Game Review: Pigs in Space (Commodore 64, Mastertronic)

Pigs in Space was one of a series of games made with The Games Creator, but had up to three releases.  The original release was on the ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) label, and then reissued on Hitech Games Plus (bizarrely in this case still with a run of ACE cassettes) and then it was handed over to Mastertronic for a second reissue.  Several of these were by David and Richard Darling, including this one – notably they are only credited on the Mastertronic re-release.   It does seem odd that this game at the time did not sell as well as others released around the same time.  Was the game possibly withdrawn, and if so, why?  If you happen to know the answer, please do let us know.

March of the Pigs

The game’s instructions during load seem to appear to be reminiscent of the arcade game Pooyan, with some slight tweaks.  The concept is set in space with the enemies being space wolves, and you as Mummy Pig, attempting to dodge the space dust being thrown at you by the wolves and ascending and descending on a basket, shooting with your pig lazer.  The game’s title may have also been a homage to the iconic sketch within The Muppet Show, Pigs in Space, although said show’s last original transmission was in 1981. The features and instructions appear to be the same as the original ACE release, incidentally.

All the Pigs, All Lined Up

Once the game has loaded, you will see Mummy Pig in the basket, with the space wolves coming down on balloons.  Shooting the space wolves mean that they fall to the ground, and you need to shoot a certain number of the space wolves to move on. If the wolves reach the ground, they can walk along the bottom and then up the rope, where contact with Mummy Pig is fatal.  The space ship where the space wolves come out from can also throw down mortar bombs, more so if you are attempting to rescue the piglet from the left-hand side of the screen.

Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)

Initially, the game can appear to be quite tricky, but the key is to keep moving up and down so that the space dust being thrown at you is easier to dodge around.  Your pig laser resembles more of an arrow from a crossbow to be honest, and does get the space wolves, even if they have a balloon attached.  The wolves with the balloons do score more points, and if the wolves reach the bottom, Mummy Pig can leave the basket and shoot along the bottom of the screen.  This is a sensible gameplay element or you would be resigned to losing a life the moment a space wolf hits the bottom of the screen, and at least gives you a second chance.

Flying Pig United

Once you have shot down enough of the space wolves, you can move across the bottom of the screen to collect the piglet.  However, the mortar bombs being thrown down come at an immense pace, much faster than Mummy Pig can walk, and this does mean often that you cannot dodge the bomb coming at you.  It would have been sensible to slow the mortar bomb down for the first level and then gradually speed it up later, but with practice you can do it and save the piglet.  Once you reach the piglet, the music speeds up (a common trait amongst most Games Creator games) and on to the next level, where it does feel a little bit faster.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Pigs in Space are reasonable to a degree. The backdrop of the space ship and trees near the piglet are okay, the shooting of space dust and arrows shows reasonable static graphics, although a black border to represent space rather than the green of the trees may have worked better here. The sound is a repetitive twenty second or so piece that really does grate after a few listens, and may have been better to have the option of just sound effects only to at least spare your ears from the cacophony.

Final Thoughts

Pigs in Space is another case of a cynical cash in and the third release of the same game in all is somewhat unacceptable.  Underneath the average graphics and poor sound does at least lie a game with some playability, and whilst you may not play it for hours at a time, it is one for the quick blast element.  It does at least play reasonably fair in that if you are hit by the space dust, it is down to you, and the fact you can at least go to ground to shoot the space wolves is sensible.  One more for the collectors, especially due to the low sales, but nonetheless not the worst Games Creator made game ever.

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