Personal Computer Games


Booty

Author: Robert Patrick
Publisher: Firebird
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Personal Computer Games #14

Booty

The game is a platform and ladders affair, not dissimilar to Pyjamarama but nowhere near as good. You, cast as Jim the cabin boy, must run about a ship exploring its twenty holds and collect various treasures. Many of these are hidden behind numbered doors and to open these you need to find the key with the corresponding number.

Every screen is packed with cargo, treasures, doors and keys, most of which overlap rather badly when you walk past them. This overlapping sometimes makes it difficult to see whether or not you have picked something up.

To make your job more difficult there are ghost pirates, trapdoors, the captain's parrot and some extremely large rats. Also lying in wait are booby trapped treasures which, when picked up. give you very little time to get away. The idea may not be original but the elements come together to form a fairly nice game which needs some quick thinking and a sound strategy.

Booty

Generally, graphics are good, though animation is a bit jerky and there is quite a lot of colour clash which, though inevitable, can be kept to a minimum by some not-so-tricky programming.

The game starts with a pretty seascape with a jaunty hornpipe tune which continues throughout the game. If it gets a little tedious you can turn it off.

If you manage to collect all the treasures you have to find a bronze key to the next collection of booty which is tougher to get.

Booty

Despite Booty's lack of originality, I feel it is very good value for the mere £2.50 you have to pay. And it certainly bodes well for the full-price range of Firebird games.

Bob Wade

It was a pleasant surprise to find that discount software could be as good as this. With so many screens and lots of treasures to collect, doors to open and things to avoid it really is marvellous value.

The colours are a little garish and the overlapping of characters is unpleasant but I suppose you can't ask for too much for £2.50.

Booty

With three different levels, there's certainly lots to keep you going. If this is only the silver range from BT, I can't wait for the gold.

Martyn Smith

I found the game to be a little low on concept and really more strategy than anything else - deciding which key to pick up and when.

The graphics are chunky and rather un-Spectrum like and, unfortunately, this means that when the cabin boy climbs the ladders the machine's colour problems were never more in evidence. The sound is also rather poor.

A brilliant title screen sets the mood well and there is a catchy little tune. Quite a lot of screens for your money as well - some of them quite good, others best forgotten.

Robert Patrick

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