Out to Lunch (video game)

Out to Lunch
Super NES cover art
Developer(s)	Mindscape
Publisher(s)	Mindscape
Platform(s)	Amiga, Amiga CD32, Super NES
Release date(s)	NA November, 1993 (SNES) 1994 (Amiga) 1994 (Amiga CD32)
Genre(s)	Action game, Side-scroller
Mode(s)	Single-player, 2 Player Alternating
Media/distribution	Cartridge, CD-ROM

Out to Lunch is a video game that was released for the SNES in 1993 by Mindscape. It was then ported to the Amiga and Amiga CD32 in 1994. The cover title on the Amiga CD32 version is Pierre le Chef is... Out to Lunch.

Plot

Pierre le Chef is touring the world preparing his dishes, but his ingredients have escaped and he must capture them. Pierre must watch out for bacteria, insects, and his arch-rival, Le Chef Noir. Noir, an evil chef jealous of Pierre's success, wants to ruin his career by releasing all of his gathered ingredients.

Gameplay

There is a single-player mode and a two-player alternating mode. In either mode, you play Pierre le Chef.

The objective is to capture a set number of ingredients before the time runs out. In later levels more ingredients need to be captured and more enemies appear. Ingredients must be caught in the net and emptied into the level's cage. Stunning the ingredients by jumping on them or hitting them with your weapon makes it easier to catch them because, when they are stunned, they stay still. Any number of ingredients can be captured before dropping them into the cage. Each captured ingredient drops into the cage individually over a short period of time while Pierre stands on it. After the required number of ingredients is in the cage a warp door will appear that will lead Pierre to the next level.

Between certain stages, if the right goals are met, there will be bonus a stage where Pierre tries to collect as many bonus items as he can before time runs out. There are also secret rooms in certain stages, which are revealed by completing the requirement to unlock the room. The secret rooms contain bonus items that increase your score and sometimes contain an extra life.

After Pierre runs out of lives or the game is beaten, the score is entered into the high score table and a title is awarded.

Enemies

The main enemy is Le Chef Noir. He appears in most levels every so often and tries to free the captured ingredients. A sound plays when he appears. He starts in a specific spot, depending on the level, and makes his way toward the cage. He is dismissed by jumping on his head. If Noir makes it to the cage, he opens it and all of the ingredients in the cage are released. The cage needs to be closed before dropping any more ingredients into it or they will escape immediately.

There are also bacteria and bee enemies. These enemies begin in later levels and don't reappear once they are defeated. The bacteria and bees are defeated by jumping on them.

Both the bacteria and bees turn the ingredients they touch into evil ingredients that attack Pierre. If any of the evil ingredients touch Pierre, he loses a life. Fortunately, the evil ingredients can be turned back into normal ingredients by stunning them, but if they are jumped on before they change back, they are removed from the level. Unfortunately, enough can be removed to make it impossible to beat the level.

Items

Throughout the game there are several items to help stun and capture the ingredients:

• Net: Used for capturing the ingredients
• Weapons: Stun ingredients and enemies
  • Bag of Flour: a thrown projectile
  • Wooden Spoon: very short range; used like a sword
  • Hot Sauce: short range flame attack
• Cleats: Prevent excessive slipping on ice
• Golden Apron: Temporary invincibility

Pierre starts each level with none of these items. The net must be found before any ingredients can be captured. The other items aren't necessary to beat the level, but they help considerably. Only one weapon can be held at a time.

Levels

The game consists of 48 levels set across 6 countries:

1. Switzerland
2. Greece
3. The West Indies
4. Mexico
5. China
6. France

References

Mindscape (1993). Out to Lunch Instruction Manual.

Out to Lunch at Moby Games accessed on March 22, 2007