Out to Lunch is a video game that was released for the SNES

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

 in 1993 by Mindscape

Mindscape Group

Mindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with EA . As of 2004, the group has offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. It has an annual turnover of €38 million and employs 150 people. Mindscape...

. It was then ported

Porting

In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...

 to the Amiga

Amiga

The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

 and Amiga CD32

Amiga CD32

The Amiga CD32, styled "CD32" , was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year...

 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

Multiplayer game

A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Unlike most other games, computer and video games are often single-player activities that put the player against preprogrammed challenges and/or AI-controlled opponents, which often...

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