Previous Next

Regular readers (are there any other kind?) will know that I think Trailblazer was and is the best thing since spring onion flavour Hula Hoops. Cosmic Causeway is Trailblazer II, but right now I can't think of a packet of crisps that comes close. [What about Tortillia chips? - Ed]

If you've never heard of, or seen, Trailblazer, there's the run-down: Imagine, first of all, a formula one racing sim like Pole Position, but instead of running through tunnels, cities and forests, the road is suspended in space. The cosmic causeway is not like any ordinary road. For one thing you don't drive along it in a car. You bounce along it with a chequered red and white ball. The road is full of holes. Not the kind you find on the M1 either. Disappear down these ones and you don't reappear for a good three or four seconds.

Holes are not the only disaster areas, Cosmic Causeway has no less than eight colour-coded squares some of which it pays to land on, others to be avoided at all costs. Red squares for example slow you down to a snail's pace. As the object of the game is to reach the end of each section before running out of time, it's as well to steer clear of the red squares. Keep out of the way of purple ones too, unless you want to go down the causeway backwards that is. Purple squares are a nightmare, if you're really unlucky you can end up hopping backwards for miles from one purple square to another. Equally unpleasant are the cyan squares which reverse the left/right on your joystick - makes you feel sick.

It's not all bad news though. You can bounce over a lot of this nastiness just by pressing the Fire button, but your timing will have to be good. Furthermore there are several kinds of square which will actually help you on your way. Green squares speed you up, though inevitably this just brings the encroaching doom that bit faster. Best of all are the blue squares which send you on a giant bounce enabling you to avoid all the nastiness below.

So you get the picture. The ball goes flying down the causeway, bouncing when you press the Fire buttons and going backwards, up, down, quick, slow or whatever depending on which squares you hit. You've got to reach the end of the section before the clock runs out on you. There are 24 levels and six sections in each level. At the end of each section remaining time is added to your score as a bonus. There the similarity with Trailblazer ends, and the real fun starts.

Trailblazer was a two player game and you could play a section whenever you fancied. These options have been sacrificed in Cosmic Causeway, but what's in their place more than makes up for them. The major difference is the appearance of a shimmering white disk on each section. If you manage to collide with a white disk you are awarded between one and three credits which you can spend on icon features. There are eight icons altogether which appear at the beginning of each section. Providing you have enough credits you can buy any of the icon features which increase in price according to their usefulness and last for one level only. Icon features range from the relatively cheap score "X3" at two credits to the expensive, but brilliant "roll over holes" (indispensable) and "clock retarder" at seven creds.

Another exciting departure from Trailblazer is the inclusion of the fire-breathing dragon on the last section of each level. The dragon looks remarkably like a truncated version of the monster from Space Harrier and must be destroyed before you can reach the end of the level. Other new monsters and obstacles have been introduced including aliens, trees, boulders and walls. You can fire on the aliens, dodge the trees and boulders like a maniac downhill skier. The walls are a different problem. You could try going through the doors, but it's a risky business. I reckon the way to do it is go for the "Turbo icon" feature - a snip at five creds - and go so fast you simply smash right through them. Sounds good, doesn't it? Yet to be tried in practice though. Those discs are bloody difficult to get hold of.

What else? The sound is absolutely wonderful, turn the music off and turn the volume up full. Spend the whole of Christmas playing it. Stop only for food, sleep and any alcohol offered by drunken relatives.