BMXers beware. Somewhere out there is a castle full of ghosts and treasure ready to take you into its dreadful maw. Ghost Rider from Positive image features an intrepid bike rider competing in such a spectral motocross.
The game uses the plat- form format with the castle rooms split into six levels.
The rider is shown as a silhouette figure pedalling away for dear life around the haunted pile.
Access to each level is by unpredictable elevators which must be ridden onto with some precision. Getting off the lifts is equally dangerous as there is only just enough space between roof and ceiling for the rider to fit.
Treasures such as crowns and golden cups are lying around on the platforms and all must be collected before you can go onto the next screen.
There are twelve screens each of increasing difficulty. The floors are patrolled by an assortment of ghosts and monsters all of which will kill our biker instantly if he makes a false move. The hazards are much the same on each screen though the structure of the platforms gets more fragmented.
On first sight the program seems relatively simple but in fact you must take great care to collect treasures in the correct order, or you will run out of fuel and be unable to reach the refuelling point in time. The golden cups are only accessible after the other minor items have been picked up and are often placed behind brick walls which create further obstacles.
Though the game is difficult and nerve-racking at times the graphics are rather bleak and flickery. The use of a white background results in a fair amount of glare and can be tiring after a while. The rather unspiring presentation counts against the program. So does the fact that it is extremely temperamental about loading.
29th October 1984
