The bizarre sequel to Joe & Mac was bizarre indeed. The game was released by Data East and was a so-so success. I say so-so because not only did the game fell in the shadows of Joe & Mac, it also sprung a real sequel called Joe & Mac 2 which in the end just left this one as a spin off. I guess they didn't have much hope for this game. Nevertheless, lets take a look at it!
Music and sound wise, the game delivers. The music has the Data East charm and is quite good. I don't have much complain about the sound as it's nice and doesn't give annoyance. It will not turn you deaf. Other than that, you won't have much criticism for this one.
The graphics are pretty good as well. They are the SNES standard but are colorful and bright. The game definitely looks like a Joe & Mac title with a bit of improvement. You can even find a cool Joe & Mac statue which grants you diamonds which you must collect in order to gain lives. Now that's a pretty cool graphical addition. Your character looks good as well and the enemies are what they are supposed to be. Mad caveman and bats and birds and everything else!
The gameplay is what makes this game suffer. The controls are fine although sometimes they don't respond accordingly. This makes the game a pain in the ass to get through. A trick to having a chance at survival is to make as many lives as possible early on in the game. I was able to gain up to 30 lives and still lost all of them because of certain parts of the game that require precise jumping. Overall, the game does offer a satisfying gameplay. There are a couple of things that could trouble you especially with the range of your weapon. You only have a club and the range of it is horrid! Make sure you get close enough to your enemies to use it. Also, be sure to collect three red orbs in order to turn you into a super caveman and be able to take more hits. If you are in your normal form, you will only be able to take two hits. The super caveman mode lets you take four hits! You can also gain hit points by picking up more red orbs. It's a good way to get through bosses and believe me, you'll need it.
There isn't much more left to say. If this game didn't had such clumsy controls, it would be more enjoyable. Of course, you can get used to them and play through the game because overall the game is not bad. The graphics are good, the music is fine, and it's by Data East! I suggest you still pick this one up as it's quite cheap and a platformer to challenge you.
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