Games Computing


Slither

Publisher: Unknown
Machine: Coleco Vision Games System

 
Published in Games Computing #7

Slither (CBS Electronics)

This is a very enjoyable game and is also fairly unusual. Your spaceship is stranded on a strange desert planet, and deadly snakes are closing in fast.

There are four skill levels for one player and four for two players, and you have five lives each. A roller controller is needed which enables you to move your ship very easily and quickly. You can move in all directions and can fire up or down. The fire button is used to blast the serpents, but they can divide into smaller snakes which can still attack you. Boulders and cacti block your path, so these have to be destroyed first to enable you to shoot the snakes. Your ship has to travel round the boulders.

Other dangers include a red Tyrannosaurus Rex and flying pterodactyls, which are blue. The Tyrannosaurus Rex can create extra cacti when he walks across the screen and the pterodactyls try to put you off by flying near you. In higher levels you can create snakes if you hit small dark lines which travel around the screen. The graphics are excellent. In the background a sunset or sunrise can be seen, depending on whether it is day or night. This makes up a very colourful screen. The screen flashes when you go onto a new sheet and when your ship is destroyed it flashes different colours. Sounds can be heard throughout the game. A tune is played when you start a new game and when your ship is exterminated. There are also noises when the Tyrannosaurus Rex walks onto the screen and when your ship fires, for example.

The space ship is very easy to control due to the roller controller, which makes the game go on for a long time as it is easy to avoid being destroyed by the snakes and dinosaurs.

I liked this game because of its originality and the colourful screen, and because of these factors all ages will enjoy playing it.