Graphics: Good, for the time (The game is several years old)

Atmosphere: Excellent. Highly faithful to the cartoon

Voices: Excellent.

Plot: Again, highly faithful to the cartoon.

Puzzles: Not enough of them, but the ones they have are vey fair

Difficulty. Easy. Expierenced gamers should finish in under 10 hours.

Death: No. Impossible to die; You may have to replay some annoying timed sequences though.

I have fond memories of staying up late in college and taking study breaks by watching the Duckman Cartoon on late night USA.

(For those not in the know, Duckman was an odd cartoon about this duck who was a P.I., his partner Cornfed- a pig who talked like Joe Friday, his secretaries Fluffy and Uranus who were stuffed teddy bears, and his family who included a very dumb son and a super smart one with two heads) The show was well written, intelligent, and had a deeply cyncial wit- so naturally it didn't do well.

It did well enough, however, to inspire this game, which was only released in Germany. Duckman has become one of the "holy grails" of adventure gamers. So you can imagine how excited I was a few weeks ago when I acquired it through UGTZ.

Adjusting for the games age, the graphics and sound are excellent- it's as close to the cartoon as you could come on a top of the line PC back when the game was made. For the most part, the original voice talent from the cartoon was used and it shows. (I think the only holdout was Jason Alexander, voice of the original Duckman, and the replacement did an excellent job)

The plot could've been lifted straight out of the cartoon as well: While duckman has been blowing off his job and family by spending time at a spa, the network has replaced him with a new Duckman. Cornfed smells a rat, and starts to investigate the new Duckman from inside the studio, while you (the old Duckman) vow to get your family and your job back- any way you can.

The puzzles are good; though more of them would've been nice. They range from getting a giant spark plug off a billboard to how to stop your armchair from burning up on re-entry. I was never stuck for long- a bit of thought or expiermentation always revealed the correct answer, and all of the puzzles made sense. There was never a part where I felt like I had to read the game designer's mind in order to solve a puzzle.

There were a couple of timed sequences that I thought were poor choices to include, but you can figure them out as well (You may need to listen to Cornfed saying "Luckily, that's not what happened" a few dozen times first).

There are no real red herrings- there are a number of hotspots that don't advance the game but are fun to watch (most of which are in Fluffy and Uranus' house)but they're could've been more of those as well.

The game gets bonus points for mentioning "The Nightmare before Christmas" and "Star Trek". I'm a sucker foor good geek references, and those are two of my favorites.

In conclusion- if you've got a computer, if you have a few hours to spare, and if you can find them, maybe you too can hire..

..oh wait..

I mean if you can find it, I reccomend you play Duckman. Its a fun way to kill an evening.

Grade :A-, *** , 8/10- for those who care about such things

R

Bredon,

I am with you - I loved the old cartoon series and thought the game was a great romp. Surly and somewhat evil minded - Duckman rules. heh-heh-heh

Great review. This game is a bit hard to find - but not impossible. With the big release of the german - english versions - there will be more popping up for resale at fairly reasonable prices.

Thanks and keep these reviews coming. Well done

Laura

Great review, thanks! I loved this game, mostly for its sarcastic wit. But from the opening scenes where Duckman is enjoying himself in the spa with a cocktail and two buxom babes,through most of the game, the content is very much adult oriented, so buyer beware.When you solve one of the puzzles, Duckman screams encouragement "Well, spank me silly, we're cooking with oil!' Gotta love that Duck!