Previous Next

Inertia. The name conjures up feelings of dizzyness, disorientation and a loss of control. And there's no mystery as to why the 4th Dimension named this game thus, at least in relation to control and disorientation. Controlling the 'craft' within the monochrome world of Inertia is like trying to guide your drunken mate home after he's downed fifteen pints in the local pub. You can either opt to take him little by little in one direction, easing him a few steps at a time and stopping him to get his bearings every third step or so. Or you can point him in the general direction of home and tell him his post-pub kebab will be cold unless he makes it home in the next three minutes flat. Against all the odds, you'll sometimes see the second method result in success far more quickly, and despite its reckness nature.

The first thing to say about Inertia is that the Electron version of the game (and the BBC version on its flipside) bear only passing relation to the instructions printed on the cassette inlay. I've played Inertia a lot and, so far, I've never encountered any ice, jump, chequered or transformation tiles, all of which should, according to the documentation, litter its landscape. Perhaps they do but I just haven't played it for long enough. However, I suspect the instructions were adapted from the Archimedes game (the cover art shows a picture of the Archimedes game too); as far as Electron Inertia goes then, we've got a pseudo-3D maze and a number of shaded tiles to collect. And nothing more.

That's not to say Inertia is bad. It's actually a relatively simple game and, in my opinion, a lot of fun. The skill is in handling the craft itself, a craft that is very reactive to both the directional game controls, and the stop/start effect of the Return key. If you consider your average game, control is pretty simple because Z, X, * and ? control the left, right, up and down direction of whatever you're moving. Inertia however, demands that two keys are pressed at the same time. So to move diagonally up and left, you need to use the Z and * key simultaneously. Releasing one of the keys will alter the trajectory of the craft slowly, not immediately. This is why I gave the drunk mate analogy earlier. Inertia is the type of game that is difficult at first but, when you get used to the controls, can become almost intuitive to play. If you're familiar with the "classic" game Marble Madness, in which you plot the descent of a lone marble through an obstacle course, then you'll likely instinctively cotton on to how this movement mechanic works.

So much for control. The objective (if you disregard the instructions!) is merely to collect the "shaded" titles scattered throughout the maze. To achieve this, you will need full mastery of the game controls and, as there are no roaming nasties, you may experiment with them to your heart's content. Your only real danger is falling off the edge of the grid. Mind you, this fate is more likely if you tackle the interconnected mazes recklessly.

Indeed, falling off the edges may rid you of a life but each time you collect a shaded tile you gain a life back again. A game of Inertia therefore has tremendous longevity! The only real problem with it is that, whilst initially it's fascinating getting to grips with its control system, once you have mastered it, there's surprisingly little else to do outside of collecting those shaded tiles. The somewhat eccentric control system may make for some frustration but it's the most interesting thing about the game period.

As a lot of people who ditched their Electron a long time before 1990 probably missed Inertia back in the day, I really want to highlight all the different elements of it that make it good. The trouble is that there really aren't any - it's more or less just a 3D maze game with hypersensitive controls. Yet this simple idea is enough to carry the game.

Yes, I suppose the maze trenches, slopes and jumps, plus the thrust and gravitational forces all play some part in building the immersive environment, but I do find it odd that I like this game so much when it's so hard to put into words why. Perhaps it's quite different to most other Electron games. A few others are variations of the idea (Vertigo, Return Of R2 and Gyroscope, for example) but Inertia is the biggest and more frantic 3D "collectathon" you'll find, and the only one where a large map is connected in a flick-screen graphic adventure style.

As a very (very) late game for the Electron, Inertia is now very hard to find, and a second-hand copy may well set you back over £20. I don't know whether it's really worth that sort of cash as I can't hand-on-heart say it's one of my favourite games ever. But it's got a certain something about it that may well hook you into playing it for an inordinately long period of time.