Commodore User
1st August 1989
Categories: Review: Software
Author: Tony Dillon
Publisher: Starbyte
Machine: Amiga 500
Published in Commodore User #72
Leonardo
You are Leonardo, the infamous Italian thief, recently released from a long stretch in the nick. Alas, inflation and the years have taken their toil. The little stash that you put away for prosperity's sake is now almost completely worthless. You've got to survive somehow, but how? Easy, just do the only thing you're good at. Get burgling...
And burgle you do. Each of the houses is represented by a large, four-way scrolling area. Each area contains an entrance, three identical valuable items, and lots of bricks and rocks which form a simple maze. The aim is to push things around the maze until you've got the three valuable items together in a straight line, which isn't as easy as you might think. When you push something, it keeps moving until it hits something else, which means you've got to be very careful about knocking things into corners.
To help you overcome some puzzles, areas of wall can be moved, and blocks that are in your way can be destroyed by pushing them. Enemies come in the form of polie and ghosts, both of which come in from the exit and pursue you relentlessly around the house you're currently burgling. The only way to relieve yourself for a moment or two is to hit them with a block. Then, just like the ghosts in Pac-Man, they return to the entrance and wait there for a while, cowering in fear.
Insofar as actual programming goes, Leonardo is top hole. The graphics are excellent, the sprite design and animation is perfect. The scrolling silky-smooth, and even the intro sequence is fab.
The sound is great too, with a brilliant game tune and lots of effects. But the most important thing to include when designing a game is a fun factor, and Leonardo just doesn't have one. Now don't get me wrong. I love this sort of game, but I found Leonardo repetitive. The further I got into it, the more disappointed I was with the lack of variety.
The programming is great but just a bit short on game design.