Ace Lightning (video game)

Infobox VG
title = Ace Lightning


developer = Gamezlab
publisher = BBC Multimedia
distributor =
designer =
engine =
version =
released = ^EUR 25 October 1999 (GBA)
^EUR 29 November 2002 (PC)
genre = Action, Adventure
modes =
ratings =
platforms = PlayStation 2, PC
Game Boy Advance
media =
requirements =
input =

Ace Lightning is a triple bill of video games for PlayStation 2, PC and Game Boy Advance, based upon the BBC programme of the same name. The same plot runs through each of them, Ace Lightning ventures into the Carnival of Doom to find the pieces of the Amulet of Zoar and then capture his arch nemesis, Lord Fear.

PC Version

The PC version is a 3D game. In it, Ace must enter the various attractions of the Carnival of Doom. He then needs to collect a certain number of 'Doom Dimes' to gain access to a piece of the Amulet of Zoar, which will allow him access to the next area and ultimately the next attraction. Each attraction caps off with a battle between Ace and one of the show's villains. The levels (and their respective bosses) in the Playstation 2 and PC versions are:
*Circus--Ring of Fear
*Circus Walkways
*Circus--Lord Fear's Super Gun (cannon)
*Circus Boss--Googler
*House of Illusion--Maze
*House of Illusion--Funhouse
*House of Illusion Boss--Lady Illusion
*Cowboy Crossroads--Nevershine Mine
*Cowboy Crossroads--Ghost Canyon
*Cowboy Crossroads--Crazy Grave Maze
*Cowboy Crossorads--Dirty Rat/Giant George Wayne
*Climbcrag Castle--Fire Moat Fort
*Climbcrag Castle--Tumbledown Tower
*Climbcrag Castle Boss--Random Virus
*Haunted House--Lord Fear, Lady Illusion, Anvil, Pigface.

Playstation 2 Version

For the Playstation 2, the game is the same as the computer, except the graphics are more improved, some things have changed in the levels, and there are two new levels added as well. These new levels are:
*House of Illusion--Drop Down Well
*Climbcrag Castle--Drab Dungeon

Game Boy Version

The GameBoy version of Ace Lightning is much different. It is 2D and as Ace you must venture into 12 different attractions and locate the Amulet Fragment within. At the end of each level is a foe waiting for Ace. Also, villains can attack Ace while he's heading for a new attraction and fight him in a quick boss fight. There are two bonus games: a shooting gallery, and a test-your-strength machine where you must try and hit the bell on the machine (if you lose, Ace gets hit by the hammer and falls unconscious).The levels in the game are:
*The Ghost Train--Googler
*Tunnel of Love--Lady Illusion (can play as Sparx).
*Fortune Teller--Dirty Rat
*Adventures Alley--Pigface
*Puppet Show--Googler
*Waxworks--Pigface
*Carousel--Pigface
*Circus--Anvil
*Hall of Mirrors--Lady Illusion
*Log Flume--Anvil/Dirty Rat
*Fun House--Dirty Rat
*Haunted House--Lord Fear/Lady Illusion/Anvil/Pigface

tory for Playstation 2/PC

Ace Lightning is sent to the Carnival of Doom to capture Lord Fear and his gang of villains. He also is there to collect the pieces of the Amulet of Zoar. Ace must battle Googler and his horde of clowns in Googler's Big Top, outwit the powers of Lady Illusion, hunt down Dirty Rat in the Cowboy Crossroads, and save Random Virus from self-destruction in Climbcrag Castle. Upon collecting all of the piece of the Amulet except one, Ace ventures into the Haunted House where he battles Lord Fear, Lady Illusion, Anvil and Pigface. After a long and tough battle, Ace defeats Lord Fear and his gang, Lady Illusion fleeing. He uses the Amulet to send Lord Fear back to the Sixth Dimension.

Connections with the show

As the games were released after the first season of the show had begun to air, connections to the actual computer game and how it was portrayed within the first season of the show are sometimes strained or erroneus. As they had the actual game to work with when making the second season, its portrayal was much more faithful then.

Ace lacks the ability to fly in the game, forcing him to use trampolines or floating platforms to reach heights, and he can die by falling off ledges. The characters' personalities are slightly altered in some cases; Ace is somewhat overconfident and sometimes makes puns, and he also seems to have no interest in Lady Illusion, Lady Illusion is more forward in her advances toward Ace, and the struggle between Random Virus's sides is much more pronounced in the game. Sparx is only given a passing mention and doesn't appear at all in the actual game, although in the portable version, she is playable in a tag-team boss fight against Lady Illusion.

The differences reflect in the show at times. For instance, in one episode Chuck Mugel runs a simulation to see what happens if Random Virus teams up with Lord Fear, even though he does so anyway in the game. Another time, Chuck determines that because Anvil becomes more powerful after a certain point in the game, Ace needs to team up with another Lightning Knight to defeat him, both of which are impossible as the only other Lightning Knight who appears is Random Virus and who, as noted, is a villain. The opposite is true in one instance where Ace demonstrates a hatred of garden gnomes, which makes sense with context from the game where killer garden gnomes are enemies in one level.

References