''Count Duckula 2'' is a

computer game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...

for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

and

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

released in 1992 by Alternative Software. It was the follow-up to the 1989 release ''Count Duckula in No Sax Please—We're Egyptian''. Both are tie-in licenses of the

Cosgrove Hall Cosgrove Hall Films was a British animation studio founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, headquartered in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cosgrove Hall was a major producer of children's television and animated programmes/films, which are s ...

Count Duckula ''Count Duckula'' is a British children's television series, children's animated comedy horror television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films, Cosgrove Hall Productions and produced by Thames Television as a spin-off of ''Dang ...

'' cartoon series.

Gameplay

''Count Duckula 2'' is a platform game in which the player advances Duckula from screen to screen shooting soft toys with a ketchup gun.

Reception

Critically, the game consistently achieved some of the lowest review scores of the 8-bit era and is considered one of the worst games published for these platforms. ''

Sinclair User The ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...

'' reviewed the game, awarding it 64%, concluding: "If you like silent, slow, basic, dated, unresponsive, annoying games, get it!" The ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

'' review was more scathing, awarding 9%: "The whole thing seems to play quite happily by itself, with the player being a sort of novelty bonus." The

version fared no better, with ''

Amstrad Action ''Amstrad Action'' is a discontinued monthly magazine, which was published in the United Kingdom. It is about home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console. It is the first magazine published by Chris Anderson (TED), Chri ...

'' awarding the game a mere 3%. In the final issue of ''Your Sinclair'', ''Count Duckula 2'' was voted the "Worst Game Of All Time" by the magazine's readers. The Amstrad CPC version of ''Count Duckula 2'' is included in Stuart Ashen's 2015 book ''Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of'', in which he states that "''Count Duckula 2'' is one of the very worst examples of a lazy conversion. And as the game is distressingly poor in the first place, Alternative Software took something dreadful and made it into something frankly unholy." Ashen criticises ''Count Duckula 2's'' graphics, calling them "absolutely dreadful" and expresses that many of the sprites are difficult to parse due to being reduced to two colours without being redrawn.

References

External links

* {{Danger Mouse TV 1992 video games Alternative Software games Amstrad CPC games Danger Mouse Platformers Single-player video games Video games about birds Video games about vampires Video games based on animated television series Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games