Saturday, 4 July 2020

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Looky, looky, I've got Hooky

In Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991) - a live-action sequel to JM Barrie's novel, Peter and Wendy - we're introduced to a grown-up Peter Banning who has long-since forgotten his mystical childhood Neverland capers, today preoccupied with profiteering and soul-sucking lawyering. When the dastardly Captain Hook crosses worlds to kidnap his children out of sheer boredom and malice, Peter is forced to reacquaint with his old swashbuckling, pirate-tormenting ways to save the day and his dormant imagination. In the process, Peter reassesses his priorities, putting family first on his return to planet earth.

Ocean Software were the team behind Hook's translation to the medium of gaming. In contrast to their action-platformer published for the Commodore 64, Game Boy, and NES, the Amiga, DOS and Atari ST iteration is a point and click adventure game, clearly taking inspiration from Monkey Island and earlier Lucasarts puzzle-solving titles. How does it compare to the much-revered output of the leaders in this forsaken genre? How well does it embody the plot and themes of the movie? I investigate.  

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