Computer Gamer


The Wreck
By Electric
MSX

 
Published in Computer Gamer #3

The Wreck

When I first saw this game, I thought "Not another 3D maze!" but my yawns were soon stifled by the ingenuity of the programmer.

The game requires you to negotiate three mazes, but within those mazes you must kill the guardian jellyfish and you can also stun marker fish to help you to orientate yourself as you move.

The booklet accompanying the program tells a tale of how yu are on your uppers having sunk your savings into diving expeditions to find the gold ship the Beaulieu Ann which sank during the mutiny. On meeting an old seaman in a bar, you discover that he was the only survivor of the wreck and that he not only knows its location but also has a scribbled grid which will help to decipher the codes revealing the treasure's location.

The Wreck

Back in the maze you discover clues scrawled on the wall which, when deciphered, give the combination of the safe which is also located somewhere on the ship's labyrinthine deck. Inside the safe on the first deck is the first clue for the combination of the second safe; without which, the rest of the code cannot be broken. The second safe has a similar clue for the lowest deck where the safe contains the gold.

Ingots are not all that lie inside the final safe because a strange egg is lurking there, ready to hatch, which it does of course. The alien thus born starts to develop and has homicide on its mind. While racing against time to recover as much of the gold as possible, the alien tries to creep up behind you murderously.

Two of the mazes are non-linear and therefore require the user of a mapping card which is supplied with the game. Added to this, you only have ten air tanks which are lowered to the entry hatch when your current tank is 60% empty (or 40% full if you're an optimist).

The graphics are excellent and though I originally saw the fact that shooting your harpoon gun was a fairly hit (and usually miss) affair as a weak point of the game, once you master the technique it becomes relatively easy.

Currently Electric are running a competition related to the game, and later this year, another one will be run which is why my review game was doctored to prevent me from descending beyond the first linear maze.