Dire movie tie-in
The licensed game genre took another sharp blow to its reputation with the release of this tie-in to the popular horror/comedy movie. Following in the footsteps of previous dire releases like Home Alone, Gremlins 2 features gameplay and graphics that are simply embarrassing and this is one game which simply should be avoided. The gameplay, such as it is, sees Billy Pfizer, the movie's hero, wandering around Clamp Plaza, which has been overrun by the nightmarish creatures known as Gremlins. Accompanied by the adorable Gizmo, Billy must hunt them down by exploring a series of inexplicably pink rooms and corridors and then zapping them with a weapon that resembles nothing more than a tennis ball. There is only a very tenuous link to the movie and it is not long before it all gets very tedious, due the lack of any excitement or anything very much to do. The game's graphics are poor, with ugly colours and basic levels of detail, while the gremlins themselves are utterly lacking in personality. For example, poor Gizmo is stuck holding a ruler for some reason and just wanders along behind Billy, seemingly serving no real purpose, while the other gremlins are just faceless non-entities. Perhaps worse than the graphics is the sound, which consists simply of crude and toneless effects and music that will have you reaching for the volume control in a flash. Avoid this game at all costs.
