PSYCHIC WORLD

As all psychics will already know, Les "Needles" Ellis is about to meet two Japanese girls

Doctor Knavik was a strange, middle-aged man who worked alone in a very green forest. One day. Doc decided that he was so lonely and busy that he should employ two sisters to help him out and provide company. (Yeah, that's what Paul Robinson in Neighbours said too!) But the doctor had mysterious habits, often disappearing for hours on end into the deep recesses of his house. It transpired that Doc was in fact keeping genetically created monsters in his secret laboratory. One night, after a huge explosion, all the monsters escaped. While on their warpath out of the forest they happened to come across Cecile, one of the sisters, and whisked her off with them.

Now Lucia, the other sister, wasn't having any of this and decided to go after the creatures and try to get her sister back. Unfortunately, Doc was far too tired to go chasing after monsters in the middle of the night, so he gave Lucia his specially-designed ESP Booster to help her on her journey.

This ESP Booster gives Lucia immense psychic powers (but, strangely enough, it doesn't enable her to see where her sister has gone) and she can use these powers to defeat all the monsters that are now roaming about the forest. Unfortunately, using all this power does take its toll on Lucia's energy so it's best to avoid enemies wherever possible. If Lucia's energy does run too low to use her powers, you can often find a power-up that will replenish most of that lost energy.

While trekking through the woods, you will also come across some of Doc's stolen hardware. By picking up this, you can add weapons to your psychic abilities. However, each of the weapons can only be used successfully on certain types of obstacle. For instance, the Hydro-wave freezes moist air and turns it into movable ice blocks. The Ultra-sonic, on the other hand, should be used against any metallic obstructions you encounter.

There are five levels in total, each packed with varying monsters, numerous platforms and plenty of pick-ups. However, despite its sibling content and appearance, this game ain't no Mario. The backdrops range from the dire to quite good, sound is appalling and there's very little depth. In fact, if you head down to the woods today expecting an addictive, long-lasting game, you'll get a big surprise.

MASTER SYSTEM

GRAPHICS 75%

✘ Little variation in the foreground objects.

✔ Small, but varied, sprites.

SOUND 40%

✘ Annoying pinging tune plays throughout.

✘ Naff effects - reach for the volume!

PLAYABILITY 72%

✘ Only five levels; unlimited continues.

✔ ESP is a challenging feature.

SEGA 70%

£29.99 • OUT NOW

Rating

70

Reviewer

Raze magazine

Region

UK

Scans

Raze-Magazine-Issue10?gallerypage=46

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