If nothing else, Pengo is dangerously addictive. Give it a go at least and see what you think.
Pengo is a real nostalgia trip. If you’ve grown up with the traditional Pac-man style arcade games then Pengo will take you back to all the simplicity of the pioneering days. This Game Gear version was, in fact, adapted from the original arcade Pengo with very little missing except the coin slot! I spent many a lost hour of my youth slurping caramel milkshake and shovelling 20c pieces into the slot at the Parthenon Milk Bar let me tell you…and never a drop wasted! Conversions to the Game Gear usually lose a lot in complexity, but Pengo isn’t all that complex to begin with so it turned out just fine.
There’s nothing amazing or sophisticated about this game, but it’s a favourite of mine anyway. Sometimes the simplest of games are the most enjoyable to play. For others though, who may not have been so fond of the early slot machines, or are a bit younger and have grown up in a time where that kind of thing is completely “old hat”, then you may find it a bit dull.
In order to save the Pengo from destruction you have to hurl ice at them (they really hate that) and crush them into chunks. Or, even better, get them before they’re born and smash their eggs. You go through 64 levels (much more than the original actually) and they get, as usual, progressively more difficulty.
Pengo is nothing to jump up and down and throw ice about, but it’s a very good implementation of an arcade favourite. The sound is pretty good with some catchy tunes that aren’t too repetitive and the graphics are fine – not exceptional but well done.
If nothing else, Pengo is dangerously addictive. Give it a go at least and see what you think.
Brian Costelloe
As printed in Megazone Feb/Mar ‘92