84: Putty Squad

Number 84
(69.6 points)
Putty Squad
1995: 14

The fact that this appears above the previous game, Putty, isn't the most remarkable fact about this: it was never released during the Amiga's lifetime. Magazines received versions for review, and rated it highly, but the game only saw a release on the Super Nintendo, and fans had to wait until 2013 before System 3 - who, remarkably, still exist - put it on their website as a gift. So, Amiga Power reviewed it highly, and went as far as including it on the 1995 Top 100 list, even though it never appeared in shops at all? I think this must be a first for my list. Anyway, on to the game itself.

Like in Putty, you take control of a little ball of putty which can transform itself in different ways, mainly hitting people with a fist, as well as stretching up, down and around. There are differences to the original game, the most obvious one being that you no longer need to escort anyone to the end of the level: simply absorbing your friends will suffice, and once you have them all, just find the exit and leave. This changes the dynamic a little, as you no longer have to go back and forth fetching each of those you are rescuing. Your putty's increased speed and ability to punch in mid-air also makes navigating the levels much quicker.

The entry for this game in the 1995 list was very telling: "We know it's great, and you would too, if System 3 ever got around to releasing it. The fiends." Well, placing it at number 14 was a bold move, especially since they clearly knew that it still hadn't come out, but nobody could've predicted that it would eventually appear - almost two decades later. Was it worth the wait? Well, if you were that desperate, the SNES version was sitting there all this time. I know Amiga Power raved about it, and they weren't alone, but personally, whereas Putty had a unique charm to it, this feels much more like a standard platform game. Not bad per se, but it just doesn't feel as special as its predecessor.

Recommended TOSEC disk(s):
Putty Squad v1.0 (2013-12-23)(System 3)(AGA)(Disk 1 of 2)
Putty Squad v1.0 (2013-12-23)(System 3)(AGA)(Disk 2 of 2)