Game Review: Head Over Heels
I remember playing Head Over Heels when I was still at primary school. It was full of complex puzzles and frequent hazards to kill the two heroes. It was a game I never finished so the chance to go back 25 years later (that doesn’t sound right!) was too good an opportunity to miss.
The storyline involves Head and Heels who have been imprisoned in Castle Blacktooth and must not only escape, they must seek out planets that are being held prisoner by the evil Emperor. The game is divided into dozens of little rooms each one with a potential puzzle to solve or enemies to evade.
Head Over Heels has a terrific concept in that you have to switch between your two characters who have different abilities. Head can jump really high and can fire doughnuts at enemies to temporary paralyze them. Heels is better at climbing staircases and he has the ability to carry objects such as platforms to help build mini towers to reach different areas. Your characters initially begin in separate parts of the Emperor’s prison and their first objectives are to locate their respective abilities – a hooter for Head to fire doughnuts and a bag for Heels to carry objects. Once your friends are reunited you must have them work together to solve puzzles and clear the rooms.
There are many threats to your characters including crazed robots and what look like the heads of deep sea divers! Head Over Heels is nothing if not random. There are parts of the room that are lethal for your characters to walk or land on and you must either jump across these spaces or find another way round. Due to your characters different abilities, they often have to split up and take different paths to the same room. Sometimes they can make these journeys solo, other times one may need to manipulate the surroundings to help the other along. It’s all about teamwork for Head and Heels.
It’s hard to believe this is more than 20 years old. Yes, it looks very basic compared to today’s games but it was so much fun to play back then and remains so today. It’s still mind boggling with the puzzles and the weird and wonderful highlights including stairways made out of dogs and what looks like a dalek with a human head are just brilliant.
Head Over Heels is yet another great trip down memory lane. All those years ago games were so inventive and needed a lot to make them classics. I sometimes feel today that visuals are more important to some gamers than anything else. I prefer games like this which are fun to play and don’t try and wow you with fancy images and effects.
Verdict: 5/5
Game Review: Head Over Heels | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave
