Who the heck is Egbert?
When it comes to writing the history of the platformer, Mario undoubtedly rules the roost, but others like Sonic, Jazz Jackrabbit and James Pond are all at least worthy of mention. Speedy Egbert however, is unlikely to get much of a look-in, due to his lack of real personality and the bland style of his one and only game. For the most part, this is a very traditional platform adventure, where you take control of Egbert and guide him through a series of side-scrolling levels. You can't destroy any enemies you meet directly, but you can pick up various items like a jetpack or skateboard in order to help you bypass them and the other hazards which get in your way. Threats that you might face include bombs, lava and rather strangely, exploding tractors. You might expect Egbert to be a nippy little fellow, but his particular skill is actually the ability to jump really high, and which also comes in handy, while there's no real point to the game other than to collect various treasures and get to the end, although there is a neat level editor to play around with. Egbert isn't exactly the most memorable gaming mascot and he comes across as a bit too contrived to be worth much consideration in the grand scheme of things. His game is equally uninspiring, and although it certainly looks quite pretty, with bright, vibrant colors and some smooth parallax scrolling, the essential elements of the game are lacking. The level editor is a nice extra but really, you're better off sticking with the classics like Rayman.
