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Up'n Down |
Copyright/Publisher: Sega, Music By: Tony Vece,
Release Year: 1984, Genre: Racing Sports, Number Of Players: 1
O Jumping car, scrolling roads, amusing action
This isn't a game for boys or girls, it's for grannies. If that sounds bad you couldn't be further from the truth, because the granny in this game can jump more cars than Eddie Kidd and even crush them as well.
In your buggy car that looks like a Citroen 2CV (the corrugated iron one), you play a granny who has to drive around a pattern of scrolling roadways collecting coloured flags. Nothing to it, until you find that the roads are only one lane wide and all the traffic is trying to ram you so that you have to jump your car to avoid or crush them.
The streets zig-zag about the screen, occasionally going up or down hills and over chasms, through a scenery of mountains, lakes, rivers and woods.
There are ten flags to collect on each stage, and they appear in the same places each time. However, on the different levels the layout changes (although some sections and flag positions may still be recognisable). Other objects, including ice creams and balloons, are lying around the course, and running over them gets you bonus points.
There are three levels of play, and on the easiest there is little to get in your way, but it will take a while to determine the route to each flag. Also appearing on the roads are a variety of vehicles ragging from slow moving cars like yours, to fast moving tankers and lorries. All of these have to be jumped over or crushed for points by landing on them.
You have to be careful though, since on the ground collisions are fatal and landing off the road also writes you off. You can jump gaps if you time things right and, to get fast finishing times and the subsequent bonus, you need to really cover ground.
You can go backwards if in desperate trouble, but it leaves you vulnerable since you can't jump. You are also hindered by rolling back down hills if you haven't got up enough speed, and on later stages flags appear on moving trollies which you have to crush.
Following the roads is just a matter of pushing left or right at junctions, while joystick forward and back controls acceleration and deceleration and the fire button makes you jump.
One helpful thing is that you can also control the car during the jumps to avoid suicidal leaps. The music that burbles along during the game is repetitive, but curiously it still adds an absorption factor to the game and doesn't annoy.
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B.W. |
I thoroughly enjoyed this absorbing game, particularly the need for constant attention and fast
reactions. The gradual variance in the routes and the increasing volume of traffic makes the
game get harder and more interesting as new challenges appear.
The game has a high frustration and addictiveness factor, with you having to retrace all the way
through a route to a flag if you miss it the first time round.
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Gary Penn |
I was unimpressed with this game. The graphics were uninteresting
(although the perspective in some cases wasn't bad), and the sound wasn't much better
(it really did drag on). After playing this monotonous game
for a while, it was the contents of my stomach that were going up'n'down.
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Julian Rignall |
This odd sort of arcade game has many addictive qualities. Although not having stunning graphics,
excellent sound, or realism, I found myself constantly returning to see if I could improve my time
and score. If you have £10 to spend, you could buy a lot worse than this.
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Jumping for Joy |
Jumping is your most vital tactic and you need to get the hang of techniques for particular situations. Watch out for corners, since you can't turn in mid-air and you'll leap into thin air and a crash landing.
Jumping up hills is also a dangerous occupation since the nasty drivers may appear in awkward sequences, so wait until the last moment before going, in case you have to clear two or three at once.
Flags on slopes are also a problem, since you can jump over them and they are hard to get back to.
Last but most importantly, never jump off a downslope, since it sends you hurtling through the air to certain death.
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