Personal Computer Games


Silicon

Author: TH
Publisher: Romik
Machine: Atari 400/800

 
Published in Personal Computer Games #7

Silicon

This is a very neat reworking of the old Pac-Man theme. The maze is a marvellous scrolling gold on black circuit board. Your man, Mad, has to be guided around the circuit (much like the roadrace games). The aim is to clear the board of all the stray geometric bits scattered randomly around the maze.

These 'bits' are geometric shapes pulsating with colour. Only four bits can be picked up at any one time, then Mad has to be guided to the top right-hand corner of the display to output these bits. Once done, the hunt for more bits goes on. When all the bits have been collected from one chip/maze, a new one is generated.

The board is, of course, infested with nasty bugs. Mad has a laser which transforms bugs back into more or less harmless eggs. These still cost you a life if you bang into them, but at least they are stationary. The maze is three times the width of Mad, but he keeps to the central lane.

Silicon

Bugs hug the walls of the maze for the most part, but they cross over into the central lane when you least expect it. You can only hit the bugs when they are directly in line with you in the central lane.

Since you can't see the whole printed circuit board (only a portion of it is on the screen at any one time), the game designers have thoughtfully included a radar which shows the location of Mad relative to the bugs.

There is also the fiery Glitch which appears after a random time interval. This has to be hunted down and shot or, after some predetermined time period, it explodes, destroying the chip. When it appears, a heartbeat starts to sound. This speeds up as the time for the explosion draws nearer.

There are twelve skill levels and the graphics and sound throughout the game are very good.

TH

Other Atari 400/800 Game Reviews By TH


  • Airstrike Front Cover
    Airstrike
  • Frogger Front Cover
    Frogger
  • Q*Bert Front Cover
    Q*Bert
  • Darts Front Cover
    Darts
  • Orc Attack Front Cover
    Orc Attack
  • River Rescue Front Cover
    River Rescue