Dr Muto Review

Here's a guest review from the loverly Moz! (Better late than never) V^^^V

I have to admit when I was asked to review this game many weeks ago (Sorry Ed...!!!) I had never heard of it. I assumed that it would be just another platformer, which starts off being slightly quirky but soon becomes frustrating, tedious and predictable - how wrong I was.

Dr. Muto is a mad scientist whose projects have always been something of a disaster for all those involved. However despite being inept in everything that he does, this doesn't damped his enthusiasm and he offers his services to the President of planet Midway whose people are in the midst of an energy crisis caused by Burnitall Industries. Despite all the warnings from his advisers, the President allows Dr Muto to build an energy device, after all "What could possibly go wrong?" Well that soon becomes clear for as soon as the device is activated the whole of planet Midway is blown to kingdom come. Ah!! However, one small rock remains intact and it happens to be underneath the residence of Dr Muto. Outside the house is the broken Genitor 9000 which Muto needs to repair so he can rebuild planet Midway. Therefore with the guidance of his rather sarcastic and scathing computer "Al" (which seems to have the same superiority complex of "Hal" the computer from the film "Lonely Planet", ...now I'm showing my age!!) and armed with what appears to be some sort of electrical cattle prod, Dr Muto uses his hi-tech telescope to transport himself to the neighboring four planets to retrieve the 17 missing pieces needed to rebuild the defunct Genitor 9000....

Clear so far?... Well this is where things started to get a little complicated, (or maybe I was still hung over from the night before, anyway...) I have to admit I spent the first hour totally bewildered as to what on earth this game was all about. However, although I didn't have a clue, it was great fun finding out...

It seems that the Genitor 9000 needs a bit more that a few missing pieces to get it going.. it also needs power. The power is supplied by Isotopes which appear as over sized particles and are scattered throughout the levels. Blue and white are worth a single Isotope, green and yellow are worth five and are generally hidden in crates which Dr Muto can destroy with his cattle prod thingy... Dr Muto can also sustain damage from his numerous adversaries he meets on his quest, so to replenish or increase his heath you need to collect vials filled with "magic red bubbly" which are also secreted around the levels in crates. And the scavenging doesn't stop there.. there are also scrap parts to found. There are seven that are hidden in each location. Collect all seven and you have created yourself a new gadget, these gadgets can be anything from rocket boots to an invisibility suit - however these gadgets can only be used in specific areas and only last a short period of time - well as you should know in the gaming world nothing good ever lasts!!. But wait there's more... Each level of the game has a certain number of challenges to complete, complete the challenge and you are rewarded with a piece of "Terra". You do not need to have all of the Terra to complete a level, however I believe the amount of Terra collected will have a bearing on the outcome at the end of the game. And what platform game would be complete without the obligatory power obsessed "boss" at the end of each level.

All this and I haven't even got to the best thing about this game - Dr Muto doesn't really have much in way of weaponry other than his trusty cattle prod thing. He can pick up the odd missile launcher or machine gun that fires explosive bubble gum balls, but these things can only be used in certain areas and for very short periods of time. What Dr Muto does have however, is the ability to morph... and it is this that sets Dr Muto apart from other platform games. To begin with, Muto can only morph into a mouse - this means that he has access to hidden areas through cracks in walls, or pipes. Throughout the levels Muto will come across various forms of life, birds, fish etc, by extracting combinations their DNA with the "cattle prod" other morphs become available, so far I've found a gorilla, spider, fish and a type of bat. Each morph has its own character, abilities and attack moves. This ability to morph makes the game more challenging, exciting, and funny and gives each level a different spin on the last. I love it....

Each planet is made up of a different environment. To access all the areas Dr Muto will need to morph into the relevant character ie fish for the water planet, bat for the floating planet etc. This stops the game from becoming repetitive and I find myself looking forward to finding out what the next level/planet will bring. To be honest this is the reason why this review is late, I was actually too engrossed in playing the game instead of reviewing it.

However Dr Muto game is by no means perfect. The hints given to some of the challenges can be very obscure and this can make the game a little confusing as it becomes difficult to work out exactly what you should be doing or even where you should be, to complete a task. Saving the game can also be a nightmare as you can only save when you activate one of the few transporters that are dotted around a planet. Some of the areas that need to be completed can be quite large and complex, and it can be very frustrating when you have spent several hours completing a challenge and can't find a transporter to save at the end. Al, Dr Muto's computer not only gives hints to some of the objectives but also serves as a map to an area. However you can not take this information with you, so once you have left Al behind it is very difficult to tell exactly where you are and where you should be going.

Despite all this I think that Dr Muto is a fantastic game. The graphics are fantastic, locations colourful, and the controls simple. Dr Muto would appeal to all age groups and yet is recommended to age 11+? This may be because very occasionally the dialogue within the game has Dr Muto muttering the odd profanity - and I don't know why as it is not essential to the plot and adds nothing to the gameplay, and it's a shame as Midway, the developers, have possibly excluded younger gamers from experiencing what is a unique, enjoyable and very addictive game.