
Clocks can be found through spooky doors that take Quik back in time to a sub-game where you must clamber to the top of a themed screen (prehistoric, medieval etc.) platform by platform to claim the clock. The only trouble is that there are rolling boulders and a fiendish bird that keeps dragging him back down the screen.
Trampolines, secret passages and ladders are all present and correct to assist him in getting to the sub-game, and at the end of each zone there's a labyrinth section in. Quik's burrow where you must first locate and then destroy an end-of-
Three similar, but refreshing gamestyles, all wrapped up in a playable chocolatey coating then.
ADDITIONAL INFO
Quik may very well be a speedy little chap but by far the coolest rabbit ever was Bugs Bunny, created by Bob Clampett in 1938 for the cartoon "Porky's Hare Hunt". He was not, however, very funny until Tex Avery came along and transformed him into the epitome of wisecracking, sarcastic Brooklyn attitude.
By 1962 he's appeared in a staggering 159 cartoons and received an Oscar for "Knighty Knight Bugs". His characteristic New York drawl was provided by Mel Blanc, who sadly died recently. Mel was also responsible for pretty much every cartoon voice ever, as well as Twiki the robot from Buck Rogers. A veritable star.
Classic Bugs Bunny moments include his frequent cross-
With Bugs you always know that he's going to outwit everybody, and as such he remains a super-cool, suave sex symbol with more star quality in his teeth than all of Disney's sickly efforts put together. Bugs, we salute you.
The rabbit has a charming face
It's private life is a disgrace
I really dare not name to you
the awful things that rabbits do
'The Rabbit', 1925
SOUND
As befits a cute rabbit game, the tune is all bouncy and cheery. It probably wouldn't sound out of place on a kids' TV programme, like those quite terrifying Tiny Tots creations.
However, as is the case with pretty much every game tune ever, it has the ability to irritate you to the point of violence after about 10 minutes, so thank goodness for the chance to prod 'M' and switch it off.
Unfortunately, this shows up how sparse the sound is. A few FX for the enemies would have added greatly to the grooviness of the game. A squawk from the birds or a howl from the coyotes would be most pleasant. Inoffensive, but lacking real bite.
68%GRAPHICS
There are two sorts of platform games, the normal sort and the cute sort. With a blue rabbit as its main character and various other furry animals as baddies, guess which sort Quik is. Yep, it's a cute-o-rama. And it looks rather pleasant.
The scrolling is smooth enough and the backgrounds and platforms are clearly defined and a pleasure to jump on. The best graphical aspect of Quik is the great variety of enemy sprites, all suited to their respective zones, and each animated with individuality and flair.
It's also one of those game where bonus rooms and secret routes are tucked away but easily found. You know the sort of thing - conspicuous walls just begging to be jumped through. Some you'll find by accident and others you can unearth by using games-player's intuition.
All in all it looks good and solid. All the platform requirements are there and it handles like a dream.
81%OPINION80%
Casting aside all previous platform games, Quik is really a perfectly little game. Admittedly, my first reaction to a platform game about rabbits was not printable in a family publication, but I was won over by the sheer professionalism of it all.
The difficulty level is spot on, with just enough effort you can get through the first three or four levels. Probably more suited to younger players, due to its simplicity and cuddly approach, but despite every aspect of it screaming "cliché" it comes across as a very fun game.
It even stands up well alongside the competition. Highly recommended, much to my surprise.