Graphically the game isn’t astounding but it balances an 8-bit feel with smoother edges. The levels themselves are more interesting than the 8-bit age and overall the game aptly straddles the past and the present. The game looks smooth in both windowed mode as well as full screen. The sounds are nice and the music is pleasant and not annoying which, in a game where you might get frustrated from time-to-time, is very important.

As I mentioned there is two-player local co-op play. So if you’ve got a friend over and want to have some duck-jumping, fruit-collecting fun you can play together, or take turns playing in one player mode to beat each other’s scores. When I say co-op I mean hit your pal with an egg to stun him and then push him into the exit or a nearby enemy…hmm I guess I’m not quite on the co-op bandwagon am I? Either way, it works and it’s fun, though don’t blame us if your pal punches you in the arm.

Speaking of scores there are also online leaderboards (I show up as SuperGuido and GamersDailyNews right now) which tracks the top 50 scores for the last day, week, month, which is sort of cool. A little bit on the bragging rights side of things there so you can tell your friends to quack off.

The overall simplicity of the controls, quality of gameplay and attention paid to the graphics and sounds of Qwak make it a stellar platformer, hands down, or perhaps that should be wings down. The levels are fun and challenging and often when I was squashed I found myself chuckling at myself though there were a few times when it got frustrating. But that didn’t deter me from going back and doing it all again. That’s the sign of a great game right there – a nice challenge, low frustration, excellent controls and presentation. So Qwak is a great game as it nails all of these.