ZX Computing


Elevator Action

Publisher: Quicksilva
Machine: Spectrum 48K/128K

 
Published in ZX Computing #36

A game of ups and downs from Quicksilva

Elevator Action

After a series of pretty unexciting titles it looks like Quicksilva are finally starting to show signs of life again. Their recent Glider Rider wasn't earth-shattering but it did have some nice touches, and now Quicksilva have joined the rest of the industry by turning to conversions of successful arcade games.

I've never played the original coin-op version of Elevator Action so I don't know how faithful a conversion this is, but after a slow start it did turn out to be simple, if undemanding, fun.

The game is set inside a tall building where all the floors are interconnected, both horizontally and vertically, by numerous lifts and escalators. On each floor there are a number of doors, painted either red or yellow, and behind the red doors are secret papers that you have to collect before you can leave the building through the basement. You enter through the roof and head downwards, though you might find that you have to do a bit of shuttling up and down as you go after all the papers.

Elevator Action

Unlike our own secret service chaps who go up to complete strangers in the street and offer them bags full of official secrets, the owners of these papers have sensibly arranged for them to be protected by armed guards who prowl each floor and come popping out of the locked, yellow doors at the least convenient moment. When you come face to face with the guards you can either run for the nearest lift, or, if there isn't one around you can kick or fire at them with your own gun. The trouble here is that the guards often manage to get off a few shots of their own before they bite the dust, but if your timing's up to it you can jump or duck out of the line of fire.

At the top of the building there's just the one lift, and no guards to avoid, but the further down you go the more complicated the interconnections become and the more guards there are wandering around. Fortunately, once you're in a lift you can control its movements with the joystick, and this allows you to go straight to the areas with the red doors, rather than having to shoot your way through each floor individually.

For some reason, when you get to the exit at the bottom of the building, there are some weird colour clashes, but these don't affect the game itself and you then go on to the start of the next game.

It's not the fastest, most action-packed arcade game I've ever come across but for some reason it does seem to be a bit addictive (possibly because it is so simple for once - it makes a change not to have to read a great wodge of instructions before getting into the game). It would be ever better if the layout if the layout of the building changed at the end of each section, instead of using the same building with more doors and guards - as it stands I think the game's life is probably limited by the number of times that you're prepared to go over the same ground. The game is also a bit overpriced at £8.95, but if you want your collecction of arcade conversions to be complete then Elevator Action is worth a look.