Pang a.k.a. Buster Bros (1990)
How do you summarise Pang? Well, it’s one or two players, there are some balloons terrorising the world and it’s down to you to burst them with harpoons and things. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? You might even be thinking that’s a terrible idea, but back in 1990 on the Amiga you would have been very wrong indeed. This was something of a nostalgic trip for me reliving Pang and it was worth the journey down memory lane.
The Buster Brothers, one dressed in white/grey, the other one sadly in pink begin their journey in Japan and have to negotiate three stages, popping balloons in each one before moving onto a new country. Each stage takes place on one screen and the balloons vary in size. There are extra large, large, medium and small. Whenever you burst a balloon it splits into two smaller variants e.g. popping an extra large balloon will result in two large balloons, while a large balloon splits into two medium ones. The idea of Pang is to get those balloons down to their smallest size and if you hit them in this stage then they disappear. It’s easy to get into but once you’re started it’s very addictive.
The layout of each stage is different. Some have ladders and platforms to either aid or hinder your progress. In other cases balloons are trapped and need to be freed but you’ll need to be careful. If a character is touched by a balloon they die and you’ll have to begin the stage from scratch. You’re armed with a simple harpoon to begin with but as balloons are burst they drop little bonus items, some more useful than others. One feature allows you to fire two harpoons at a time, another is a grappling hook that attaches to the top of the screen and only disappears when an unsuspecting balloon hits it and then there’s a gun that has rapid fire and can take out balloons very fast. Aside from weapons other features include a clock that temporarily stops the balloons and dynamite that bursts the balloons into their smallest form which is pretty precarious most of the time.
Although the Buster Brothers are on a save the world mission they do get to see some pretty impressive places. Starting in Japan, you also take in the likes of Australia, India, Kenya and even Easter Island. Each location has a famous landmark but you’ll have little time to admire the scenery. Once you’re up and running the game goes by at a frantic pace. Between countries you’ll have a view of the world map and your little plane working its way between the many landmarks. This is a great game to play alone or pair up with friends but you’ll have to work together to take out all the balloons safely.
Reliving Pang was wonderful. For me, arriving in Australia and hearing that familiar music (my favorite segment) brought back all the memories of first playing the game when I was still at primary school. It’s not a game that lasts long, less than an hour in fact, but it remains great fun throughout and is one of the most enduring Amiga games I can remember.
Verdict: 5/5
Game Review: Pang | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave
