C&VG


Thunderstruck II: The Mindmaster

Publisher: Audiogenic
Machine: BBC/Electron

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #67

Thunderstruck 2

As you might imagine from the title, this is the sequel to Thunderstruck, wherein our hero Spreco, the Space Refuse Collector, found himself in a medieval castle with puzzles to solve.

Now the intergalactic dustman is back home at the Droidcorp factory complex on Homebase 5, where there's just one snag - all the humans have been enslaved by the rotten old Mindmaster, who now controls the complex. Spreco has one chance to turn the tables. If he can find the four pieces of the Deacti-Unit which the Mindmaster has carelessly left scattered around the place, he can assemble it and use it to destroy the villain.

This is a big game. There are 130 locations (although I have to take the author's word for that!) featuring a variety of creatures (friendly and otherwise), hazards, objects to pick up and use, and of course puzzles.

Thunderstruck 2

Apart from the usual keys for moving Spreco around (left, right, up ladder, down ladder, and jump), you can also pick up and drop objects and use the computer consoles scattered around the place. These are rather a novel idea. When you're standing in front of one, you can examine the objects you're carrying, find out your location, give an object to any droids, machines or aliens that might be nearby, and take it back again.

There's also an energy meter which shows you how fast Spreco is tiring and a box which displays the objets he's carrying. It also gives your current score.

The graphics are up to the standard of Thunderstruck - colourful, lively and smooth, and the sound is OK. Like Thunderstruck, though, I found one or two glitches. I got caught in an apparent dead end, and the only way I could get out of it and play again was to reload the - lengthy - tape. Annoying.

But there's plenty going on and plenty to do, and the game could keep you going for a good long time.