Retro Gaming Zoo #4

Humans are stupid. Animals are always better than stupid humans, everyone knows that, and it's something that's also true in the world of video games. A tremendous variety of weird and wonderful animals have starred in games over the years and here I'll be taking a closer look at some of them. Next up is:

Creature #4 - Alestes of Agony
Type of Creature? Owl  Realistic Portrayal? Kind of, yes

By the early-90s, animal characters were firmly established in the world of videogames, often taking the starring role, but most of these were found in platform or general action games. There had of course been a shoot 'em up example or two but they were few and far between. One, however, that pretty much everyone remembers, here in the UK at least, is Agony. Not only was it from Psygnosis in the days of their gorgeous, distinctive game artwork, but the animal it featured was also a glorious, majestic barn owl. Alestes, as it turned out (if you read the accompanying blurb) was a student wizard who had been transformed into a barn owl, but it mattered not to those who played it - we were in control of a beautifully-animated flapper, swooshing through moody locales and taking out horrifying beasties with his echolocation waves. Now, I can't say for sure how destructive real owl echolocation waves are, and I'm confident they can't be powered-up, but aside from that uncertainty (and the fact that he used to be a human), Alestes does appear to be not only a graceful game character, especially for a shoot em up, but also a pretty accurately-portrayed one.

Is His Game Any Good? Indeed it is. To be honest, it was always a game I expected to be more style than substance, and I suppose it is, but contrary to what is often the norm in those circumstances, it doesn't make it a bad game. Aside from its visuals, it didn't break any new ground, admittedly, but it was a cracking game for its time and is still very enjoyable now. Check the full review here.