Personal Computer News
4th February 1984
Author: Roland Street
Publisher: Lothlorien
Machine: Oric 48K
Published in Personal Computer News #047
Turned Turtle
A gun-slinging turtle, strawberries and an assortment of giant bugs are all part of this out of season arcade game.
Objectives
The scenario is quite simple. Our armoured reptile is getting thoroughly fed up with the army of bugs intent on munching their way through this year's bumper crop of strawberries. In a moment of sheer desperation he acquires a couple of six-shooters and attempts to halt their antics once and for all.
Caution is the name of the game, because not all the bugs are hard-line strawberry addicts. Some are interested only in being spectators. However, should one of this variety be accidentally attacked, they immediately become irate and band together to avenge their friend.
The other two varieties are far less reasonable, and seem to work in harmony as they systematically progress towards a successful mission.
While the greedy strawberry dealers nibble their stomachs full, along comes a wave of back-up bugs to distract your attention.
First Impressions
The picture on the cassette insert is appealing but has little to do with the picture on the screen. It shows a green turtle wearing a red and yellow boater with a Manchester United scarf round his neck.
In Play
The game begins with a back screen, and right in the middle is a patch of 12 red strawberries. At the bottom lurks the turtle, keen-eyed and waiting for the assault of the bugs. Then, quite suddenly, all hell breaks loose. The bugs start their descent from the top of the screen, manically rushing around in bewilderingly haphazard fashion.
Control is with the keyboard or with a joystick and, as usual, is much easier if the additional hardware is available. Nevertheless, practice pays off in the end, but it's unfortunate that the Oric's cursor control keys are arranged in such an illogical order, as four fingers and needed to control the turtle's movement, and a fifth digit to hit the space bar which fires the guns.
Verdict
Overall, a pleasing game, though limited by its simplicity. It makes good use of the Oric's sound capability, and it's fast, though not too difficult to master.