Mighty Mike

By: Kirk Hiner

Genre: Action/Arcade

Format: Shareware

Developer: Pangea Software

Publisher: Pangea Software

Minimum Requirements: PowerPC, 16MB RAM, color monitor, 14MB hard disk space

Network Feature: No

3Dfx Support: No

Retail Price: $15.00

Availability: Out Now

For the longest time, MacPlay was my favorite publisher of Macintosh games. Some of my all time favorites came from them: The Legend of Kyrandia, Castles: Siege and Conquest, Flashback, and the legendary (at least in my mind) Fallout. I can't even begin to count the number of hours I spent playing MacPlay games, but then why would I want to? I mean, what's the point in sitting around counting the hours I spent doing anything? Start that, and soon I'll be counting the hours I spent counting hours. As far as I can tell only Nielson families need to document their hours wasting time, and I'm not one of them. If I were, you can bet your butt that The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr. would still be on the air.

Yet I can easily say this; few of those hours were spent playing MacPlay's Power Pete. It's not that I didn't like the game, but rather, I suppose, that I was too busy trying to get me some pixilated nudity out of the Leisure Suit Larry games.

Ah, youth.

Now MacPlay is no more, which continues to sadden me deeply, but Power Pete has survived. Its original developer, Brian Greenstone of Pangea Software, has reacquired the rights to the game and reincarnated it as Mighty Mike. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. Brian says the game was originally called Mighty Mike, but was for some reason changed to Power Pete. I think they should've gone for something like Kinetic Kirk or Hebetudinous Hiner.

As Power Pete, Mighty Mike was originally released in 1995. Back then, the game was everything a computer action title should be; colorful, noisy and fast. But it's now 2000, and gaming technology has come a long, long way, baby. In fact, one need look no further than Pangea's Bugdom for proof of that. So how does Mighty Mike hold up?

Oh, ye of little faith. This is Pangea Software we're talking about. Despite the outdated technology, Mighty Mike is a blast. There's really no other way to say it. The gameplay is simple and addictive, the graphics are bright and colorful, the sounds are amusing, and the action is solid. Yep, Mighty Mike holds up well.

In the grand tradition of action/arcade games, you control a solitary hero who must single-handedly rescue the captives and save the world. Only in this case, you're a toy in a toy store, and your mission is to save the fuzzy bunnies from all manner of evil toys. I personally wouldn't have guessed there are so many evil toys outside of the Disney section, but I'm naive that way.

The character Mighty Mike is actually somewhat of a cross between Buzz Lightyear and that military guy from Small Soldiers...although this game did precede them both. Actually, imagine Jay Leno in camo pants with a Nerf dart gun and you have a better idea as to who Mighty Mike is.

Nerf dart gun. That's the thing. I've often argued with parents who fear that toy guns encourage violence from their children. My completely unfounded opinion is that fake weapons promote fake violence and fake death, which is actually quite fun. I mean, wouldn't wars be a hoot if they were fought with ping pong ball guns? Imagine your home town being bombed with tons of ping pong balls, bouncing all over the place!

War; fun for the whole family.

That's what makes Mighty Mike work so well. Racing through a toy store, trying to save the fuzzy bunnies from dinosaurs, werewolves, cavemen and such...it's just fun. You're shooting toys with toys, and it all ends up being about as violent as a pillow fight...even when Mike dies and his limbs unravel from his torso. Adding to the action are Mike's heroic, if somewhat wimpy (sorry, Brian), quips, such as the traditional "Don't worry, I'll save you!" and my personal favorite, "Fire in the hole!" I'm making an effort to work that phrase into more of my daily conversations. That and "Hey Elvis, the kitchen's on fire!" I wonder if I could get Brian Greenstone, who provides the voice of Mighty Mike, to add that phrase to the game.

Another element that makes Mighty Mike suitable for all ages are the controls. Unlike Pangea's Bugdom and Nanosaur, Mighty Mike is a top-view scrolling game. This makes the game much easier for youngsters to control with either the keyboard or a game pad (Pangea has added Input Sprocket support to the re-release).

The simplicity of Mighty Mike is also manifested in the system requirements. Requiring only 16MB RAM and any PowerPC chip down to the 60MHz 601, the game works on nearly everything. Even better, installation requires only 14MB hard disk space and no CD ROM. Take it anywhere, play it anywhere.

If I had to make a complaint about Mighty Mike, and I'm stretching here, it'd be that the action can be too fast. Especially for children, Mike is sometimes hard to control with a game pad. To make matters worse, Mike can pick up a speed boost. While this is on, it's nearly impossible to keep him under any sort of control.

And this may be an unreasonable request, but wouldn't it be cool if Mighty Mike had multiplayer capabilities? A Mighty Mike deathmatch, if you will, where players fight to collect the most bunnies or work together to clean up the store. I, for one, would be happy with a multiplayer action game that doesn't require months of practice to be any good.

So I'm glad to have had this second chance to discover Mighty Pete...I mean, Power Mike, I mean...forget it. It's just good to have you back. Now if someone could just bring back Briscoe County Jr. as well.

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December 02, 2008