Angel or devil? Why not both? That's the '2' in Pepper II. Not a sequel. When Pepper is good, he happily zips through the maze. When Pepper is bad, bad guys beware....
Pepper II is the product of a lesser-known software company called Exidy. They made a few Pac-Man type spin-offs in the eighties. Mouse Trap is probably their most famous game. But Pepper II, released in 1982, is my favorite....
GRAPHICS are not the strongest attribute that Pepper II has to offer. They're adequate. They don't hurt to look at, but they're not quite on par with other games released that year. Ms Pac Man is an example. But it's close. Pepper II is a little primitive compared to even her. In the same year that Zaxxon was released though? We give an 7 for effort.
SOUND for Pepper II isn't much to brag about. You hear a short intro(Alfred Hitchcock Presents) before the game but then it's all just zips and other bells and whistles. The verdict is in. Alfred Hitchcock says 7.
ADDICTIVENESS is where I cannot give enough kudos. I can play this for hours. Literally. If you're a Pac Man fan, this may be your game. The gameplay is fast and frenzied. At first it can even seem overwhelming. But given practice the game slows down for you. Like Pac Man, the gameplay happens in a maze. Unlike Pac Man, there are four mazes per round. You may travel back and forth between them via side routes while in the process of completing them to make an escape in order to plan a new strategy. In order to complete a maze, instead of eating dots, you must 'zip' up all the different shapes. As you travel, you zip. But if you back-track before you've completed a shape, you unzip your progress. Also if you leave the maze any shapes that aren't completely zipped up must be started over. Along the way, roaming sets of eyes will chase and try to corner Pepper II to cost him a life. Also, there is a zipper-ripper monster that can cost you a life by running into you or unzip any shapes that aren't locked up. With all these obstacles in his path, Pepper II must eventually switch to his dark side to exact his revenge... Also in each maze are four pitch-fork power-ups plus a fifth that switches between a pitch-fork and a halo. When Pepper II is his devil-self he has basically same abilities as Pac-Man on a power pellet. If you time it right and collect the halo in the center instead of a pitchfork then you also eliminate the zipper-ripper for a time. There are also weird bonus prizes in each maze like a safety pin, a hammer, and a light bulb among others. Get these quick before they disappear. When all four mazes are zipped up, the round is over and you get a big bonus before moving on to the next round where gameplay is even faster. Ranking: 10
STORY There really isn't one. If there was, I can't imagine it making much sense.
DEPTH is where I'm a bit torn. No, there isn't much really. But with a challenging and addictive game like this it doesn't really matter. Four mazes per round. It keeps getting harder as you progress. I made it to round 3 a few times but that's about it. I give it a 6 though. Go ahead and beat it somehow. haha.
DIFFICULTY I'm going to give a 7. It's just about right. Man did I ever die and die and die again when I first started. There are definite strategies that may be employed though to prolong Pepper's lives however. The enemies movements can be predicted mostly if you're paying attention for one thing. On maze games like this, personally, I like to use the arrow keys on my keyboard to control movement. It's easy to go zipping around and miss turns if you're not careful. Online that seems to be the one complaint about the game. But besides that, I must highly recommend Pepper II to any fans of the genre. Pepper? No. Pepper II? all day. Thanks for reading.
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