The demoscene does it again?
Monster Business is a fun-themed platformer released in 1991 by Eclipse and produced by incredibly talented people you may recognise from the ST scene. As storylines go, this one is a Christmas cracker!!
Crazed "mad meanies" have been loosed from their forest habitat and are pinching items from Bob's construction site. You are Leroy, the Beast Buster, who must help Bob blow up these cheeky invaders. This might sound like diarrhoea, but we should still help Bob - we are the only beast buster in Tin Town. Yep.
Fancy looking at the first screenshot? Here ya' go then...
Each level is big and uses smooth vertical scrolling to hunt down the freaky monsters!
Olde gameplay and it works!
Each level follows a familiar Bounty Bob design of platforms, slippy slopes, and chasing monsters. Be careful; they kill with one touch, so I'm grateful that we carry an air pump weapon to inflate them for a bloated and cruel death. This is nothing short of hilarious; once they begin floating away, you can nudge them into oblivion, leaving behind their goodies. If you're lucky, they might drag along others for multiple killings.
The joystick controls are spritely, and I like how there are two jump heights - this depends on how long you push upwards. Repeatedly pressing the fire button activates the weapon to bloat the monsters, so I appreciated my autofire function. Two players are supported, but not for co-op, which would have been superb.
Okay, let's view the next screenshot, and this one has a fat chicken...
Blown the sucker up for a cruel, yet hilarious end to his life!
A pleasure for your eyes and ears!
Throughout, the graphics and backgrounds are nice, using good colours and great decor. The scrolling is ultra-smooth, but it's the sprites that shine the most: I dare anybody not to laugh when seeing a ginormous duck waddle across the screen. I loved their expressions & bloated deaths. This is hilarious pixel art.
The audio is immensely impressive with a superlative range of lovely chiptunes by Laurens Tummers, aka Lotus! The sound effects are also great, but even so, are completely overshadowed by the music!!
Yeah, it's gorgeous, alright, so let's see the final screenshot...
Taken from behind, check out his expression. This game is brilliant!!!
The CryptO'pinion?
Bloating animals is shockingly entertaining, and I guarantee you will enjoy hunting your prey. However, it's repetitive, which might reduce long-term enjoyment. I also thought the time limit was harsh. Monster Business is best with friends, and I promise that everyone will be giggling like school kids. A superb game!!
