Jim Power

STORY / GAMEPLAY
Much like the Turrican series, Jim Power is a prime example of a platform shoot 'em up story which rarely fails to grant the player with great time of action with stunning visuals and sound! The story takes place somewhere in the future where you play the part of a secret detective (and a capable shooter) from the Special Warfare Unit, launching a mission to rescue the President's daughter that's been kidnapped by an evil creature named Vulkhor and taken to a beautiful -but not so friendly- planet called Mutant. The main goal in each level is to advance to the far right (end of the level) of the screen before the clock ends, taking out hordes of mutants (zombies, beasts and other human-like creatures that wander around), as well as avoiding various traps, spikes, dripping acids or moving platforms! The quest seems hard huh? Yes. You must also note that, the game does not offer an energy bar rather than just a few lives, while any contact (or a misstep) with any of the above, will result to instant death, taking you a few meters back! Your weaponry is fantastic. You have a rapid fire gun and a bunch of smart bombs. You gun can be upgraded by collecting several bonuses left from your dead enemies. You may also find and collect extra time bonuses in order to extend your ... survival. Two out of the total five levels offer pure shoot 'em up gameplay. These are Level 2 and 4, in which Jim is equipped with a jet pack and shoots everything that comes towards him, in a horizontal style gameplay. Note that at the end of each level, Jim has to wear his jet pack and fight gigantic bosses!

GRAPHICS /SOUND
Jim Power: Lost Dimensions brings some impressive visual additions to the original. The game's graphics look stunning but extremely "heavy", oddly colored and they are just painful for the player's eyes! The visuals were developed via NUOPTIX 3D, a technique that enhances the game when the player uses 3D glasses (based on the Pulfrich effect that gives depth on the backgrounds by using the relative difference in signalling timing between our two eyes!!!). But fortunately, the game can also be played without using the 3D glasses. The sound on the PC version is equally good and Chris Hulsbeck's music is once more fantastic! The PC version supports the SoundBlaster hardware and in addition to the great soundtrack, it offers a variety of nicely done sounds effects.