Desert Speedtrap (SMS, 1993)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7 Control-6.5 Challenge-7.5 Story-5.5
Level Design-6 Frustration-7.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-4.5
Overall Score-6
+
Pretty fast paced if you learn the levels or get the speed booster power-up
Pretty good art direction, Nice artwork stills between levels as well as an intermission map
Bosses that start harassing you some ways into the level (Shinobi 1, ESWAT) - can't fight back though
Frequent seed bowl checkpoints which also restore 1 HP each (some restore 3 but you have to stand in place and repeatedly eat)
Difficulty options (easy-hard, hard makes Coyote a bit more aggressive and might make power-ups a bit less frequent)
Temporary invincibility power-up (fairly common drop by enemies)
Pretty nice animations of Coyote when finishing a level
+/-
Hop 'n bop/Mario-inspired gameplay (jump on enemies to kill them - could've made you use this to bounce higher/further more though)
Vaguely maze-like levels
Collectathon-lite (collecting some stars is good since you regain time and the time limit is pretty harsh even from the get go)
Food and stars don't respawn until a game over
Can bounce on water (Sonic 3) however almost no speed is needed so it's not that impactful
Short levels
Power-ups rise into the air after being dropped by enemies - if you fell down after killing the enemy then it's lost
Repeats each boss across every sub level
-
Some seed bowls are trapped and take away 1-2 HP instead (no way to tell but you can at least memorize which ones are trapped)
Some control issues (implements the "running in air animation" (literal coyote time) which is just kind of annoying in practice - more forgiving hit detection around platform edges would've been more helpful, keep jumping if you hold down the button (and a slight delay to the next jump if you don't do it), kind of high default jump height, somewhat unforgiving hit detection on enemies and springs, have to stop right next to seed containers (and switches) to interact with them (and if you press against them then nothing happens) - breaks flow, acceleration in mid-air could've been a bit stronger when jumping while not at full horizontal speed - if you keep jumping and moving in one direction you actually don't gain any speed)
Levels don't flow as well as in the best platformers of the late '80s-early '90s (too many small enemies and hazards that kill your momentum when you try to move quickly unless you memorize the levels in detail (and no equivalent to Sonic's roll move, plus even if you do some segments near the end of levels are very "stop and go"), no item magnet (see Sonic 3 for example) - combined with the sometimes suboptimal placement of the stars makes levels not flow quite as well as they could've, some slow moving platforms, can't jump down through platforms that can be jumped up through - no puzzle reason)
Trial & error (some blind jumps into enemies and sometimes arrow signs are pointing towards blind jumps into meat-eating plants, some shots from off screen)
Limited continues
Lacks creative mechanics and eventually interesting level gimmicks
Doesn't capture the vibe of the show quite as well as the MD game and you can't play as Coyote (if he touches or kills you then you don't get captured, can't outwit or attack him even indirectly - just run past him towards the exit sign)
Kind of annoying music at times
Sometimes garish background/foreground colors, Sometimes overly simplistic backgrounds (the single color mountains and clouds)
The separate mini-game rooms are pretty bland (small room with a bunch of stars to collect until a hidden timer runs out)
The rollerskate levels (too many meat-eating plants)
Starts repeating the gimmick that the boss uses later on
No minecart segments in the mine levels
Kinda short and feels like it ends abruptly with a level that's basically the same as the first truck themed level
Notes:
-Save states don't really work with this game (in Emulicious anyway), collected items stay collected after loading a previous save
Level Design-6 Frustration-7.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-4.5
Overall Score-6
+
Pretty fast paced if you learn the levels or get the speed booster power-up
Pretty good art direction, Nice artwork stills between levels as well as an intermission map
Bosses that start harassing you some ways into the level (Shinobi 1, ESWAT) - can't fight back though
Frequent seed bowl checkpoints which also restore 1 HP each (some restore 3 but you have to stand in place and repeatedly eat)
Difficulty options (easy-hard, hard makes Coyote a bit more aggressive and might make power-ups a bit less frequent)
Temporary invincibility power-up (fairly common drop by enemies)
Pretty nice animations of Coyote when finishing a level
+/-
Hop 'n bop/Mario-inspired gameplay (jump on enemies to kill them - could've made you use this to bounce higher/further more though)
Vaguely maze-like levels
Collectathon-lite (collecting some stars is good since you regain time and the time limit is pretty harsh even from the get go)
Food and stars don't respawn until a game over
Can bounce on water (Sonic 3) however almost no speed is needed so it's not that impactful
Short levels
Power-ups rise into the air after being dropped by enemies - if you fell down after killing the enemy then it's lost
Repeats each boss across every sub level
-
Some seed bowls are trapped and take away 1-2 HP instead (no way to tell but you can at least memorize which ones are trapped)
Some control issues (implements the "running in air animation" (literal coyote time) which is just kind of annoying in practice - more forgiving hit detection around platform edges would've been more helpful, keep jumping if you hold down the button (and a slight delay to the next jump if you don't do it), kind of high default jump height, somewhat unforgiving hit detection on enemies and springs, have to stop right next to seed containers (and switches) to interact with them (and if you press against them then nothing happens) - breaks flow, acceleration in mid-air could've been a bit stronger when jumping while not at full horizontal speed - if you keep jumping and moving in one direction you actually don't gain any speed)
Levels don't flow as well as in the best platformers of the late '80s-early '90s (too many small enemies and hazards that kill your momentum when you try to move quickly unless you memorize the levels in detail (and no equivalent to Sonic's roll move, plus even if you do some segments near the end of levels are very "stop and go"), no item magnet (see Sonic 3 for example) - combined with the sometimes suboptimal placement of the stars makes levels not flow quite as well as they could've, some slow moving platforms, can't jump down through platforms that can be jumped up through - no puzzle reason)
Trial & error (some blind jumps into enemies and sometimes arrow signs are pointing towards blind jumps into meat-eating plants, some shots from off screen)
Limited continues
Lacks creative mechanics and eventually interesting level gimmicks
Doesn't capture the vibe of the show quite as well as the MD game and you can't play as Coyote (if he touches or kills you then you don't get captured, can't outwit or attack him even indirectly - just run past him towards the exit sign)
Kind of annoying music at times
Sometimes garish background/foreground colors, Sometimes overly simplistic backgrounds (the single color mountains and clouds)
The separate mini-game rooms are pretty bland (small room with a bunch of stars to collect until a hidden timer runs out)
The rollerskate levels (too many meat-eating plants)
Starts repeating the gimmick that the boss uses later on
No minecart segments in the mine levels
Kinda short and feels like it ends abruptly with a level that's basically the same as the first truck themed level
Notes:
-Save states don't really work with this game (in Emulicious anyway), collected items stay collected after loading a previous save