by Siegried Kurtz
A leaping cute little thing solving puzzles in a 3D environment annoyed by silly aliens that enjoy sitting on his head, in a nutshell, that's what Kirel is. The aim is to pick up the bomb and get to the door to the next level before it explodes, so your mind has to race against time trying to find the best and shortest way to achieve your task. It's, in fact, as usual, easier to say it than to do it, and the screens are increasingly tricky, the 3D perspective will hide things from your eyes, but you can change it pressing 1, 2 or 3 and you must learn the nature and the use of the objects that you will find. For example, the aliens, which drain your energy when they climb on your head, can be defeated using no less than pieces of cake, you start with a good amount of them, but soon you will have to pick up more. But your main and fundamental skill is picking up slabs of the irregular and orographic "chessboard" you're moving on, and repositioning it elsewhere, in order to reach secluded spots, or reach some item. The break key will be very helpful too: it freezes the game and removes the obstacles that are hiding your sprite and/or important objects, so that you can understand where you are and where you must go. Another great feature I've discovered reading a review or two [there aren't instructions for [i]Kirel[/i] in the [b]WoS[/b] archive yet] is the possibility of building a bridge between two equally tall points by simply pressing [b]B[/b] [I've found the key at the first attempt, I can proudly claim], which can save a lot of time and the life of your character too. It's a really different isometric 3D game, with almost no animation, just puzzles in single screen levels and no exploration at all, and it's very original and addictive indeed: a fabulous and neglected little game from 1986.
4,5/5
