Asterix and Caesars Challenge

Everybody must have read comic books when they were a kid, and most people have read at least one from Asterix. It's something many people from around the world grew up with and think back of with fondness. This fondness can be renewed now, as our little friend and his big buddy are out to kick some Roman ass once more.

Caesar has built a mighty palisade around Asterix' village, so the villagers stay in. To show Caesar that they can freely go wherever they want, our two friends set out on a journey across all countries in the Roman empire, bringing back a souvenir from each, so they can mock Caesar's palisade.

Asterix and Caesar's Challenge is a pretty good Beat' Em' Up. Graphically, it doesn't just have a good resemblance with the comics. It's completely identical to them, and includes cutscenes, showing pages of the comic, along with the cover of it, so you know from which book that area's taken from.

Technically, this game is quite strong as well. It keeps to the basic principles of the Beats of Rage engine, but has a good accuracy and is well-balanced, while keeping in the challenge factor. It has, however, one highly annoying factor. It's inherent in the engine, but some mods know how to fix it better than others. In the game, enemies can appear off both the left and right edge of the screen. They'll be active, and have a bit of room to walk around there, more than what's within your range of attack when standing right against the edge of the screen. On itself, it's not such a big deal. It's a matter of luring the enemy into the visible field. Enemies with long-range attacks, especially attacks that cross the entire screen, on the other hand, are a pain to have stuck there, and sadly enough, Asterix and Caesar's Challenge has plenty of cowardly spearmen who run away when they can, then throw their spears from outside view.

In short, Asterix and Caesar's Challenge will bring back those times where you crawled into a cozy corner with a book of Asterix, going through all sorts of adventures with them, but makes them more interactive than before. It will fill both rainy and sunny Sunday afternoons with fun and joy.

Review by: Raf