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Snapshot A nother in the Monty Mole series. In this game he has to escape by travelling through many devious and delightful screens of pure frustration. It seems too simple to describe it as another platform game, but it is. Added to the usual problem of carefully timed jumps is the sneaky device of having to choose and take with you five items of equipment from a selection of 21 objects before you begin an attempt.
Get one wrong and you find yourself stuck and unable to get any further.
The screens are well designed to provide just the right level of difficulty, the animation is good - I loved Monty's somersaulting jumps and key response is very good.
My only moan is that collision detection seems to be by attributes and this often gives the impression that you have avoided some malignant sprite only to find Monty expiring in front of you. With 43 screens this should keep his fans happy and probably gain him a few new ones. One of the better programs of this type.
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J ustice put Monty Mole in prison but he escaped! Can YOU do justice in his bid for freedom?
The plot sets him in a safe house complete with an escape tunnel that leads into the sewers, other houses and onward to his final destination.
Gold coins along with both vital and deadly items are scattered about the locations. Monty must collect these taking care not to kill himself off should he pick up the wrong things. Jumping from platform to platform he can collect some of the objects and coins. Some of them are perched high above him or beyond brick walls - you must plan his route to them carefully.
The abundance of nasty floating masks, bodiless hands, balloons, dogs and machines capable of flattening him further complicate his route. He has five lives and each time he gets knocked off, the game continues from whichever location he was last in. Shinning up and down ropes and ladders gain him entry to new locations, but there are other ways!
The Spectrum and Commodore versions have been released almost together which presents us with a chance to dissect them both.
Well, the plot is the same. The graphics are virtually the same quality, though there are more flower pots and a C5 in the Commodore one! However, there is a big difference in the games - the sound. The Commodore game explodes into life with the best sound we have yet encountered. It has a strong beat that draws even Monty to sway in time to the beat.
The game is a great test of timing requiring lots of thought to work your way through the locations without getting stuck. All the locations contain some of the hazards but they also have unique touches added like telephone box lookalikes, lifts or beam-me-up-Scotty machines and fighting off the nasties is impossible fun!
Monty On The Run is a worthy successor to the excellent Monty Is Innocent. If you're a climbing game fanatic then this is the game you should get - it's what Jet Set Willy II should have been. Don't let your best friend borrow it - you will never get it back!
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ADDICTIVENESS
GRAPHICS
OVERALL SCORE 
SOUND
PLAYABILITY
VALUE
