I must begin my thoughts on Kangaroo by saying that this game has the most annoying sounds of any game I've ever played. There is just something wrong about the music -- it's like it gets distorted from being too loud. When you ring the bell, the sound gets worse -- some clock chime melody with the same shrill sound quality starts to play -- what a punishment for trying to nab points! Fear of hearing each level's crappy reprise of Old Susanna makes one almost not want to beat the level at all!

Gameplay is very slow. You are the mama Kangaroo, trying to get to your little joey near the top of each of 4 screens. Your 'roo powers are jumping, ducking, and punching with mega-sized boxing gloves. Your enemies are climbing monkeys who try to nail you by throwing and dropping apples. You can punch these simian creeps if you get close enough, and I must admit, it's satisfying for sure. You climb up very dull basic levels which only are difficult because of the pinpoint jumps that are often required. However, the gameplay is challenging and more fun on the 'advanced' setting, offering more monkeys to test your skills.

Kangaroo is so horrendously bad that I actually like it in spite of myself. It's not that its the worst playing game ever, its that the silly and trite concept, dull visuals, ear-splitting "music", annoying sounds, and the idea of the game's designers that somebody might actually want to back-track up and down each level four times just to get all the possible fruit, all this makes a game that is hilarious in its Craptacularness. Don't misunderstand, its not the actual 5200 version of Kangaroo that is bad -- it's the entire game itself.

Looking on the bright side, the Roo and monkeys look and move like they should. There are 4 unique levels, with some challenge. Level one is very basic and dull; Level 2 has too many deceptively tough jumps resulting in many cheap deaths; Level 3 is my fave, with a tower of monkeys you get to knock down punch-by-punch; and Level 4 is the most complex design, yet pretty easy. But even with some good points, Kangaroo needs a dose of excitement, more speed, more fun challenges, and better sounds. I can think of half a dozen things that could have improved this game. Actually, the real fun begins once you beat the initial 4 levels, and begin the 2nd wave of them -- more monkeys and apples to dodge & punch!

If you decide you'd like to try out Kangaroo, please take my advice: play on advanced, and tolerate the first 4 levels. You'll see the fun start the 2nd time through. THere are some challenges to be found in Kangaroo; but you're going to have to convince yourself that the effort is worth it.

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