Download Huckleberry Hound in Hollywood Capers

This game came with the promise of a classic platformer but was marred by the odium of being a licensed game, and we all know what quality licensed games tend to have. The plot, which attempts to give a modicum of sense to the blue hunting dog's leaps and dodges, babbles about stolen Oscars and diamonds which must be recovered from the "Cartoon World". Do not be fooled by the promising title, though, for Hollywood Capers takes place not among the eye-candy glamour of the Dream Factory, but among the typical eclectic hodgepodge. While most of the locales are easy on the eyes, a rotten apple in this bunch is the second, undersea world where it's nearly impossible to make out the platforms (and Huck himself!) amongst the overwhelming dark-blue decor. The art in general is average at best--especially the protagonist's ridiculous jump animation, which consists solely of his standing sprite, spinning around with legs perfectly straight.

Gameplay-wise, Hollywood Capers is a vertical sort of platformer, with Huck forced to ascend and descend the tower-like levels to and fro, in order to collect all the pick-ups and get to the next "scene" (level). The hound has no weaponry at his disposal, so avoiding enemies is his only deliverance--and due to the rather sluggish controls, the health meter will find itself plunging rather rapidly, even with the one health refill that can be found on every level.

The platforms that make up the levels are an important part of the game mechanics; most of them are some sort of a gimmicky invention. They come in many varieties--slippery ice, conveyor belts, annoying teleporters, jump pads... There is one that is especially infuriating: this rascal reverses the left/right controls when stepped on. There is no visual indication when this effect is activated and none when it suddenly ends either, so the frustration potential reaches its maximum, especially on the underwater level where these are easy to confuse with conveyor belts.

Hollywood Capers is a moderately difficult game. Learning to deal with the different varieties of platforms is rather easy, though jumps will pose problems for the stiffly-moving hound throughout the entire game. Avoiding enemies, however, is more complicated and usually not really worth caring about (unless you're striving for high score), since even in case of death you can simply restart the current level. What we have here is a pretty lackluster platformer--yet one with just the tiniest ability to entertain for a while.