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Title Harlequin
Game Type Platform
Publisher Gremlin, 1991
Players 1
Compatibility ECS and AGA (WHDLoad Patch Available)
HD Installable Yes (With Patch)
Submission Steve Horton

Review
He runs, he glides, he dies in a shower of diamonds!

Meet Harlequin, hero of the title and inhabitor of the surreal world of
Chimera, which looks lifted from a Salvador Dali nightmare! As a taster
the first level starts off at the base of a clock tower, with you next to
a locked door to another level. You'll also pretty soon notice the shower
of small alarm clocks that have excellent homing abilities, smashing into
your head!

As you work your way up the tower using a progression of platforms and
switches you'll also come across large patrol clocks with evil faces,
these take great delight in jumping all over you and will quickly whittle
energy away - luckily the Harlequin is armed with the ability to fire
hearts that will destroy even the hardiest of enemies eventually.

You'll also come across nicely wrapped parcels, standing on these will
release various power ups, like an umbrella that will help you glide (try
falling off the clock tower without one) a heart power up that makes your
shots stronger, a burger for a health boost ( ! ) and on other levels you
can find little rockets that whizz round you hitting incoming enemies, and
a bouncey space hopper........ oh yes and then there's the one that turns
him into the Harlequin fish..............!

The character animation is nice, down to the huffing and puffing when you
bring him to rest after a frenzied session on the platforms! To me it is
an excellent blend of a very good platformer, with puzzles to solve and
it's not entirely linear in the way levels open, and you have to revisit
some levels at different points in the game, by which time they will have
changed slightly too.

Brilliant value for money. The surreal twist on the game settings and
graphics is great and with 850 screens of death buddahs, snakes, temples,
water, death slides and kite rides this will challenge, frustrate and
delight all at the same time, I'm very happy to have it back in my
collection!