While by no means new to gaming, I did overlook this particular title until recently, so I'd like to say a few things from a perspective that is NOT nostalgia glasses. Magic Carpet is simply an enjoyable, satisfying game. You may be put off by the incredibly dated graphics at first , and it could take some tinkering in the DosBox .conf to get everything to your liking (I was unable to get hi res mode to run smoothly on my powerful gaming pc, but applying a 2xSaI filter more or less accomplishes the same effect), but the underlying substance is a very playable and exciting experience. NOTE: It's quite confusing at first. You're dropped into the game with no explanation of your objective, and little understanding of controls. Like me, your initial reaction may well be that of disappointment, but I'll try to share what I've learned for the benefit of fellow newcomers. Control your flight movement with the arrow keys, as you would with WASD in a more modern shooter. Aim and steer with your mouse (inverted flight controls, tricky at first but it will get easier with practice), and one unique spell may be mapped to both the left and right buttons. Aforementioned spells may be found within red urns scattered across the map, and equipped via a selection menu/map screen (press Enter/Return, or click both mouse buttons at once). Alternately, you may equip spells by pressing the spell's designated number, similar to changing weapons in FPS games. The object of the game as I understand it, is to harvest orbs that are found throughout the map, and commonly dropped by enemies. This can be done by shooting them with one of your spells which will change their colour (beware of enemy wizards trying to do the same). Once you've converted the orbs, you can not simply pick them up. You must first build a castle (build and upgrade it anywhere you like by selecting your castle building spell), then a balloon will automatically collect them for you. When you accrue enough orbs, you win. The fact that the wizard somewhat aims on his own is this game's saving grace. Combat would be very difficult if not impossible, given how wild the carpet's controls tend to be. All things improve with practice. Have fun.
I'm going to start by telling you the coolest aspect I noticed right out of the proverbial box: If you play with a controller, you'll be using the D-PAD for once! This might seem like a silly point to mention, but too many of these "new retro" 2D platformers have me using the analogue stick with no native dpad support. It's a pet-peeve of mine that hinders the oldschool effect these games are intended to bring. Excellent controls aside, Mutant Mudds is a much needed time capsule into our 2-dimensional past, reminding us that only Indie devs seem to remember what made 90s platforming so magical. The colourful pixel art and parallax scrolling, the pleasant 8-bit music, and the subtle, non-intrusive story line all make for an enjoyable presentation that seems to nicely sum up platformers from the 8 to 32 bit console eras. I could liken the gameplay to so many different games that there would really be no point in trying to draw comparisons. It is simply the kind of run, jump and shoot action you would expect from a good platformer in the 90s. If, like me, you have a soft spot for that part of gaming history, Mutant Mudds should nicely sate your hunger for a while.
