James Pond 2

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod
Release
1991
  • 1991 (Amiga, Atari ST, Genesis)
    1992 (C64, Game Boy)
    1993 (Amiga AGA, CD32, MS-DOS, SNES, Game Gear, Master System, Acorn Archimedes)
    2003 (Game Boy Advance, PlayStation)
    2005 (Nintendo DS)
    2006 (PlayStation 2)
    • EU: July 2, 2009 (PSN)
      2019 (Nintendo Switch)
Platform game
Mode(s)Single-player

James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod, also known as Super James Pond on

platform video game. It was developed by the same British teams as the original. The title music by Richard Joseph is a marimba-heavy rendition of the RoboCop film theme.[3]
It is the second installment in the James Pond series.

James Pond 2 was originally released on the Amiga, Atari ST and Sega Genesis in 1991 by three different publishers. It was next ported to Amiga AGA, Amiga CD32, Game Gear, Commodore 64, Master System, PC, Acorn Archimedes, Game Boy and SNES. It was later redeveloped and released as a budget title for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, as a download on the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network store,[4] and the Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay

James Pond outside Santa's toy factory

James Pond starts outside

guardian
awaits.

James Pond's body armor enables him to extend his body vertically to incredible lengths and grab hold of the ceiling or platforms above him. This allows him to travel along with the ceiling and drop down on the top of an unsuspecting enemy, or to get to otherwise inaccessible areas. James Pond can also pick up items that provide points. Power-ups include extra lives and wings that grant James the ability to fly. From time to time, James Pond may enter vehicles, namely cars, planes, or flying bathtubs.

Plot

The game takes place immediately after its predecessor. Although Acme Oil Company has been destroyed by James Pond, his arch enemy Dr. Maybe survived and has retreated to the North Pole where he has taken over Santa's workshop. Dr. Maybe is holding Santa's workers hostage (in most versions of the game they are penguins, in some, they are elves), and has turned many of Santa's helpers into his own twisted and dangerous assistants. James Pond is recruited to infiltrate Santa's grotto, free the captive penguins, retrieve the stolen toys for the children of the world, and defeat Dr. Maybe once and for all. This time, however, due to the greater risks involved in this mission, James Pond is given a robotic suit and the code name "RoboCod" (a play on RoboCop). This suit gives Pond superhuman strength and agility as well as enabling him to stretch his midsection almost indefinitely and reach otherwise impossibly high areas.

Product placement

In the original UK version of the game, the penguins featured as in-game

KitKat for the first time in the product's history soon after the release of the game.[citation needed
]

Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation versions

James Pond: Codename Robocod was released for the

ports
of the original game.

Reception

UK magazine

full motion video intro, it is identical to the version on the less powerful Sega Genesis.[9] Mega Action gave the Genesis version a score of 92% writing: "Better than the original and a massive playing to boot. This features all the ingredients that its predecessor offered, plus plenty more."[10] Power Unlimited gave the SNES version a score of 75% commenting: "The only remarkable thing about Super James Pond is that it is a wacky parody of James Bond. Unfortunately, there is very little of this in the game. Furthermore, it is a usual, beautifully designed and musical platformer."[11]

Mega placed the game at number 20 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time.[12]

References

  1. ^ "James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod (1993) DOS credits". MobyGames. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  2. ^ "James Pond: Codename Robocod". GameSpot.
  3. ^ "James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod (1991) Trivia". MobyGames. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  4. ^ "James Pond: Robocod - PlayStation 3 - GameSpy". uk.ps3.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  5. ^ Malcolm-Smith, Sally (24 October 1993). "Computer fans find advertising is all in the game". The Sunday Telegraph. No. 1691. p. 7.
  6. EMAP
    , issue 1, Jan 1992
  7. EMAP
    , pp. 62–67
  8. ^ "Review Crew: Super James Pond". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 51. EGM Media, LLC. October 1993. p. 36.
  9. ^ "Review Crew: James Pond II". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 54. EGM Media, LLC. January 1994. p. 52.
  10. ^ "Mega Library". Mega Action (1): 65. June 1993. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  11. ^ "Power Unlimited Game Database". powerweb.nl (in Dutch). November 1994. Archived from the original on October 20, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  12. Future Publishing
    , Oct 1992

External links