Bee Wary

The Good
Bee Wary is a very simple action game in which you, playing a bee, try to sting a spider into one of its vulnerable spots before it manages to eat you. You have large freedom of movement, and the challenge of the game is in having to get close to the spider and into the most dangerous zone in order to have a chance at scoring the winning sting.

The speed and animations of the game are impressive. The dramatic capers and quotes of the animals after each round are funny, even though they start to repeat quickly and are being dragged out a bit.

The buzzing of the bee can be played through a speaker by connecting it to the TAPE output. A nice gimmick, but it also gets a bit annoying quickly.

The Bad
Unfortunately, the game itself is rather frustrating. If a sting counts or not seems to largely depend on luck. Even though this is the case for the spider's attacks as well, the probabilities seem to heavily disadvantage the bee, and therefore the player. In some rounds, you unexpectedly get the spider with the first sting, while other times you can be getting dozens of seemingly direct hits at the spider without any effect, only to be eaten in its first counterattack. This made me grow tired of the game after just a few minutes, cute as it is to look at.

The Bottom Line
Extra points for the uncommon theme and excellent graphics of the game. The smoothness of gameplay and animations would have held promise for an exciting arcade action game. If only it were based more on skill, and less on luck.