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Poor Lucy! One day when she is playing with her pets Bin and Pin in a beautiful garden she gets kidnapped by evil Achacha. Instead of enjoying their regained freedom Bin and Pin decide to rescue her. You see, Bin and Pin are not your normal pets - they are devoted ducks with an aggressive attitude. With their huge gloves they beat up any foe - especially ones who are responsible for kidnapping Lucy. Six levels scattered all around the world divide the dux from Lucy who is hold prison in Achacha's temple.
Dynamite Dux sees either Bin or Pin fighting its way through levels crowded with the weirdest enemies ever seen in a video game: Bopping dachshund-heads, bomb-throwing kangaroos and crocodiles firing deadly roars (literally!). But the dux have a weapon at their disposal to wield through the enemy hordes: the punch-glove. Holding down fire button lets the glove grow and releasing it destroys anything that is nearby. The glove may appear powerful but it is also rather slow since building up a large punch takes up valuable seconds. Lucky many alternative weapons with limited ammo can be found in chests scattered around screens: bombs, flame-throwers, rocket launchers and heat-seeking missiles come in handy when the number of baddies increases.
Each level is situated in different parts of the world like Chicago, Japan, Egypt and Achacha's temple of course. Although each of them has different graphics the layout remains the same. When Bin or Pin has fought its way through the first enemy waves, it will meet a mid-level boss. Often these bosses must be defeated with special weaponry. An example is the first boss you will encounter in the game: it is disguised as a fire and is invincible to all weapons. Lucky a watergun can be found at the bottom of the screen which comes in handy. Once the mid-level boss is beaten the duck encounters a fork-road. If the duck is in the upper half of the screen the path will lead above the ground. If it is in the lower half, the duck will visit a cave, subway or sewer - it depends on the level. Both paths are as difficult and feature the same number of enemies. Finally it will face the end-of-level boss. If the boss is beaten a dimension-door will open that will warp the duck to the next level.
The original Dynamite Dux is a rare Sega coin-op which appeared in the arcades in 1988. Although it features comic graphics it is a mediocre beat 'em-up which does not stand out from the crowd. With much better Sega titles available at that time it is a mystery why Activision has decided to let this game convert to C64. Although Core Design did a good job in faithfully reproducing the game on C64, Dynamite Dux is not without its flaws.
It is generally known the C64 can represent blocky graphics but many sprites in Dynamite Dux are so pixelated they look abysmal! They give the impression of being stretched two times in width and height. This makes recognising them very difficult - especially if you were playing Dynamite Dux on a black/white TV back in those days. For example when you enter the sewers in level One, you will see an unrecognisable clutch of paper or trash is speeding towards you. Only when playing the same level in the coin-op you will find out it is a bunch of mice!
Another gripe is that Dynamite Dux has 3D-like graphics which are confusing when gameplay gets hectic. It especially occurs when a level-boss is moving around the screen and is throwing everything at you. Avoiding bullets is a matter of pure luck as it is not clear whether they are flying above, in front or behind you. This is caused by the fact the sprites do not change in size when they are moving from or towards the horizon.
The game's biggest flaw is that interest wanes once a is level completed. Finding out each level is more or less the same only with slightly different backgrounds and baddies soon becomes tedious. However, these faults can also be found in the coin-op.
Some features of the Dynamite Dux coin-op got lost in the conversion process. Missing is a bonus round where both Bin and Pin have to fight each other in a boxing ring for gaining an extra life. Other features sadly missing are the lack of animations between levels and a level map. The most significant loss is the lack of a two-player mode. While the game is enjoyable in one-player mode, it gets much more fun when both Bin and Pin beat up baddies simultaneously. It definitely adds to the game's long-term lasting appeal.
Dynamite Dux has also some good points, though. The C64's colour palette is used very clever with lots of colours on screen. In the title-screen one can choose between okay sound effects and cute tunes which suit the game's atmosphere perfectly. Weapons found throughout levels have limited ammo so must be used wisely - this even adds a strategic element to the game. Despite the positive remarks one cannot let loose the aforementioned negative points which are also apparent in the Arcades. This makes Dynamite Dux a 'good' conversion of a weak coin-op.
Downloads: Music, Advert
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| GRAPHICS - 6/10 |
Good use of colours in each horizontally scrolling level. Imaginative
sprites inhabit the world of Dynamite Dux but some of them are
stretched in size and are difficult to distinguish. The game's 3D display of
2D graphics can be confusing when action starts getting frenetic.
| | SOUND - 7/10 |
All levels are accompanied by cute tunes or spot FX.
| | PLAYABILITY - 5/10 |
Easy to get into, the game immediately attracts the player with its
easy-to-use control and jolly atmosphere. However, gameplay soon wanes
because of repetitive level layout.
A competitive two-player mode is also sadly missing.
| | OVERALL - 6/10 |
An okay conversion of a mediocre coin-op. It won't blow you away of
amazement.
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