Personal Computer Games


Aquanaut

Author: CA
Publisher: Interceptor Micros
Machine: Commodore 64

 
Published in Personal Computer Games #8

Aquanaut

Captain Sensible was seen to play this program at the PCG Easter Show - in return for a free Commodore 64 from Interceptor. It needs that kind of inducement to stick at the game, because it's incredibly frustrating.

You're the captain (sensible or otherwise) of a lethally armed submarine. Your mission is to guide it through a series of underwater caverns infested with deadly dangers. These include guided missiles, sea-tanks, hovering mine-layers and hunting mines.

The latter in particular you will grow to hate very deeply because they home in on you ruthlessly. If you can avoid them for about 10 seconds they self-destruct, but by then it's usually too late.

Your journey through the caverns comes in five different stages - There's not a great deal of action in each stage, but it's still very difficult to survive. In stage one you have to learn where and when to take shelter from heatseeking missiles. In stage two, after inching your way through the narrowest of gaps, you encounter the dreaded homing mines and underwater rockets.

Stage three features hovering mine layers, and so on. After you've completed the mission, you start again with a lot more weapons ranged against you.

Your submarine moves slowly, but very smoothly, and the picture scrolls nicely as you enter new parts of the cavern.

The sound is good: there are some very attractive renderings of famous sea shanties to accompany the action, and your torpedoes make a satisfying 'whoosh' when fired.

What makes the game frustrating is that although there isn't all that much to do, you have to spend ages learning exactly how to do it. Once you've learnt it, the relatively slow pace of the game means you can get bored working through the stages you know.

CA

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