Disney's Hercules

Disney's Hercules is a 2D-leaning action platformer developed by Eurocom and published by Disney Interactive, originally released alongside the animated film and later re-released for PC. You play as Hercules working through ten levels that map closely to the film's plot, starting with Phil's training grounds and working through locations like Centaur's Forest and the Passageways of Eternal Torment before a final confrontation with Hades in the Vortex of Souls. The structure is linear and straightforward, but there is genuine variety in what it asks you to do from stage to stage. Combat centres on your sword, which you can cycle out for three charged weapon upgrades: the Lightning Sword, which lets you aim a sustained bolt across the screen; the Fireball Sword, which shoots homing projectiles; and the Sonic Sword, which blasts a circular shockwave that clears nearby enemies. Punching exists but it is slow and puts you too close to danger to use reliably. You also get a Helmet of Invincibility for short windows of damage immunity and Hermes' Sandals for speed bursts. Sprinkled throughout each level are Herculade pickups to restore health and Hercules Action Figures to increase your energy bar's maximum. Boss fights against Nessus, the Minotaur, the Hydra, Medusa (who gets her own exclusive lair not in the film), and Hades each require reading attack patterns and exploiting specific weaknesses rather than just slugging it out, which gives them more personality than the standard enemy rooms. The game also breaks up its side-scrolling stages with three auto-running rush levels, where you control Hercules's speed and lateral position to avoid obstacles coming at you. The first one, based on Phil's training course with sharks and sword-swinging dummies and giant stone fists, is the game's high point. Beyond the main path, hidden letters spell HERCULES in each level for a continue bonus, and four hidden vases per level award a password that acts as the save system. Hunting those collectibles is where most of the replay value sits, though the levels have secret areas reachable by ground-slamming cracked floors or taking off-path routes, so thorough players will find more than casual ones. Where the game earns real criticism is its brevity and its age. The difficulty on Beginner is thin, and the last two levels are locked to Medium and Herculean modes, which can feel like artificial padding on a game that is already short. The PC version runs at a low native resolution and modern monitors make that obvious. Contemporary critics noted the game plays like a 16-bit Genesis title with a more modern coat of paint, and that read is still accurate. Voice clips and music are lifted from the film, which either feels charming or repetitive depending on how much you loved the movie. Controls are simple and responsive, at least, and the boss pattern-recognition loop holds up better than the standard combat rooms. If you are coming in cold with no nostalgia for the film, this is a short, mechanically thin platformer with a few bright spots. If you watched the movie as a kid and want to spend a couple of hours swinging the Lightning Sword at Harpies and hunting hidden vases, the charm is absolutely still there. Alex, Scout Team