Alternative
£3.99 cassette
0977 797777
Reviewer: Linda Barker

Chimps seem to be a bit like buses, you don't meet one in ages and then about three of them appear at once. I'm not really sure why the software houses have picked up on chimps, maybe it's because they can drink tea. Or maybe it's because they're quite small and not at all threatening, or is it because Tarzan had one? I dunno why they're so much in demand these days, but I do know that chimps are pretty darn sweet and, next to bison, there's no funny, furry thing that I'd rather be.

Bangers And Mash was inspired by the TV series of the same name, it's an incredibly surreal kiddies show so it's useless to try and make sense of anything that happens in the game.

At first I annoyed everyone in the office by asking stupid questions like, "But why is there a graveyard in the middle of the jungle?" It's obviously not an elephants' graveyard 'cos the skeletons are human. It is in fact where Mrs Snitchnose lives. Of course, where else would a nasty witch live but in the middle of the jungle? The nasties are equally surreal - there are giant ladybirds, hedgehogs that wait on their hind legs, skeletons whose heads spin off, nasty little flytraps that put head first and flowers that do very strange things indeed.

I thought Bangers And Mash was going to be a two-player, but Mash (or is it Banger?) has to stay at home while the other one goes of to find the fruit. This is a shame cos it would have been loads better as a two-player game. Also, it's unfortunate for Alternative that their chimp hero was pipped to the post by Beyond Belief's Biff.

Y'see, Bangers And Mash doesn't come out too well in comparison with Biff. It looks very similar but there just isn't as much to do. In Biff you have to think about things a little, but there's nothing here to really tax your mind. All you have to do is collect loads of fruit so that your mum can make a pie, avoid the nasties and pick up the diamonds for extra points. That said, there's still enough here to keep you occupied for a while, it's just that it doesn't seem to be enough. This could be an ideal game for younger players, it's easy to grasp and the graphics are clear and quite cute in their own way.

Label: Alternative
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: Marc Richards

Don't you think monkeys are cute? They've got cuddly coats, big, funny ears and deep, sad eyes. Aah, dunnit make you sigh?! But they're also rather naughty. Just look at Bangers and Mash. Although they appear to be cute, cuddly creatures, lurking behind that innocent facade are two very mischievous little apes.

In fact their mother has got completely fed up with them and sent them out into the forest to collect as much fruit as they can find for the pie she's making. Lazy old cow.

To protect Bangers from the creepy crawlies, Mash has made an inexhaustible supply of mud pies to throw at them while Banger's job is to actually collect the fruit for his mum. But, being the cheeky monkey he is, he's got lost and fallen down a tree trunk, leading to the dangerous side of the woods - and Mrs. Snitchnose's lair. Yes, it's all a bit unlikely but that's the way it goes.

Mrs. Snitchnose is a witch (so whoever married her must have been under one of her spells), and to show how evil and vindictive she really is she's got all her wicked followers out to stop the chimp - from hedgehogs to ghosts to beetles. To be honest I never thought they had it in them.

Grab your joystick and become Bangers, as you guide him around a vertically scrolling maze, collecting fruit for his mum, and diamonds for himself.

I actually really took to this game. It's a good, old fashioned platform romp, which sounds good to me! BAM is like Edd the Duck, but with a monkey instead of a bird, set in a forest instead of the BBC studios and collecting fruit and diamonds instead of stars. This alone makes it a highly recommended title.

Graphic-wise, it's very colourful and well-defined, if a little blocky. The only problem is that Banger's sprite is 'transparent', adopting whatever colour the background is. This means that sometimes it's hard to make out exactly where you are. There are nice sound FX and a catchy title tune too, so your ears aren't left out of the fray either.

Bangers And Mash is a very addictive and playable game. detection is quite accurate and everything moves around very smoothly for a budget game. Bangers and Mash contains that "just one more go" element that makes you want to come back for more and more until you've collected every last piece of fruit.

ED LAURENCE:
I'm not as keen on this game as Marc. It's a bit Biffy for my liking, fun for younger gamers but it may not have as much lasting appeal amongst more mature players. I suppose it's good for a laugh though.