Personal Computer News


Gogo The Ghost
By Firebird
Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Personal Computer News #091

GOGO THE GHOST

If you fancy being fjupped, then this is the game for you; fjup being the Swedish for zap according to the insert for this latest budget release from Firebird, which is proving that just because software is cheap, it doesn't mean it's cheap software.

This arcade adventure offers you 150 rooms for your 250 pence, and while they're not as detailed and as complicated as the likes of Manic Miner, they're every bit as hard to get through.

Gogo is the ghost who was last seen hurtling round the Pacman maze, or perhaps his twin brother. Here he's in deeper trouble, as the 150 rooms connect together in a complex manner, with Gogo's dream princess locked away and awaiting a heroic rescue in room 150. For some reason room 49 doesn't exist, which suggests a Swedish foul-up somewhere along the way.

Gogo The Ghost

Though initially you can only start in room one, which has a single exit to room two, 24 of the rooms have passwords. Once you have reached one of these you can type in the password at the start of the game and go straight to that room in the maze and take up your journey from there.

You need a joystick to manoeuvre Gogo through each room, and in best tradition there are objects moving up and down, or side to side, or both, with niches to hide in, dashes to make, timing to judge and strategy to work out with a generous helping of the pause feature.

Some of the room names are of the Matthew Smith/Jeff Minter variety, such as Turbo Tortoises, Mad Towels and Wear A Beard, to name but three. Others are filled with flying floppy disks, malevolent micros, gnashing skulls, stars, bats, hairy Pac-men, submarines and a million more.

Gogo The Ghost

The graphics are not the best you're ever going to see on your Commodore 64, but they're not bad and there's enough variety in the rooms to ensure that only occasionally do you notice some are built along the same lines.

You're collecting objects on each screen, of course, to add to your reserves of power (allowing you temporary invisibility), time or points. While some rooms have keys or copyright symbols which have to be reached in order to open doors to other rooms, others merely open internal doors leading to another key or copyright symbol. It sounds a bit confusing, doesn't it?

The sound is rather forgettable, with a few nice eerie squeaks and howling winds in places, and the only major complaint is the lengthy wait at the end of each screen.

But at half the price of many games in the same category, Gogo The Ghost will keep you going for twice as long as most. Buying this game is money well spent.

Mike Gerrard

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