C&VG
1st December 1984
Publisher: Creative Sparks
Machine: Commodore 64/128
Published in Computer & Video Games #38
Countdown To Meltdown
If you don't want to start glowing in the dark, then you'd better act quickly if you get your hands on a copy of Countdown To Meltdown.
An explosion has devastated a nuclear power plant and radiation is leaking out in vast quantities. The core is rapidly heating up and there could be a gigantic nuclear explosion - unless you can prevent it.
You control a team of eight android commandos who are the only beings tough enough to make it to the core.
You have to guide your team down through the many levels of the installation, find the core and prevent the explosion.
Countdown To Meltdown follows the current trend towards graphic Adventure/strategy games. You have to solve a lot of problems, gather your commando force and equip them and then go after the core.
You monitor the androids' progress through "video cameras" - your computer screen. You can switch between "north" and "south" cameras to give different perspectives of the rooms you are exploring.
You can also switch androids throughout the game. Each one of the eight has different characteristics which are established at the beginning of each game. Some are technical wizards, while others are pure fighters with little scientific knowledge.
The screen display shows your android and the room he is in. Below you'll see a complex series of read-outs relating to the status of your android and the condition of the installation's core.
You must select the android most suited to the specific task and get him to the right location.
You must reach the score and cool it down before it exceeds 10,000 degrees centigrade. If you don't, then even an android can melt!
Countdown To Meltdown is a complex and challenging game - definitely not for those of you who simply want to blast things.
The graphics are impressive - particularly the neat sliding doors between rooms which the androids have to activate. There are 2,000 rooms spread over eight levels - each with a different challenge.
The game comes with necessarily detailed instructions which you'll need to read before getting into the game. You won't learn to get the best out of Countdown To Meltdown in ten minutes - but it's well worth the effort.