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I normally like to start with a plot synopsis of sorts when reviewing a game, just so that everyone knows why it's taking place. Well, I've looked long and hard at Pang and believe the reasoning can be summarised in one word: because. You see, your mission in life (and that of a like-minded friend if you have one) is to travel the world bursting balloons. Yes: balloons. Why? Because you just do, I guess. Having said that, these are no ordinary balloons. No, for these inflatable fiends will quite happily crush you and, once hit by your gun, will split into two smaller balloons. And if you hit them again, you get another two even smaller balloons which will finally burst once shot. Why? Once again, because.
If the way you deal with the balloons sounds familiar, that's because it's been - ahem - "borrowed" from that arcade classic of the early 80s, Asteroids. Having said that, though, Pang makes such unique, if not totally original, use of the concept, that I have no problem gently shaking my finger at it and leaving it there. In fact, the end result is far more reminiscent of a puzzle game than the frantic trigger-happy nature of its great-granddaddy because your character must walk from left to right along platforms that are dotted around the levels, using ladders to reach the higher ones. Manoeuvrability is therefore much more restricted and an increasingly-larger part of the game becomes effectively positioning yourself to be able to burst the balloons without getting hit by the debris or the others bouncing around the level. Once you die (at least in one player mode), the level is reset, making precision-placing and careful deciding (in the all of the second in which you have to think)which balloon to burst the order of the day.
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But does this pretty ambitious and somewhat wacky concept work on the humble Speccy? Well, it throws the balloons about with gay abandon, oblivious to their size or amount and the graphics are pretty good. One or two backdrops grate (especially the red one), but the balloons are visible 99% of the time: good job, lads. The sound is pleasant enough, with bouncy tunes helping maintain a jolly atmosphere and compliment the international balloon-bursting. The way they become quicker once the time limit goes low enough makes the already-frantic action that little bit more intense…
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The action is arcadey enough to introduce the more trigger-happy to the joys of puzzling without becoming anything near brain-dead, finding a good balance between the two. It all gets alarmingly tricky alarmingly quickly, and with no credits on offer, it's the player with an emulator (how the game is rated) or the Divine who can get past the first two countries. It may be worth noting that on tape, Pang is a multi-load… the message is clear: play the emulated version. Either way, the game maintains the power-ups of the original to aid (or hinder) in your genocidal quest: the double harpoon gun, allowing you to get off another shot that little bit quicker, the rapid-fire gun, a shield, the clock which stops the action for a few seconds and the dynamite, which instantly reduces every balloon on screen to its smallest denominator… shudder.
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The subject of power-ups seems to be as good a place as any to look at the problems with the game, as it is a fairly major issue. You see, which power-up you get (if you get one at all) is completely random. As the game quickly becomes very difficult, it soon becomes nigh-on impossible to progress without receiving some help, yet the game while quite happily let you struggle fruitlessly with a level before suddenly giving you major weaponry which makes it almost easy. Or maybe it won't… with the emulated version you can just keep reloading the level until you finally get some aid (or a stroke of genius), but don't expect to get very far without saving unless you are so lucky you never get a yellow Fruit Pastille when the tube is passed round. It's not a major hassle; it just seems such a basic thing to be so unsatisfactorily handled.
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However, power-ups may not be enough because of the collision detection. You may be rolling your eyelids and shaking your head sadly now, but the detection is not bad, it's just… merciless. You know how much you appreciate it when the decision as to whether an object hit or missed you is borderline and the game decides to give it to you and carry on? Pang is under no pretensions that you should die. If there's any question, you were got. It's not that balloons that were nowhere near you kill you; it's just that those which might have just missed don't. Ever. And in such a claustrophobic game, it's a bit tough. But hey, that's Pang and its tough love.
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And you will almost certainly love it back. Sure, you'll tear you hair out, you'll shout and scream and demand that the computer get its eyes checked, but you'll be back. It's a simple yet addictive concept which marries the often opposed genres of puzzle and arcade in a most satisfying way. You won't sit down at it for hours on end, but you will be picking it up for a quick blast, by yourself or with a mate, for quite a while to come. Excuse me, I'm just off to burst a few more balloons…
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Pang
- Ocean - 1990
