Sinclair User


Draconus

Author: Chris Jenkins
Publisher: Zeppelin Games
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Sinclair User #80

Draconus

There was a new game in the office. The screenshots looked great. I smelt the work of Zeppelin Games. "Great!" I screamed horrifically. I slammed the cassette into the tape recorder.

The game was for the Spectrum 48k! Good! It wasn't long before the game loaded. "YOIKS!" I roared. "I'm IMPRESSED!" Slobbering, I played the game. It was DRACONUS. It was set on an alien planet. "SO WHAT!" I shrieked. But this was different. I was a half-man, half-frog. It's a good laugh. I made my way through the chambers. They looked FAB. The backgrounds were full of detail. The characters were well animated. And they were BIG, VERY BIG. Wrenching the joystick, I controlled Frognum. He's the tall one. He can walk, run, jump, duck, breathe fire, and, best of all, PUNCH! And he has to! There are LOADS of things to punch: GIANT RATS! BATS! SEA SERPENTS! TERRORTOADS! CATAPELONES! "This is GREAT!" I bawled. Everyone came to have a look. They went MAD! Everyone wanted to get to the final chamber, and kill the Tyrant Beast. But they had to wait.

There was a lot to do. I had find the Demon Shield, the Necromancer's Staff, the Dragon's Eye and the Morph Heliz. "HAH!" I went, triumphantly. When I found the Morph Helix, I could change into Draconewt. I just had to find the Morph Slab. Then I could swim and spit water. It was as simple as brutally twisting the joystick. If I hit too many monsters or spikes, I lost a life. Mine! But I had three. And I returned to the last record slab I'd passed, not right to the start. So that was alright.

Draconus

There was something else that was alright too. There were flasks of flame fluid to restore my bad breath, and energy packets for my strength. So it was good. It was more than good. It was cheap. There were lots of colours. They were in the backgrounds, but there was no attribute clash. There were sounds. They weren't up to much. There was no music! Good! You don't need it for a great game like this!

I was hooked! It was the design! It was the originality! It was the difficulty! It was the novelty! It was lots of other things I couldn't spell! I went back to my desk, ready to punch anyone who disagreed with me. But no-one did! Official!

Overall Summary

Not a good arcade adventure. A great one! Official!

Chris Jenkins

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  • 10 Great Games Front Cover
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