Personal Computer Games


Drelbs

Author: Steve Cooke
Publisher: U. S. Gold
Machine: Commodore 64

 
Published in Personal Computer Games #14

Drelbs

This is one of those simple two-stage games which get progressively harder the longer you play.

Stage 1 places you on a screen cluttered with revolving panels, which you must arrange in sets of four panels so that they form a square.

Once you construct a square out of four panels it colours in. Nudging all the available panels into squares takes you on to the next phase of the game.

Drelbs

There are a couple of problems, however. The first one moves clockwise around the perimeter of the screen, blasting off the occasional bullet and another patrols the rest of the display, shifting panels (but without filling in squares) and killing you on contact.

What's more, every so often a hideous face will appear in one of your filled-in squares and leer at you. When it disappears you find you've got to fill the square all over again. Occasionally this ugly mug is replaced by a damsel in distress, whereupon you jump into the square and give her a kiss, thereby earning mucha (or should it be macho?) bonus points.

The second phase is very simple - you find yourself on a screen littered with images of your Drelbish self which you must walk over, whereupon they turn red and flee from the screen for bonus points. While you're doing this, a robot patrols the screen blasting away vertically and horizontally.

Drelbs

Success, however, just starts you all over again, with more enemies (of the same kind, though) to thwart you.

Drelbs is graphically attractive, easy to play, and enjoyably addictive when you start. Though I'm inclined to doubt whether the addiction will last all that long.

Peter Connor

Somehow Drelbs isn't quite as original - or as exciting - as it looked at first glance. The first stage of the game is a bit like Ladybird, and the second stage is frankly dull. I found Drelbs to be almost one of those simple games that keeps you playing until your fingers fall twitching to the floor... but not quite.

Bob Wade

Drelbs

Wacky games are the thing of the moment and this will have you puzzling for many an hour. Despite there being only two parts to the game I found it strangely compulsive trying to box gates and free my cute colleagues.

Graphically, there is surprisingly little there except for the delightful faces. This doesn't detract much from the game which is more about reacting quickly and thinking even faster.

Samantha Hemens

There are a few original features in this game which are immediately endearing. However, you can't help thinking they could have taken the idea a bit further and made a truly novel game.

Interesting sound effects, well presented - pity about the lasting interest.

Steve Cooke

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