Zool 2

Dottor_Psycho 2016-07-29
(6/10)
Fair upgrade from the first episode. A platformer that deserves to be played. Too bad for the usual up to jump and mutually exclusive music and sound effects (6/10).
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yaztromo 2015-03-27
(7/10)
Much improved over Zool 2. The controls are better (but still too slidy), the level design is a big step up and there are many well implemented Sonic style elements (like the tunnels and beams on level 2)

The game is still very cheap, with enemy projectiles hard to distinguish from benign projectiles. Being encouraged to move fast just to run into enemies is something the Sonic titles rarely did.

There is some horrendous slow down as well, which is all too noticeable and distracts from the game.

Graphics are very good apart from the super thick copper bar backgrounds.

7/10
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Spider 2013-11-14
(8/10)
Still a very good platformer. Very nice graphics and cool music. But the gameplay seems to be a little bit too hectic, so sometimes you lose a life too fast. So if you want to have fun you should be a trained platformer...
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lifeschool 2013-07-06
I like Zool but this is just very average, and it has some bad points. Like twice I get to the end of the level with only 90% complete, so I had to intentionally hang around and milk the last few creatures to get the 99% needed to get through the checkpoint. The controls are finiky, jarring, too loose, and often the spin blade will not break the eggs in the egg cups even on command. The constant swinging left and right on rock columns to avoid spiky blobs gets old quickly, and often the player will slow down to a crawl when only one health bar remains until they can find some more. Wading into the action all-guns-blazing like zool is now a foolhardy approach, and with a stupidly long timer the levels must be effectly sneaked around to stand any chance of progress. The enemys can often shot you from off screen but you cant return the favour, and often get hit by default. Even the hidden rooms are boring; not like the 'GamesMaster' secret in Zool. Well, it was not the worst game ever. The game is playable and has no serious bugs, but the zany atmosphere of Zool is missing from this. 5/10
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Prob Lem 2013-04-17
(7/10)
A massive improvement over the original, in every way: Zool no longer moves ludicrously and unplayably fast just for the sake of trying to create a derivative "Animal That Runs Fast" game for the Amiga, his visual design (and that of everything else) has been polished up and he now looks pretty appealing, and the game is actually quite solid.

I would say that it's everything that the much-over-hyped original should have been, but I feel that it's let down slightly by forcing you to choose between music and sound effects, rather than allowing for both. That said, it's now legally available from preservation site, Back to the Roots, at no cost, which cushions that downside a bit!

Given the improvements on show here, it's a shame that a Zool 3 never came into being - though I suppose the fact that it didn't just shows the damage that the first game did to the series' reputation, before it ever really got started. At least they published those novels, afterwards!
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tony day 2012-05-16
(6/10)
Zool is not cool. Its a shamless attempt to create a 'COOL' character by unimaginative suites selling a product. Problems are numerous. Its pretty yes, but incredibly boring. He needs more head stomping ability not that pea shooter attack. The character has bad physics. He floats around and jumps too high. No 2 btn option, no music/FX at the same. Horrible lollypop advertising. And why do all British Platformers have to have sickly sweety worlds? Maybe an above average game if all the hype was removed.
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apachacha 2011-10-29
(8/10)
Good game, but it does get frustrating after a while.
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stooart 2011-01-13
(7/10)
I think I knew I was getting old when Zool and Sonic were too fast for me! I like to explore levels and get the most out of them! Ok, gfx and sound were pleasing enough but I found the controls fiddly and the levels just ok.
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lee.rocks 2010-09-19
While my friends were pratting about with their high-tech Sega gaming systems and Nintendos playing either Sonic or Mario... I was lost in the world of Zool, and was happier than a pig in mud. Who needs a blue hedgehog or a fat plumber when you have a ninja ant of all things? Needless to say at the time I enjoyed playing this for hours on end, finding the secrets and advancing through the levels looking at all the sweets and stuff... Yeah these were the days.
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Dan Locke 2009-09-12
(6/10)
Well, the levels are big and full of secrets, and the trippy look is certainly interesting, but the jittery controls and frequent slowdown hold it back. Not sure if the AGA version is any better, though I'd be surprised if it isn't.

