When something torments you and the HUD shows zero,
Remove bad thoughts out of your head, otherwise you won’t feel like a hero.
There are, fortunately, many ways to relieve you from your stress.
Discover yourself how the time goes in this colourful, childish place.
Odd creatures here and there, the bizarre plants,
They fill your eyes, let the game commence!
Exactly!!! Platform adventure games are, in my opinion, one of the best antidepressants. They have usually colourful scenery, straight from a fairy tale, the protagonists are odd or funny creatures, and we gather during ur journey things like: diamonds, stars, hearts, coins, fruits etc. All those surroundings create unforgettable and positive mood and provide us with an energy boost.
The game with a bizarre title Dork Dave and the Dirty Trick is a typical platform game, which was created by Mika Keranen, Finnish coder who has created another great C64 release (Mr Angry Dude). Even though you won’t find in it odd creatures, coins or stars etc. , the way in which it was created, speaks for itself. There are a lot of borrowings from Super Mario Bros but I think it is a huge advantage which increases its’ playability. Generally, my impression is that the game looks NES – like.
Immediately after launching the game I felt that I am missing something. I’m thinking about some funny, colourful picture or a nice intro because the game is so good that it could be made more awesome by adding this type of elements.
Generally, I didn’t notice a concrete objective in the game. I know only that its’ main protagonist, titular Dave, is an idiot, dork….and he has to save a stupid princess, but is it true? Unfortunately, I cannot write more about this topic, because I was defeated in the next part of the game and I don’t know what is the ending. The plot of the game is at one time in the court, then in the castle, just like in Mario.
Unfortunaly Dave is defenseless, but he is a really agile fellow. He performs well when he jumps over the edges of the chasm or when he jumps up to the upper platforms. The obstacles that I encountered during the game are: moving blocks, flying bullets, flickering rays of lasers and the aforementioned chasm. It is great that there is no fixed time to finish a given level, so you can play without hurrying. As far as gathering points is concerned, you can get them, for example, by gathering white, moving dots or crushing blocks with your head.
I have to warn you about one thing! When you begin the game, do not push fire in any circumstaces, but allow the gameto move you to the right, otherwise you will lose one life. Generally, it doesn’t matter, whether you will encounter your obstacle in the middle of the level or its’ end, because, either way, you will be teleported to the beginning of the level.
Before I finish the review of the game, I have to praise its’ graphics. Perfectly chosen colours and thorough design cause that the graphics is clear, and what is more important, Parallax scrolling was used. The sound is not so impressive, but it is also not mediocre. An enormous playability is one of the most important features of the games. Do you notice it? Only positive impressions. Soooo….Should we play it together?