Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit (SNES)

Seriously? Did Frasier get a game too? What about Roseanne? Fresh Prince! That should have totally gotten a game.

Oh wow, a point and click adventure? That would actually be a good fit for a sitcom.

It seems that they were going to show off some a new range of tools on the show, but someone has stolen them and left a note. Tim is determined to get his tools back, and races off backstage to search for them.

Oh, no, wait, it's just a platformer. Shock! But at least we're somewhere different for once, a movie set! That looks like a forest level.

There's not much friction in this game, I'm actually sliding backwards in this shot. Other than that it controls pretty well I have to say. And it looks pretty good too.

But enemies are a bitch to kill. There's no joy in taking these guys on, you just find a safe place and pelt them with your nailgun until they eventually explode. I guess they're robot movie props or something.

Even blasting through rocks takes longer than it could. You just keep chipping away until enough of them are gone for you to fit through. Though I have to admit the nailgun looks cool in action. If you pick two of them up it gets SUPER UPGRADED, though you lose that if you take a hit.

And you probably will, quickly. Well, I did anyway. The game has a Sonic style health system, as long as you've picked up at least one nut you can take a hit, and they spill out when you're injured.

Okay, that is an awesome looking dinosaur.

Also, there's no way I'm going down there.

This flying creature makes it onto my shitlist. When it dies, it explodes into smaller enemies, so you have to make sure you attack it from a distance.

Pulling different directions when pressing buttons can trigger different effects, like swinging a wrench, or pulling out a pneumatic drill. You can't aim downwards with the nailgun, so I tried the drill... which did absolutely nothing. I had to jump down and shoot it in the end, then jump back up.

Also, see that crate? You have to collect all of them to finish. Yep, it's another damn collect 'em up.

Collecting the hard-hat power up gives you a surprise music change, and a twinkly trail. Also probably invincibility, that's the traditional effect of twinklyness. What it doesn't give you though, is a damn hat!

This turned out to be a bottomless pit of instant death, which is always hilarious. Especially when I respawned right next to it, thought I'd been put back somewhere earlier in the level, and immediately jumped down a second time.

I actually figured out about this grappling hook at the very start, but I struggled to find anything I could actually use it on. Which is almost as bad as not having one at all.

I respawned here after doing some more stuff. I could get out easily even if I didn't have the nailgun pickup, but I thought it'd be funnier if I pretended I couldn't.

And Tim the Toolman Taylor eventually died of thirst, trapped alone within the walls of a movie set. All because he wanted to show off some new tools on his show.