Personal Computer News


Pub Crawl

Categories: Review: Software
Author: Mike Gerrard
Publisher: B&H
Machine: Dragon 32

 
Published in Personal Computer News #045

Hangover Avoided

When you have defeated the evil wizard Thurg in the distant kingdom of Ulrick, and you've rescued your rocket marooned on the planet Syrom, you sit back and think: Why don't programmers write about down-to-earth things like - well, like how to down ten pints and a hamburger and still get home in one piece. Now someone has, and it's called Pub Crawl.

Objectives

The aim is to do just that, visit ten of the pubs on the high-res map, manoeuvre your little self into the hamburger joint, and then get back home safely.

In Play

The map is simply 12 squares in a 3 x 4 grid, with streets going inbetween and all around them. Your house is the square at bottom right, and there you are in the doorway about to set out for a night on the town. The hamburger joint is the square at top left, suitably indicated with a Big Mac, while the other squares all sport a drawing of a foaming pint. Movement is by the arrow keys, and when you first set off there is traffic flowing both ways. Initially it's easy enough to dodge between the lanes of traffic and get to the pub doorways. But then strange things start to happen. After downing a few drinks your feet start to stutter and there's a distinct tendency to slide past the next pub and have to take another run at it.

Pub Crawl

You can eat the hamburger at any time, and when you do the result is amazing - your feet become your own again, and the traffic miraculously slows down. Of course, that doesn't last long as you insist on having a few more pints, and by the time you reach home to sleep it off you're as legless as ever you were. But no hangover! The next night things are worse. The police have heard about you and are out patrolling; thankfully they don't appear until your penultimate pint. It's the third time round that things get rather out of control, as the police are out in force.

After a few drinks, when the arrow keys are no longer controlling you as perfectly as you might wish, the game gets very tricky with you having to watch out for both cars and police as you try to nip round corners and into the awkwardly placed pub doorways.

Verdict

The game doesn't look like it would have too much long-lasting appeal, but in keeping with the events it portrays it's good fun while it lasts. Don't attempt to down a real pint each time you visit one of the pubs: we don't want readers drunk in charge of their Dragons.

Mike Gerrard

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