Chuck Rock (SNES) Playthrough
172A playthrough of Sony Imagesoft's 1992 action-platformer for the Super Nintendo, Chuck Rock.
Chuck Rock was the poster boy for Core Design, an English development house that made a name for themselves on the Amiga before hitting the big leagues with Tomb Raider in 1996.
Chuck is a Stone Age rocker whose girlfriend is kidnapped by "Garry Gritter," a villain with one of the most cringe-inducing names to ever grace a video game. (At least Ophelia doesn't appear to be in much danger, eh? Way too much grass on that field for Gary Glitter's tastes.)
To save her, Chuck has to forge his way through five stages, battling dinosaurs and prehistoric animals with boulders, drop kicks, and a belly bounce that would make John Goodman's Fred Flintstone proud.
Everything is exactly as you'd expect from a ported Amiga platformer. The graphics are striking; the music is cheery, energetic, and well mixed; the controls are responsive; and the dead-simple platforming works well enough despite being saddled with the usual array of Euro-platformer bugbears. The heavy jumps, finnicky hit detection, and cheap enemy placement are ever-present irritants, and though they don't suck all the fun out of the game, they do hobble its ability to compete with the better SNES platformers of its time.
If you were looking to spend $60 on a caveman-themed SNES platformer in 1992, Joe & Mac would've been your best bet. Like Super Adventure Island, Chuck Rock was good weekend rental fodder - it's a lot of fun to play in short bursts - but the excellent presentation can't hide its lack of substance and polish.
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