Prehistorik Man Longplay (SNES) [QHD]

Game Info
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Developer: Titus Software
Publisher: Titus Software
Year of Release: 1995

Game Review & Impressions
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For those who might not be aware, Prehistorik began life as a fairly innocuous flick-screen platform game on the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, PC and Amstrad CPC computers. You played a club-wielding cave dude, whose sole job was to find and eat enough food in each of the levels to earn progress to the next stage. It featured some really cool graphics, but the gameplay, hampered by some awkward controls, meant it hardly a classic. A sequel -- Prehistorik 2 -- emerged in 1993, which passed me by.

Fast-forward to 1995, and Prehistorik Man arrives for the SNES. A seemingly retooled and re-imagined version of Prehistorik 2 for the console, I was curious to see how the series had evolved since the original game. Given Titus' previous form, I wasn't holding out high hopes, that's for sure.

Keeping in tradition with the series, Prehistorik Man is classic platforming game in every sense of the word. As before, the emphasis is still very much about combing each of the game's 24 levels for food, although Sam, our loin-cloth wearing hero, is now gathering sustenance for the good of whole tribe, rather than just filling his own greedy guts. Furthermore, the village elder packs Sam off on some hair-brained scheme to acquire a copious quantity of bones from a mythical Dinosaur Graveyard, which can be used as currency to buy as much grub as needed. Thus ensues much platforming, baddy-whacking and secret hunting action.

Having played the game through to completion, I'm happy to report that not only is Prehistorik Man a genuinely good game, I think it's a bit of a hidden gem. The quality of the artwork, audio effects and general polish and presentation are to an extremely high standard. The controls are fluid and responsive, and the camera system always keeps Sam near the centre of the action. The developers continually mix things up by giving Sam new modes of transport to try, including a primitive hang glider and pogo stick, which helps keep the game fresh throughout it's considerable length. The number of health collectibles is also quite generous for a game of this type, making it more accessible than some of its contemporaries. I do wish the developers hadn't made some of the secrets quite so hard to find, but aside from this particular gripe, Prehistorik Man is a cracking platformer!

Related Longplays & Videos
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Prehistorik (Amiga):    • Prehistorik Longplay (Amiga) [50 FPS]  

Chapters
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TBC