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"Same old stuff and, despite a 2-Player mode, not twice the fun."


Introduction
If you want to describe Cruncher Factory in a single term, you can use the chewing gum word 2-Player-Construction-Kit-Pac-Man. Ever played Pac-Man? No? Then what the heck are you doing here? Let's just assume that you've at least heard of it, then basically you (should) know what's going on here. No story at all, minimal presentation, no need to go into detail any further. Wait a sec...

Cruncher Factory was ''developed'' in 1987 as an obvious Pac-Man adaptation, apparently because there's never been an Arcade-to-Amiga conversion of said classic before and some people at Kingsoft probably thought that Commodore's 16-Bitter was in the need of a round, yellow thing (here: ''Cruncher''), eating its ways through a labyrinth full of dots and avoiding ghosts.

The Game
In here, you take control of said character, Cruncher, who kinda resembles a lemon disc with a 1/4 cut-out (his mouth). He (let's just assume it's a male) is somehow trapped in a huge set of labyrinths and the only way to get out of this dilemma is to consume all of the dots in every maze by just running over them, only to find himself in another one of 100 different levels altogether. Each level is shown from the bird-eye perspective and is just as wide and high as the screen, in other words, no scrolling can be seen. The passages through the maze are as broad as Cruncher himself and every spot is filled with a dot, there aren't any free spaces, with a small exception: The Ghost Headquarter. What would be a Pac-Man clone without any ghosts chasing him around? As soon as you start munching your way through the maze, the ghosts, one after another, leave their home to prevent you from clearing the level. Unlike in the original, the ghosts are all blue-colored and they also share the same trait, there's no difference in each one's aggressiveness, smartness, etc. No matter what, if they touch you (they don't care about the dots at all), you'll lose one of your lives. If you think that you're cornered, all is not lost: In almost every level you can see some quadratic tiles, which can be often found in the corner or near the edge of a maze. These tiles act like teleporters; Once you run over one of them, you'll be immediately transported to another tile. The target point varies from tile to tile. Unfortunately, this emergency ladder isn't Cruncher-exclusive, the ghosts can (and will) use it as a short-cut as well.

But Cruncher wouldn't be Cruncher without the possibility to strike back: In every labyrinth a couple of special dots can be found, easily recognizable by their different colour (green) and size (big). If Cruncher consumes one of these pills, he magically gains super powers and all of a sudden the hunters become the hunted for a short time, in other words, touching a ghost while under the effect of the steroid will make the enemy (almost) disappear, only leaving behind a pair of eyes, which you can watch returning quickly to its home, regaining the former ghost form (and dangerousness) there and continue chasing poor Cruncher again, once the effect of the green pill has worn off of him. Catching as many ghosts as possible will net you a bigger bonus with each subsequent ghost you sent home again.

Now that everything has been said about the game principle, let's address the main differences between Cruncher and the original. As mentioned earlier, each level has its own unique design and the number of green pills, teleporters as well as ghosts vary between them. But the really interesting part is that this game also features a 2-player simultaneous mode: Being able to play with a friend at the same time, one might ask why this feat wasn't already implemented in the original Pac Man. The second player can be identified on the slightly darker yellow shade of the Cruncher sprite and though you cannot directly kill each other, this brings a lot more strategy into the game: Whether working as a team (makes the game a good bit easier) or ''stealing'' away all the green pills and leaving your companion as an easy target for the wandering ghosts, it's up to the players.

As if this isn't enough, the game also comes with a full-fledged construction kit. For those with a creative touch who've mastered all 100 levels and looking for new challenges, every existing level can be re-constructed via an easy-to-use maze builder, with little limitations. These mazes can be saved and played independently from the regular levels and will certainly keep you occupied for a while.

And what can you say about the controls of a Pac clone? No fire button needed, the little yellow guy(s) can be maneuvered easily through the passages by just using a joystick or control keys. One move in a certain direction and you keep moving until you bump into a wall (or a ghost).

Graphics: 3
Apparently the programmers forgot or no one told them that they were writing a game on the Amiga. As in the good old days, the protagonist is munching his way through boringly designed levels. With the exception of the ghosts and the power pills everything has been kept yellow, Cruncher, the regular pills and the labyrinth walls. The actual ''background'' (if you can call it that) is pitch black. Another boo for the design of the enemies; Unlike in the original, they all share the same color, blue. At least, to separate the second player from the first, Cruncher No. 2 comes up with a different shade of...yellow. Aside from the different layout of the mazes in later levels there's likewise no graphical diversion for the mazes themselves and even if taken into consideration that the game is based on a simple yet original concept like Pac-Man, this could've been done a lot better.

Music/FX: 6
The digitalized main theme in the title screen is a decent example of the Amiga's ability in the audio department. Short and crisp, it gets you in the proper mood to start the game. However, after starting the game, most of the time you just hear pretty dreary sound effects, which incidentally fit the graphical surroundings in terms of boredom and start to get on the player's nerves very quickly.

Final Notes
Never been a big Pac-Man fan by myself, this game will certainly appeal those who always wanted a clone of one of the most successful arcade games ever for Commodore's 16-Bitter. They shouldn't expect too much, however. While some additions are useful and provide a somewhat lasting fun with the game like the 2-Player simultaneous mode or the easy-to-use construction-set, some other, rather unplanned features are merely annoying. The graphic and sound effects are disappointing, even worse, the ''AI'' of the ghosts leaves much to be desired. You almost have have to beg to actually lose a live and the ghosts' aggressiveness don't increase much in the later levels (and, along with their same color scheme, they don't come up with an individual character either), which is a big disappointment. What makes (or better, made) the game interesting, is that it was offered as a low budget game, for about 1/3 of the price of a licensed title; A fair move, also considering that much worse games were released at much higher prices for the Amiga.

All in all, this game will certainly please old Pac Man fanatics and is also interesting for players looking for a simple, unchallenging game. Double the fun for those who can find a friend to join in. If you have never been a fan of the original game (like me), you won't become one after some rounds with Cruncher, but even then, it's nevertheless worth a closer look, as it provides some interesting features never seen in a Pac clone before. In any case, have a nice meal!




Reviewer's Score: 5/10 | Originally Posted: 04/30/03, Updated 05/02/04