Kane (video Game) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Reviews for the game were mixed, possibly reflecting the relative quality of the different versions of the game. The original version on the C64 was given a generally positive review in Zzap!64 with particular praise being given to the sampled sound effects and animation of the main sprites (although they alleged that the main character is stolen from Impossible Mission). The music comes in for criticism with the backgrounds and short nature of the game also being questioned but the game is recommended as "worth every penny of the measly two quid asking price" with an overall score of 63%. In direct contrast, their review of the C16 version in the Zzap!C16 supplement, the background graphics are praised but they claim "the movement of the main sprite leaves a little to be desired" giving an overall score of 48%. The Amstrad version (which is the most similar to the original) was particularly well received, scoring 70% in both Amstrad Action and Amtix!.

The Spectrum version gained less favourable reviews. Your Sinclair was particularly critical, giving a score of only 3/10, complaining of the "luridly coloured" background graphics and the "dreadfully repetitive" gameplay. Graham Taylor of Sinclair User could find only the character animation worthy of praise saying "the rest stinks", giving a score of 2/5. Crash gave a slightly higher score of 54% but were still mostly dismissive and did not recommend the game, claiming it was inferior to the original: "Mastertronic seem to have taken their time translating this to the Spectrum - and to be honest they shouldn't have bothered".

Jon Revis of Electron User was also unimpressed with the Acorn version, criticising the unresponsive controls and especially the fact that scenes 2 and 4, as described in the inlay, are missing from the game: "It's a pity the programmer didn't read . The game may only cost £1.99 but I can't help feeling Mastertronic will receive a few letters of complaint about this one". The game was given a score of 4/10 for playability but an overall score of 6/10.