Endless grasslands dotted with ruminating sheep are known to evoke feelings of home for some. However, as soon as the curious player enters these vast fields – digitally scrolling sideways on his C64 – he is disabused of this notion: apparently, such idylls are not only to be found on Earth. As an explorer of new worlds, he marks the new realms true to the title of the game: Ewe Woz 'Ere.
Baaary (yes, three a's!) is one of those sheep that has special shooting power and jumping ability due to its origin in the 'distant future'. The former is boosted by power-ups and the latter varies depending on the gravity of the planet. Baaary reaches the next level through an unlockable cross-dimensional portal. To do this, however, the sheep must first defend itself against the constant attacks of endlessly respawning enemies and their projectiles with lasers, phasers and other energy blasts until it finds the right items. Green, red or grey grass recharges the lost energy.
The flow of the game is balanced between aggressively chasing the enemies or quickly retreating to destroy the grass. Opening and then reaching the level exit is also linked to a tight time limit, which leads to some climactic action each time. The evil Traazk, who threatens the idyllic sheep world with his cyborg robots, appears as the final boss in the middle of the game. After completing all 12 levels, the Nightmare mode with a higher density of enemies becomes accessible.
In addition to the endearingly ironic undertone of the presentation, the fun aspect has also been technically incorporated: with the 'Resume Best Game' option, you can start right back where you last left off. The high score table can also have a motivating effect on frequent attempts. However, I think the aforementioned Nightmare mode is more of a marketing gag to make everyone think of Doom subconsciously. It's unlikely that anyone is really obsessed enough with the game to actually use this mode.
In addition to the obligatory chasms, the game designers have also added stones to the grassy plains. These harmless obstacles in particular take a disproportionate amount of the fun out of Ewe Woz 'Ere DX. Of course, you can simply jump over them. But most of the time you get stuck if the jump is not one hundred per cent precisely timed. Not only does the jump fail in this case: the sheep also has to be moved back a little before it can jump again.
Perhaps the developers will take the criticism on board. Because this would not be the first further development of this game, which was initially developed as a 4k version for a C64 Competition. And this is certainly not the first recommendation that Ewe Woz 'Ere DX has received. Otherwise, efforts to make the game even better would have ceased long ago.
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