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"Remember those guys from the commercials?"

One of the most successful public service commercials of all time has been those weird talking crash test dummies. "You can learn a lot from a dummy". While that statement is arguable, and whether these commercials actually made people where their seat belts is irrlevant, because everybody has heard of these commercials. Success is one thing, but these guys landing a game of their own is another thing completely. And the results don't really work out.

The crash test dummies are doing side jobs to pick up some quick cash. So of course, you are controling one of them as they go through the various stages. Each of the stages controls completely different, but none of them is very fun. In the first stage you have to jump off of a burning building and land on a target, but you have to make it look as dramatic as possible. So as a result, you want to hit as many awnings and balconies as possible. And at the bottom, you have to land on the bull's eye of a target. The more "dramatic" it looks, the more money you'll get. It's not that simple though, because some of the windows have fire coming out of them. And since the dummies are made of wood, hit the fire too many times and you get burnt, and you DIE! The second stage has you skiing. You're supposed to slalom, or run into poles or something, I can't quite remember. There are also snowmen littered throughout the course. By hitting these snowmen, you'll get more cash when you're done. Like any good skiing game, there are also tons of trees to avoid. The third stage has you driving a car. It seems that even with all their side jobs, the dummies got their regular job too. Your object of this is to crash into a wall. Of course, it's not that simple. There are lots of obstacles in the way, and tricky turns. Plus you have to get gas on the way, or you might run out of fuel (how these guys fill up their tank while driving is beyond me). Also scattered throughout the level are piles of money, which...of course add to your monetary total. At the end of this level is another target that you'll have hit for more money. The fourth level has you working in a bomb factory. You have to pick everything up and avoid the bombs (or the other way around, my brain's a bit hazy). This level is kinda hard, and the action gets pretty intense/frustrating. Get through level 4 and you're on your way to level 5. 5 has you piloting a space ship where you have to do something, probably disarm some bombs. I don't know too much about this level, as I always died at the very beginning of it, so of course it's pretty difficult. Although the levels are varied, the game is short and tiresome.

The graphics of this game aren't that great. While falling, your dummy looks kinda dorky, and nothing special's there. Skiing he looks a little better, but nothing outstanding. While you're driving the car, the graphics aren't that great either, hardly any detail is added. In the bomb factory the graphics are a bit better, but not much. The space graphics aren't good at all, they seem too small, and you'll be straining your eyes to see them. The sound is nothing memorable at all, just your basic Game Gear music.

Overall, although the idea is intriguing, the game simply isn't fun. The game seems a bit too easy until you get to level 4, where it seems too hard. The game's also very short, and with practice I'm sure you'll be able to beat it in under 15 minutes easily. This game's not very good, and it's definately not worth buying. I guess if you can find it under a dollar you could probably pawn it off for a couple bucks, but otherwise avoid it. If you have a friend with this game, play it, that'll cure any urges you have to buy this snore of a game.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 08/07/01