You'll need to climb the same stretch several times within a certain space of time if you want to make it to the top. Suddenly, persistence isn't enough to grant you progress. Next, imagine that a Topi is wandering around, looking for holes to fill. You'll need to climb to the top cloud and smash a hole in the ceiling to make it through, but the clouds are moving so fast that you'll only be able to land one strike at a time before falling back to the bottom. Picture a scenario where the two layers directly above you are fast-moving clouds, with one level of regular ice above them. This is where the obstacle course feeling comes into play. If they reach a hole, they'll run back to their starting point and grab some ice to fill it in. They start on one side of the screen and slowly walk across to the other side. Their real purpose is to repair holes in floors. The most common enemies are Topis (miniature yetis or seals, depending on which region's version you're playing) who aren't interested in attacking you, though you will die if you touch one without bashing its skull with your hammer. The various types of ice work in tandem with the enemies, who feel more like traps than proper adversaries.

Clouds can also be used as platforms with some finesse, but they move from one side of the screen to the other and that means youвЂ™ll have to be quick if you want to use them to reach a higher floor. Some ice can't be broken (and is marked in a way that causes it to more closely resemble steel), and other ice acts as a conveyer belt, constantly moving your character in one direction as long as he or she stands on it. Regular floors can be broken by jumping and hitting them from below with your hammer. Each mountain is an obstacle course, featuring various types of platform that all behave differently.

Though it keeps Ice Climber from making a good first impression, the weird jumping mechanics are consistent enough that you can gradually learn to deal with them.ДЄwkward platforming aside, Ice Climber has a lot to offer. This is awkward and adds an unnecessary learning curve to the game, but it's something you'll learn to deal with after some practice. In fact, although platforms are supposed to be solid, you'll want to jump up through the edge of a platform and land closer to the center of it whenever possible. Landing on the very edge of a ledge will often result in your character falling back through it. The problem is that the edges of platforms aren't actually solid.

He can't get much horizontal distance with his jumps, which of course means he'll have to be standing pretty close to the edge of an overhanging platform if he wants to land on it when he leaps.

Most platforms are evenly vertically spaced, and Popo (and Nana, in the simultaneous co-op mode) can jump just high enough to pass through a hole in the ceiling of his current stratum and land on a ledge. The goal of each stage is to reach the top of a vertically-scrolling mountain level, using your trusty hammer to break holes in icy ceilings so that you canslip through and continue your ascent.ДЄfter the title screen (with the wonderfully iconic theme music), you'll immediately notice that your greatest enemy is the spotty jumping mechanic. As the brother and sister mountaineering duo of Popo and Nana, you do what mountaineers do best : climb mountains. Your motivations in Ice Climber are charmingly pure. 'Very nearly lands on the platform of greatness, but accidentally slips through the edge instead.'

Ice climber review