| Introduction
Hugo and his family are big names in their native
Scandinavia where they can be found in almost every
available form, from toys and games to DVD and interactive
television. He's not exactly new to GameBoy either;
various titles have appeared on both the Classic GameBoy
and the GBC although this is his first outing on the
GBA.
His latest handheld adventure centres on Scylla the
Wicked Witch who uses her magical powers to capture
Hugo in a mirror. His three children must set him free
by recovering its various pieces, which have been scattered
into the farthest depths of the Tricky Troll Forest.
There's also a GBC version of the game, which is identical
in almost every aspect so even if you've yet to upgrade
to a GBA it's worth giving this review the once over.
GamePlay
The object of each level couldn't be simpler, as
clearing each area of enemies is undoubtedly a standard
exercise everyone should find manageable. This can be
achieved using your trusty 'Freeze Gun' which turns
anyone into an ice block, which you can then either
push from a height or jump on to release bonus items.
You'll find yourself breezing through the initial levels,
but then several problems are introduced.
The first is an increase in enemy numbers launching
missiles including spears and dynamite. Getting caught
by any of these will seriously dent your health bar.
Next there are the rather tricky base camps, which are
basically huts reflective of your current environment.
These can number anything from a single camp to five
and until you seal them, again with your Freeze Gun,
your enemies will simply be replaced as soon as you
attempt to dispose of them.
Matters get a little more difficult when the puzzle
elements are introduced and some areas, particularly
the camps, will be out of reach until you build stairs
with your newly fashioned ice blocks. There are also
some platform arrangements so devious in their design
that there'll only ever be one way to navigate them.
All this takes place in any one of three Tricky Troll
Forest areas, and then it's off to defeat the end of
level boss in order to salvage one of the mirror sections.
The final thing to worry about is the timer, which
depending on the difficulty level you choose (easy,
normal or hard) alters the speed of the clock accordingly,
though some levels do feature a 'stop clock' pick-up
that is extremely helpful. The clock reaching zero introduces
a kind of 'Slimer' creature who goes around eating everyone
up and then comes after you.
Although the levels are saved to a battery and not
an annoying, and usually lengthy password, you'll still
have to employ a degree of strategy. This is because
you can only save your progress when you have located
one of the special keys. This is another gaming aspect
linked to the level of difficulty - so the easy option
means that keys are plentiful and available almost everywhere,
whilst the hard option means that keys only appear every
five levels or so.
Controls
The primary controls for Hugo's family are so simple
you'll hardly refer to the manual at all. There is the standard
'jump' and 'fire' (the same as in the GBC version) which
by virtue of its simplicity, makes Hugo so much fun
to play. On a related subject, the sprite detection
is also well up to scratch, which is important in later
levels as anything less would make for a frustrating
experience.
Graphics
Anyone who knows anything about GameBoy programming
will undoubtedly be impressed by the intro FMV. Lasting
over a minute, the computer animated sequence is taken
directly from the PlayStation version and is of incredible
quality. In contrast, the GBC version attempts the same
storytelling using static screens and although this
works well on the less powerful handheld, it's nice
to see developers utilising the GBA's unique capabilities.
The actual in-game visuals are not nearly as impressive
but in a platform puzzler clarity is far more important
and the various levels are packed with clean, well-designed
environments. Nothing outstanding but all very practical.
Sound & Music
The music and sound effects are wonderful and this
is another title where headphones are a must for the
full audio effect. It's also one of the few titles you'll
encounter where sound is used intelligently to indicate
something happening just out of your view. The samples
on the other hand are not as impressive and it would
have been nice if the voice effects, particularly
those that accompany the FMV, were as clear as the game's
other audio elements.
Final Comments
The Evil Mirror is one of those rare gems that
just creeps up on you and although I had low expectations
of this title, I simply couldn't put it down. In fact,
from the moment I first played it, I was hooked. The
mix of simple and engaging gameplay with achievable
puzzle elements is a winning and accessible combination.
It's reasonably lengthy too and the 60 plus levels should
keep you going for some time although in the absence
of a multiplayer option there's little in the way of
replay value. It's been a while since I've encountered
a title that's so enjoyable, so even if platform
puzzlers aren't your thing, I'd urge you to give Hugo a
look if only for the great FMV intro.
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