Download Baby Jo in Going Home

What does every side scrolling platform game need? Well there’s the hero (the character you control). Next there are different villains (they should be vicious and mean). You also need some weapons to pick up on the way, some powerups to make you stronger or restore your health, some goodies that raise your score and a secret room or two.

Well, according to the description above, this game has it all. Yet somehow it still feels different. I guess milk bottles and rattles aren’t the kind of powerups a tough action character needs. Such a character also wouldn’t cry if stung by a wasp - even if it was a really mean one. OK, nasty storm clouds are a worthy adversary for any hero; there’s no hero out there who wouldn’t mind being struck by lightning, but in every other respect, the main character of this game is acting like a baby! I mean who else but a baby would be bothered by some spitting plants and worms crawling on the floor? And that’s exactly what the main hero (I should say heroine) is. It’s Baby Jo and she wants to get back home - don’t ask me how she got away, because I don't know either.

The music in this game is not too bad, but unfortunately there aren’t any sound effects (I’d love to hear the one of a crying burning baby flying straight up into the sky - sadistic, aren’t I?). The graphics are nice and somewhat humorous, and those storm clouds really do look nasty. The controls are standard: the arrow keys with Space as the fire button. The game runs smoothly, and you won’t have to restart over and over again; you get passwords that make sure you can start at the beginning of a level rather than from the top.

One of the few downsides of this game is the fact that it lacks a two player option. Platform games are so much more fun if you can play against a friend (either in a split screen mode or at least taking turns). Oh well, you can’t have everything. All in all, the game deserves a solid 4 points. I suggest you try it - but be warned, this game is not as easy as you might think by looking at the cute little rug-rat).