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W hat with Friday the Thirteenth part 9 and Halloween 4B, sequels still seem to be quite popular – and lucrative. Ant Heads, Cinemaware’s follow up to It Came From The Desert, contains two disks worth of sequel matter that clues on to your existing It Came disk, providing the quiet town of Lizard Breath with a new twist to its story.

It has been five years since the giant ants first terrorised Lizard Breath. As Dr. Greg Bradley you had to prove the existence of the ants and then wipe them out once and for all, a move that was successful. But five years is a long time in B-movie land...
In a suspension of disbelief reminiscent of something from the BBC2 series Quatum Leap, you find yourself playing the battle toughed Brick Nash, a Korean vet, who hijacks a truck load of plutonium from a local atomic test stie – a seemingly irrational act, unless you are one of the few people who kow the after effects of a nuclear test (Brick’s brother, for one, will be glowing green until well into the twenty-fifth century). Unfortunately, a wandering group of giant ants have found the plutonium supply and have ripped the truck apart for some heavy meatl meals on wheels for the Queen Ant.

Lizard Breath is pretty much unchanged from the first game. There is familiar faces – ice, Biff and Dusty, although Dr Wells has been dead for five years and, unfortunately, it looked like he was the only one who could help Brick prove that atomic testing is bad news for Lizard Breath.
Meanwhile, the ants have been busy. A new nest, a new queen and a secret egg story. Worst of all they have learnt a new trick and are getting some of Lizard Breath’s seedier chracters to do their dirty work for them and to make sure nobody enters the pest control business.

I found Ant Heads rather weird at first. In It Came From The Desert everybody knew you and was willing to help, but now you play a complete stranger whose only real interest is himself. The new plot leaves you almost completely without a clue as what to do next and is far more complex than its predecessor.
Most of the sound effects and graphics are the same as those in It Came. A few game play options and a greater depth to the conversations make a welcome improvement, as does the seedier sleazy nature of Brick Nash.

A brilliant follow-up which excels in graphics, sound, and in its intricate plotting. If you own a copy of It Came From The Desert I heartily recommend purchasing this follow-up. One of the best sequels to date.

Mark Patterson