Personal Computer News


Snorter

Author: Russell Jones
Publisher: Beebug
Machine: BBC Model B

 
Published in Personal Computer News #052

Snakes And Fences

Snakes and Fences

This original game requires you to destroy snakes in a number of mazes by an unusual method - you shunt sections of fence into them.

Objectives

There are five different mazes. A skill level of between one and ten must be selected, and you are given three lives.

Increasing numbers of snakes are introduced into each maze at regular intervals. To proceed to the next maze, it is necessary to destroy all the snakes. There is a fixed amount of energy available with which to do this - as you move around the maze, this energy decreases.

Snorter

The aim is for you to position yourself (as the defender) behind sections of fencing and attack the snakes with it. Each time you shove a piece of a fence into a snake, you kill it.

On the other hand, if the head of one of the snakes touches you, a life is lost.

In Play

The game makes excellent user of the BBC's graphics facilities. The mazes are well-defined and movement around them is achieved by very responsive reactions to the keys. An area is preserved in the centre of each maze in which the current score, the remaining energy, and the number of lives lost is displayed.

Snorter

Annoyingly, despite the otherwise excellent graphics, the snakes are depicted as little more than a string of asterisks.

There are lengths of fencing scattered throughout each maze. These can be separated by the simple act of pushing the defender against one. Different bits can be joined together by shunting them into one another.

A combination of skill and strategy is required for success. It is not simply a matter of chasing the snakes around - in this way you merely use up all the available energy.

There is a slight problem during the loading process - if you do not answer the question regarding the use of sound effects soon enough, part of the program appears to get lost. No problems, however, during actual play.

Verdict

This really was enjoyable to play. Without the constraint of a limited amount of energy, it might have been just another chase and destroy game. As it is, a genuine element of strategy is required in order to play well. The sound effects were a little too much, but there is provision to turn them off.

Russell Jones