Livingstone Supongo

LIVINGSTONE, I SUPPOSE...OR THE MOST DIFFICULT ONE YET.
The game in question belongs to the company that, from my point of view, developed the best arcade games for our computer: the Spanish company Opera Soft. Opera's games had three hallmarks: quality, originality, and difficulty (I admit, excessive in some cases).

Perhaps it is this last characteristic that led the masses to prefer Dinamic, whose games were quite accessible even for the most inexperienced player.

Having made this brief but necessary digression, let's move on to the game in question. The program is based on the adventures and misadventures suffered by the New York Herald reporter, Sir H. Morton Stanley, in his search for Dr. Livingstone in colonial-era Africa. If the reporter had a difficult time back then, the programmers at Opera have made sure that we won't be left behind.

To find the aforementioned doctor, we'll have to complete a true odyssey through jungles, rivers, mines, Indian villages, cursed temples, and dark caves. Along our journey, we'll encounter all sorts of traps and enemies such as crocodiles, monkeys (who throw coconuts at us, the little devils!), giant piranhas, carnivorous plants, decidedly un-hospitable natives, killer minecarts, poisoned arrows, and so on. As if all this wasn't enough for the brilliant minds at Opera, we'll also have to keep an eye on two meters: energy and water, which we'll need to replenish periodically by finding food and drink (located, of course, in the most "accessible" places).

I suppose after reading this, you're starting to get discouraged. Well, don't worry, it's not all bad news. Our protagonist has a complete kit consisting of an arsenal of knives, another of bombs, a spectacular pole vault, and of course, the boomerang that made this game so famous, even beyond our borders. Each screen will have different approaches depending on which weapon we choose by pressing 1 through 4 on the keyboard.

It is precisely here that the key to success (or resounding failure) in our adventure lies. If we want to, or rather, if we dream of completing the game, we must know how to precisely and quickly combine the three weapons and the pole vault at our disposal. For example, there will be times when we will have to jump with the pole vault and then (in mid-air) select another weapon to eliminate a pesky enemy waiting for us on the next screen.

Regarding the game's overall structure, it's divided into two parts (which you should play through consecutively; a cheat code would have been helpful, but it is what it is): In the first part, you must advance across the map to find the temple (no small feat) and simultaneously locate the five precious gems, without which you won't be allowed to enter the temple and therefore won't be able to finish the game. Once you've located the temple, a beautiful native woman will reward you (after paying the five gems—women are something else!) with a "suggestive" and sensual dance, which will undoubtedly make you forget the hardships of getting to this point in the adventure.

After this brief but intense break, we return to the harsh reality of our mission, which wasn't to create offspring in Africa but to find the pesky Dr. Livingstone... I suppose.

The second area of ​​the game is more linear, and you no longer have to worry about collecting gems or anything like that. This doesn't mean it's going to be a walk in the park, quite the opposite, really. I was just mentioning that to give you a little encouragement, which you'll definitely need if you want to find the doctor (I hope he at least prescribes some antidepressants, because I'd rather be rescuing damsels in distress, what can I say?).

In short, if you like challenges, this is your game, and if you want to relive a classic with the authentic flavor of the happy '80s adventures, you should at least give it a try. As a final note, I'll tell you that four years later, Opera released a sequel, which I'd describe more as a remake of the original Livingstone. The graphics were improved, and the knife was replaced by a whip (perhaps a nod to Indiana Jones?), but that's another story...

THE BEST: its gameplay, that awesome boomerang.

THE WORST: you already know, right? So why ask?