Developer: Core Design Publisher: Virgin Release: 1991 Genre: Platformer
Ah the caveman game. Once upon a time cavemen were all the rage alongside witches in the 16-bit era. Everyone knows Bonk but few remember a prehistoric hero that was more popular than that mascot, especially in Europe. Chuck Rock was the mascot for Core Design before Lara Croft came along and changed their fortunes. Personally I would have used Wonder Dog rather than a fat, smelly caveman but I digress. This rather unassuming game was ported to many, many different platforms and the Sega Genesis version is one of the best. But as a game it is a bit middling.
The world of Chuck Rock is very similar to the Flintstones in that while it is prehistoric they have many modern day equivalents such as TVs, cars, and musical instruments. Chuck is watching TV while his wife Ophelia does laundry. His jealous rival Gary Gritter kidnaps her and Chuck sets off in pursuit. Like many of their initial Sega offerings Chuck Rock started life on the Amiga and Atari ST. But it is right at home on the Genesis and even has better music. The Sega CD version unfortunately is one of many titles that are simply Genesis cartridges with a redbook audio soundtrack and not worth tracking down. To some extent you could say the same about the game overall. It isn’t bad; it simply does not stand out.
Chuck Rock and Bonk could not be any more dissimilar. Where Bonk has his massive head to butt enemies Chuck only has is giant gut. The belly bounce has limited range and you will want to avoid relying on it at all costs. Luckily Chuck can perform a jump kick and pick up big stones to throw at enemies. These rocks serve multiple purposes other than as projectiles; they can be stepping stones or a shield from enemies and such above. The heavier the rock the slower Chuck moves and he jumps lower.
The level design in Chuck Rock is the peak of European design at the time. While it may seem derogatory there is some truth to it. It features all of the typical failings that plagued their platformers: excessive leaps of faith, unclear pathing, and unfair enemy placement. Background objects frequently obscure enemies leading to cheap hits. The delineation between the background and foreground is also sometimes unclear, a pet peeve that plagued non-Japanese platformers at the time. You learn to work around it however you should not have to in order to enjoy the game.
As much as I do not want to compare the two Chuck Rock feels like a lesser version of Bonk. That game had variety in the different ways to use your head as well as clever stage mechanics while Chuck Rock is basic in comparison. It almost seems as though they want the game to revolve around stone throwing but in almost all instances you can ignore it. At most rocks enable basic platforming which the game does not rely on. The slow pace does not do the game any favors either. Throughout I felt myself looking for a reason to continue. It’s not so much that the game is bad, it simply lacks anything that would make it stand out. In a sea of mascot platforms that might as well be a death sentence.
Overall Chuck Rock is moderately easy in spite of some of its flaws and quirks. The belly bounce will lead to many, many cheap hits. Someone must have realized this as life restoring hearts are almost always a few feet apart. Flora and fauna obscure enemies constantly and in most cases it is better to simply run away. Platforming is minimal and never challenging. Extra lives are not plentiful but they are not necessary. Aside from the boss battles you would have to actively try to die. Speaking of bosses, their patterns are simple. However they are damage sponges that drag out what would otherwise be an enjoyable encounter. I can appreciate an easy game; lord knows I certainly don’t want to deal with Ghouls ‘n Ghosts style difficulty all the time. But this one could have put up a better fight if its flaws were fixed.
In Closing
Chuck Rock is a decent platformer. But decent is not good enough. There are far too many excellent platformers to settle for one that is average. Unless you are on a mission to fully explore the Genesis library there is no real reason to bother with this one. Chuck Rock was successful enough to earn a sequel and a Mario Kart style spinoff which is mind boggling in my eyes. I would rather replay Sonic the Hedgehog again.
