Number 10: Star Paws

I admit it. I've always been a sucker for cartoons, my favourites being those directed by Chuck Jones or Tex Avery. These are always wild and hilarious, using the cartoon medium to the fullest. It is in these movies that 'toons draw doors with pencils and open them, and so on. I shouldn't like the violent Road Runner cartoons, but I really do.

Here's a game that can be best described as "Road Runner reversed". You are our canine hero Rover Pawstrong, trying to destroy a colony of rare birds that are being bred to flood the markets and cause financial panic. The animation is excellent throughout the game - witness Rover leaping for a bird and missing.

While it isn't the most sophisticated of games, Star Paws has a very high humourous element, like the way the birds, when shot at, get a trampoline and return the fire causing our hero to take on the dark look... The game is packed with funny touches like that. The frantic bird-chasing action is complemented by music by Rob Hubbard which fits the theme of the game well.

The game has a few flaws, like the way shooting the birds is mostly luck, and it is a little too easy to complete to be lastable, but somehow this game has captured a soft spot in my heart. For doing so, it gets the final spot on the top ten.

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