Commodore Format


Titanic Blinky

Author: James Leach
Publisher: Zeppelin Games
Machine: Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Commodore Format #19

Titanic Blinky (Zeppelin Games)

Zeppelin has finally flipped if the plot of Titanic Blinky is anything to go by. Listen to this: "Arthur J Hackensack, power-mad ol' billionaire, Texan landowner, chairman of several major film studios and proprietor of the Ritz Bingo Hall in Milton Keynes, craves world domination."

Happy so far? Well, it gets better. Arthur has kidnapped a scientist who is designing a weapon based on ghost-power. It's so powerful, it has been used to change the Isle of Wight into a large custard slice, the Eiffel Tower into a toast-rack and New York into a bath sponge. This so-called 'plot' has to be the product of stressed minds at Zeppelin.

Anyway, Blinky, a rather silly character under a white sheet, is the only person capable of saving the Universe. He is parachuted on to the newly-raised Titanic to deal with the armies of Hackensack's ghosts who have congregated there. The idea is that you explore the ship from stem to, er, pointy end.

Titanic Blinky

Along the way you'll have to blast all manner of baddies with your gun (this is hidden under your sheet until needed). You'll also have to shoot coin/shell type things. There are loads of these dotted around the screens, and when you hit them they either explode, injuring you if you are too near, or give you a letter (like E or A). Collect all the letters and a secret door opens, enabling you to access more of the game.

It's all a completely ridiculous way of getting you to play a platform game. But if you ignore the nonsense and get stuck in, you'll find it pretty acceptable underneath.

Titanic Blinky takes a wee while to get into, especially because the movement isn't as simple to master as it could be (handy hint number one - get a decent, responsive joystick before playing). But once you get the hang of it, the game becomes easier and more fun.

Titanic Blinky

It's one of those games that, in best platform tradition, is incredibly frustrating. If you don't put both your feet (and some crockery) through the TV after Blinky falls off the rigging for the hundredth time in a row, you're a better person than me.

The graphics aren't bad, Zeppelin has gone for the cutesy look, but sadly Blinky skates around rather than walking, and the collision detection can be a bit dodgy. You can learn to beat these shortcomings, so it's not a big problem (and at least he actually blinks occasionally). There are plenty of full-price games that look worse. The sound is a bit repetitive, though, with bleeps and blurps for the shooting and destroying of nasties. And if you manage to collect all the coiny, shelly things, it's your privilege to hear the worst rendition of Peter Gunn ever in the history of the world.

Despite these little niggles, at 3.99 you're getting a decent game which will take some beating. And, it's original (well, as far as any platform game is any more).

Bad Points

  1. Poor collision detection and quirky movement make things unnecessarily tough.
  2. The nasties regenerate in incredibly awkward places.

Good Points

  1. Plenty of screens, all with tricky puzzles or dangerous jumps to get past.
  2. Smooth scrolling of baddies allows you to plan your moves much more easily.
  3. You must find all the coin-shell thingies, so you'll need to explore all the screens, rather than just move quickly in one direction.
  4. It's great having a gun with infinite bullets (even though it can't kill everything).

James Leach

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