Spooks And Spiders is an
attractive and incredibly frustrating
game.
You have to guide a silly little
man through the haunted corridors
of a prison to find and
release "beautiful" damsels in
distress who are being held
prisoners behind one of the
many cell doors.
To rescue his sweetheart, a
key must be obtained to open the
cell in which she patiently awaits
her knight in shining armour.
This key is to be found
hanging next to a door. To reach
it a series of obstacles must be
passed. For instance, giant
spiders and irritating ghosts
prowl the corridors acting as
guards.
They can be avoided by a well
aimed leap which is easier said
than done. An accurate jump
will clear them but experience is
a must if you want to complete
the first of the three stages.
If you are lucky enough -
sorry, skilful enough - to gain
possession of the key, great care
must be taken not to bump into
walls, ghosts or spiders for you
will drop your key and use up
one of your three valuable lives.
A series of ladders takes you
to different levels in the prison.
Once you have successfully
opened all doors and rescued
your loved one, you will jump
for joy and pass onto the next
phase - which seems more impossible
than ever. The ghosts
will become skulls and the whole
game gradually turns you into a
nervous wreck.
This is a difficult, but very
enjoyable game which becomes
compulsive since you always
think that such a low score as
your last can easily be beaten.
The skilful selection of colours
and graphical displays used
by Software Invasion make the
game very presentable. My only
criticism is that a wider range of
sound could have been used to
make it more entertaining and
lively, although the sounds used
are acceptable.