FASTFOOD By: Codemasters Download: fastfood.zip Hints & Tips Not every single Dizzy game ever created is a graphic adventure. A number of games in the Dizzy collection were classed as arcade games and Fastfood is the first example of this type of game. To be honest most of the non-graphic adventure games staring Dizzy were poor. Codemasters in the search of a quick buck stuck the popular Dizzy onto games that had nothing to do with Dizzy series. Without the appearance of Dizzy the games wouldn't have sold as they weren't anything special, but by sticking Dizzy in there they could expect to sell a few copies thanks to the die-hard following Dizzy had at the time.

All that said, Fastfood was one of the better arcade Dizzy games to appear. In it a very blocky looking Dizzy had to go through a number of mazes and eat all the food found in them. Why? The game instructions didn't bother explaining. Then again what can you possibly write for what is basically a more advanced version of pac-man.

Unlike pac-man there is more than one maze to complete. When you complete a maze you move onto a harder one and carry on like that until the game is finished. Also unlike pac-man you don't have to go around the whole maze eating pellets as there are only a few items of food to gobble up. Perhaps that makes Fastfood sound easier than Pac-man, but you would be wrong as the food you eat does something the pellets in the old classic didn't... they move around! There are different kinds of foods including burgers, chickens and pizzas. Each type of food acts differently. Burgers for example just wonder around the maze randomly but other kinds of food run away from you or run towards you.

Dizzy's foes in the game consist of four monsters who patrol the mazes. Touching any of them results in instant death which isn't nice as you will have to restart the maze you are currently in (or start over from the first level if you have no more lives.) The monsters (Bonzo, Wizza, Pippa and Fido) like the different kinds food have their own unique attributes. Wizza for example is fast but pretty dumb. Each one has their own level of intelligence and speed.

Some mazes provide Dizzy with help in avoiding the monsters such as walls which only Dizzy can go through or walls which Dizzy can knock down. Dizzy doesn't always have to avoid the monsters if he can get his hands on certain powerups. These powerups appear in the maze every so often. Like the food/monsters the powerups move around the maze until Dizzy comes in contact with them. Each powerup has it's own uses and it's up to you to see what they do. Not all of them are helpful but the effects they have include making dizzy faster, invincible, slow down the monsters or freeze the monsters for a short time.

The game's difficulty is just about right. Towards the end it gets quite tough but it's not impossible. There are thirty levels and when you start a new game you can choose to start anywhere from level one to twenty. You start with three lives and get an extra one every three levels (were your also treated to short cartoon).

Dizzy fans who need a break from the bog standard graphic adventures won't find many Dizzy arcade games which are better than this. Anyone else should find the game fairly entertaining.

Rating: 80%