MANIC
Could it be that there are too few original ideas coming out of UK software houses? Ross Holman examines three new releases - Astronut, Frank N Stein and Monty Mole - and draws the inevitable conclusion...
In the current post-Manic Miner/Jet Set Willy depression, many software companies seem to be striving to emulate the success of these two games, resulting in a number of semi-clones appearing recently on the market. Of the three games reviewed here - Astronut, Frank N Stein and Monty Molè¶all - the cliched elements can be found, ie, little jumping figures, platforms, and collecting objects while avoiding the nasties.
I'm sure that the companies themselves had no intention whatever of the games bearing any resemblance to other packages. But, having said that, it does seem that effort, conscious or otherwise, has been made to identify the addictive or attractive elements in already published software - such as the collection of objects, pixel graphics, colourful screens and figures leaping around a series of platforms. Throw these factors into a computerised melting pot and hope that something playable comes out.
Maybe what the software houses fail to realise is that originality is a very important 'success' factor in any new package. A new version of Defender may still sell well, but too many variations on a theme and it's surely doomed to failure. Even Matthew Smith realised that Jet Set Willy had to be very different from its predecessor - just take a look at the increased size of the game, the 'move anywhere' ability and those wonderful ropes.
The novelty value of a game and the comparative standard of the coding at the time of release are also important factors - most games players look back fondly to the days of the first copies of Space Invaders and the excitement generated by the first 48K arcade adventures like Time Gate, but they certainly wouldn't fork out hard cash for them today. You only have to take a time-trip back a few months to remember the furore created when Sabre Wulf was released, mainly due to its similarities to AticAtac̀¶ but try booting up AticAtac now and you may be surprised (I certainly was!) to discover it wasn't quite as good as you'd remembered.
Producing an original game these days must be very difficult, especially as so many of the good ideas have been used. Also, it must be noted that, despite my criticism of the three games here being just a little reminiscent of others, it may well be that Matthew Smith himself had a good look at a game called Miner 2049'er before he buried himself in machine code to produce Manic Miner. The difference is, of course, that he turned a good idea into a brilliant one, with lots of original implementation based on his own ideas.
It's the originality and complexity of UK software that makes it so good, and I hope we see more and more excellent material being produced for 1985.
ASTRONUT
Software Projects
Astronut is produced by the same company responsible for Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy, although it's not billed in any way as a sequel to Matthew Smith's games. Written by Patrick Richmond, the game is attractive and colourful - but as a 'platform' game, I'm sure Software Projects are hoping that their reputation for this type of package will help this one on its way to the high street shelves.
The lack of instructions both on the cassette sleeve and on-screen (at least with the copy I've got anyway), didn't actually inspire any confidence that it was a particularly polished piece of software. To start the game, you need to press the 'S' key - and the 'Q' key is used to turn off the terrible sound effect (you'll find this is probably the most useful key in the whole game!)
Astronut's a game of some 15 screens; the object of the exercise on each screen is to push three resource blocks from various platforms down to ground level. You control the little two-cursor man and can move him left or right, or get him to drop bombs. To move the figure up the screen, you have to position him above a volcano and wait for it to erupt or, on the later screens, you can manoeuvre the figure up the ladders. Beware though, once you've started to climb there's no turning back.
Stopping you gathering the power capsules and moving the resource blocks are, of course, many assorted meanies which have to be negotiated. There's also the problem of extending platforms, which have an annoying habit of collapsing just when you want to use them!
The sprites move fairly smoothly by one or two pixels and come in the usual horizontally and vertically moving varieties; some are even more tricky and cascade back and forth along the platforms, defying gravity more often then not. The stationary graphics characters aren't your average run-of-the-mill platforms either - you may encounter dragons spitting fire and amazing castle towers - and they certainly go some way to brightening up the game.
Despite the pixel movement of the sprites, our man moves by cursor block stages, although the figure is animated within each stage. Unfortunately, this, coupled with the 'attribute collision detection' routine used, sometimes causes your figure to be pronounced dead even when there's lots of clear air between you and your killer.
