James Pond - Underwater Agent review - Sega Megadrive

He wears a tuxedo, carries a gun, and is a hit with the girlies. The fact that he's a fish makes no difference to his espionage activities. James Pond, or Double Bubble Seven to use his code name, is on the trail of the evil Doctor Maybe whose plans for world domination threaten civilisation fish everywhere. Can James thwart the intentions of the man with the cat and save the oceans of the world?

Twelve mission await the brave subaqua agent; View To a Spill, for example, pits Pond against a leaking oil platform - he gathers dynamite to blow up the legs of the platform. Of course things are never that simple, and a host of baddies lurk to do Pond some mischief. Starfish, mutated fish, crabs and squids all drain our hero's energy, and other hazards (like radioactive canisters and invisible jellyfish) have the same effect.

Each mission's objectives have to be completed within the time limit, using the warps and secret areas to gain bonus points. James carries objects into his house for other extras, including the letters that spell various words (all of which are clean!). Let's hope James is up to the job, as Pussy Galore won't turn up to help him out....

What the Mean Machines staff thought

I like this game! An aquatic spoof of Ian Fleming's Bond is a great premise for a Megadrive product, and this is the first game developed for this console in good old Britain. It's certainly fun to play, and the main sprite is cleverly animated. However the backgrounds are bland throughout the levels, and the basic challenge never varies (it only gets slightly more difficult each time). It really needs some change of pace and play to it into something definitely worth buying. As it stands, it will appeal to some people but others will not be impressed by the lack of high quality 16-bit graphics and repetitive gameplay.

James Pond provides plenty of fun when you first start playing, but unfortunately it doesn't hold its appeal over a long period of time, due to the rather repetitive gameplay and the fact that its twelve levels aren't difficult to complete. Rushing around avoiding the nicely drawn aquatic sprites and picking up items is enjoyable, but there isn't really enough variety - some form of bonus screens where you have to do something other than collect things would have helped break up the action. As it stands James Pond is a fun game that you'll play loads when you first get it, but won't be one that you'll go back to in the coming months.