Antarctic Adventure is a fun and simple arcade game for the old MSX computer, which was unofficially ported to DOS by a company that few people have ever heard of.
The game's star is Penta, a penguin who has to run across Antarctica, visiting all the different research stations spread across the country. The player simply has to avoid obstacles and make it to the checkpoint before the timer runs out. Penta can dodge, move slower or faster, and jump to avoid seals and cracks in the ice. It takes precious seconds to recover from mishaps, and because of the timer, you can't always go slowly. You'll also get bonus points by catching fish thrown by seals or from collecting green flags. When the timer runs out, it's game over, and you have to start again. If you manage to win the game, in the typical old arcade-game fashion, it starts over.
In conclusion, it's nothing spectacular, but not a bad game either. It's great for coffee breaks.
Fun fact:
This is the first game from the legendary Japanese developer/weirdo Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Metal Gear series.
Controls:
They're very simple: the up and down arrows control the speed of Penta; the left and right arrows move him, well, left and right; and you can jump with the spacebar. Joysticks and gamepads are also supported.
Technical info:
The game works in Windows XP , but without the sound and music. Again, this is not an official port. It was made by a company called Friends Software. Is it recoded from scratch, or is it a cleverly disguised emulator running a ROM? Who knows, and who cares?
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