Astronut is visually appealing, but it's too easy! Dropping bombs to protect yourself and timing the jumps to collapsing platforms do add an element of skill, but overall I didn't find it challenging enough. Each of the screens can be reached independently of the others by instructing the program to start on a specific screen - in my view, this spoils any suspense for the enthusiast.
FRANK N STEIN
PSS
Despite the obvious enthusiasm for this game generated by the games players in the YS editorial office, Frank N Stein was the game I liked least of the three programs.
The object of the game is to guide your two-cursor figure along platforms collecting the constituent parts of a Frankenstein-type monster - making it a little more complicated is the fact that all the limbs, etc, have to be collected in the correct order; head first, then torso, then hips and so on. To collect all the parts of the body, you have to walk over the dissected parts, while avoiding the various sprites that go through set patterns of movement around the screen.
Again, you can move left or right, but vertical movement can only be achieved by standing over strategically placed springs and hitting the 'fire' button. Small jumps are possible, but these are sued mainly for letting one of the sprites pass underneath allowing your figure to safely carry on his macabre search. There are also an number of poles which can be used to descend from level to level.
The graphics characters are mostly two-cursors, very colourful and animated fairly well, adding some welcome relief from the overall red appearance of the game. The move pixel by pixel, but they're a might bit slow - which means there are times when you're hanging around waiting for the baddies to get out of the way. This aspect is no doubt intended - especially as the game is played against the clock - but I feel that overall it detracted from the game.
PSS claim Frank N Stein has 50 screens, but don't let that mislead you as there are only 26 different screens. After each 'collecting' screen, there's one that repeats; this special screen is slightly different from the rest in that the object this time is to get to the top platform while avoiding random graphics characters and rolling barrels (shade of Kong here).
Planning out a route through each screen is reminiscent of Manic Miner, but it doesn't work out quite as well. If you miss the opportunity to jump for something, then very often you either die or have to hang around for the same pattern of events to repeat itself - there's not much room for you to experiment with new and original ways round each screen as more often than not, there's only one way round and that's your lot!
MONTY MOLE
Gremlin Graphics
Monty Mole is probably the most similar to Manic Miner but there are many similarities to Quicksilva's Fred as well.
This time, you get to play a mile whose graphic is on four cursors, thus avoiding any confusion that this game is based on Manic Minder. Your task is to guide the mole around a series of caverns - about 21 in all - until your eventual escape. This package received a lot of media attention a few weeks ago due to its supposed connections with the miner's strike and its inclusion of an Arthur Scargill character. How Gremlin Graphics conned the TV companies into believing this, I'll never know - I've been through the whole game and can find no real links at all with the current industrial situation.
Anyway, back to the game. On the first screen you guide Monty over a river to collect a coal bucket in which to steal your coal - but the owner's not too happy about this and starts chasing you down the nearest available mine shaft. Once there, you can start collecting the twinkling pieces of coal. (For all you bug-hunters, try carrying on running towards the house and jumping just before you reach it - with any luck you'll find yourself in the coal-miner's house and he can't do a thing about it.)
The caverns are, in essence, very similar to those found in Manic Miner, with platforms and graphics characters trollying along, and up and down. Ropes have also been added for Monty to climb up and down (a la Fred), and extending platforms are also used quite effectively. You'll also come to hate the Coal Crushers that appear in most screens - they are totally unpredictable, except for the fact that you can assure yourself that whenever you decide to walk under them you'll be crushed! Another nice feature is the Antics-like technique of being able to change events by dong certain things; carrying certain objects around with you makes various walls disappear when you enter the screen, allowing you to explore still more of the caverns.
The program has a number of slightly off-putting characteristics which don't enhance its playability - for example: the graphics routine allows you to stand on any INKed pixel; you can get Monty actually standing in a graphic and still not have the fact that you've collected it registered; and if you die in a room having just caused a wall to disappear, that wall will appear with your new life and there's no way you can get past it!
Despite all this though, I still thought Monty Mole the most challenging of the three - even though it's the most blatant clone of Matthew's Manic Miner.
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