Aside from the aforementioned technical issues, it's light-years ahead of the near-worthless original (whose only redeeming feature was the ability to play a piano by jumping on it). Of course, that's not saying much; "better than horrible" isn't exactly the highest praise, and I only gave this one a 6. But it was certainly a step in the right direction. How good could a Zool 3 have been?
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Chuckles 2009-06-07
(10/10)
Fun to play--good eyecandy.
!!!--CHUPA CHUPS--!!!!
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Scrawffler 2008-10-11
(8/10)
Fun stuff. I preferred this to the original; the levels seemed to be so much better designed, and it was cool that there were two characters to choose from too. I got pretty far in this but never finished it. Addictive, fast-paced and entertaining!
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Nightbird 2007-01-26
(6/10)
Fun little game, if not defiantly irritating in certain places. The whole 'Chupa Chups' thing is only just outshined by the 'Snickers' overkill via the SNES' 'Biker Mice From Mars', however. Then again, lollipops kick arse. Snickers bars give you a taste for woodchip and melted laxative.
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mailman 2006-10-22
(9/10)
I found myself that I needed to adjust or get used to Zool's different approach. I did not like it at the beginning. Especially the ECS version seemed to me a bit empty. AGA version fulfilled the emptiness. Although the game is still a platformer it gives you a lot of fun. The game itself is maybe not one of the hardest task to finish (without any particular difficulties you are able to finish it on the HARD level) but it gives you a lot of fun. Huge scenery objects, a lot of action, different routes to finish the level (depending on the character you choose). Although the Superfrog is unbeatable number 1 for me, Zool 2 does not lose the distance much. The biggest difference between ECS and AGA version is much more advanced keyboard control over the game. One of the disadvantages of the game is that you can not have music and fx at one time. You have to decide on something. Music is good but it is much too loud and struggling through 3 levels hearing it all the time gets you irritated. AGA version gives you possibility to turn it off/on whenever you want.
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EvilCensor 2006-10-20
(1/10)
Tried to be objective.. But I'll say it now this game gets 1/10 from me.. As the associated "pure crap" message was spot on.

Think of Robocod.. With larger sprites/bobs.. Empty, crap, dull.. But popular at the time - which was disheartening.. Gameplay was immensely linear. 1/10 (PURE CRAP - incase you missed it earlier).
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Sakura_Star1 2006-09-06
Zool game sponcored by Chupa Chups? Well....I like it

9 out of 10
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Killbot 2006-09-06
(8/10)
Zool 2 is everything the original should have been. The presentation is much better with Zool himself looking more cartoonish, and the various worlds based around a relatively muted pallete in comparison to the eyeball-assaulting brightness of the first game. Control has been tightened up too and Zool is now a much more agile little beast. The appearence of a sidekick in the form of female ant Zooz is interesting and adds some welcome variety, although she lacks the character of Sonic's Tails or Mario's Luigi.

The main thing which makes this a better game than it's predecessor is that the frustrating and grossly unfair boss battles have been done away with. Zool has now gotten himself an arch-enemy who appears at the end of each world in a slightly different guise, Doctor Robotnik style. This villain, Mental Block, is nicely desgned albeit a bit characterless, but the game's designers learned a lot from the original and fighting him is never frustrating or unfair.

To sum up - it looks better, it sounds better and it plays better. In short it's everything a good sequel should be.

8/10
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MOG 2006-05-02
(8/10)
Strangely I never liked these kindof games with few exceptions...
Zool serie is one of them
The music is very catchy too, still have the main tune in my head after all these years ...
Great game !
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Magog 2005-03-31
(8/10)
This is an example of a sequal better than the original which was pretty good itsself, this really could have used level codes though
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Selectanovel 2004-12-14
(8/10)
Loved the soundtrack, loved the series. One of those games you play for hours and don't realize that you're finishing a whole game. Very Amiga-special, I think.
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