2nd July 1996
Retro Computer Cabin
Baps, burgers, cheese and lettuce... they're all here in Dave Kelsall's Computer Cabin - all you have to do is put them together. It sounds easy, doesn't it? But not when you're being chased by a fried egg and sausages!
In a break from the regular "C&VG 10 Years Ago" thing, I've decided to focus on a few games I've recently rediscovered. (Also there wasn't much in the July issue, apart from International Karate and Pyracurse, which I'll leave for another day.)
Mr. Ee
The first game is Mr. Ee by Micro Power for the BBC B. It's one of the best Mr. Do rip offs I've ever seen. Basically you dig channels through the earth collecting cherries. Crush the hungry Umphs and Moras with apples, or bounce a crystal ball down the tunnels to catch one.
I was amazed that they'd managed such a perfect Mr. Do on the BBC. Nearly everything's the same, right down to the little jingles and screen layouts. They'd never get away with that nowadays - or calling it Mr. Ee for that matter!
The Sentinel
Now I'm sure that a lot of you remember the BBC being a bit crap for games! Will, I picked up a machine, disc drive, monitor and games for £30 and I've got hold of some classics!
Geoff Crammond began his career on the BBC and he has a back catalogue of some awesome games, many originally written for the machine! He programmed and designed The Sentinel - a strategy game set over 10,000 landscapes where the object of the game is to absorb the sentinel and replace him as ruler of the landscape.
The sentinel and its sentries are inactive until you expand or absorb energy, but once activated the sentinel rotates, scanning the landscape for squares with more than one unit of energy. If it finds one (i.e. you) it reduces the energy one unit at a time. To move around, you must create a robot and then transfer into your new shell. You will now face your old robot which you may absorb.
Still with me? Now all you have to do is work your way up the landscape until you're high enough to absorb the sentinel! This tiny explanation merely scratches the surface of an extremely involving 3D strategy game - and at about £1.99 or so, you can't go wrong!
Other Crammond games to track down include Aviator, Stunt Car Racer and the remarkably accurate F3 simulator Revs.
Little Computer People
Before screensaver pets like Dogz came along, we had Little Computer People by Activision. They arrived on a disc or tape with their own name and special character; you even got an authorised deed which enabled you to register your person's house (mine was called Matthew). So what happened? Well, nothing really - they move in, brush their teeth, take showers, do wee, read and play records, etc... If you wanted, you could leave a present, pat it on the head, talk to it (on the keyboard) and give it food and water to live.
I always used to starve Matthew until he went green and stayed in bed leaving his little doggy to run around looking for him. So there you go - a good game if you've got no mates!
Other Activision titles I recommend for the C64 are Zenji, Rock And Bolt, Web Dimension and Master Of The Lamps, though anything they did is worth getting really.
Incidentally, these titles and more appear in a "must have 'coz it's so good" C64 pack for the PC, along with their brilliant Atari 2600 Action Packs.
Chuckie Egg
Lastly, Chuckie Egg by A&F Software is a ladders and levels game in which you must pick up eggs while avoiding the broody hens. Once all the eggs on a level are picked up, you move on to the next floor of the henhouse.
The program, originally written for the Sinclair ZX81, was a forerunner to Manic Miner-type of game. It renewed gamers' faith in the software industry and boosted creative thought in games design (apparently).
You must buy this game! It's briiiiiiiiiiiiiiilliant!
