BEST THING EVER
Perhaps the single most empowering piece of software for a home computer ever devised, at the very least in the "game maker" category. Jonathan has created what I am convinced is the best possible construction kit for the ZX Spectrum.
The scripting language is perfectly balanced between power and ease of use, such that many, MANY gameplay possibilities are open to the user and you're rewarded for tinkering and being imaginative. How many construction kits have promised "all you need is imagination!" only to offer crude skinning of one or two base gameplay mechanics, blocky movement and unusable project files. HURG, I'm looking at YOU!
Preset script options for basic platform movement, enemy movement and other objects is also provided, and is laid out in a way such that even a non-programmer like me could understand and tweak it to my needs with ease.
It just boggles my mind, the number of games you can make with this! Platform, puzzle, shooter, exploration, reflex games, or any combination.
Beyond scripting, there is an easy room/board designer, a block designer for creating the 8x8 graphics and giving each one a gameplay role (which can be further hacked with scripting), a map editor, enemy and sprite placement screen, sound FX, text messages (not the kind on your phone).
It has everything you need. Everything. I honestly can't rave on about this enough. If you want to make a Spectrum game that isn't one of those text adventure thingies (aka guess the vocab games), this is the ticket!
I don't really see why all the one line scorn reviews are here. Sure, it's not original, it's a mediocre platform game, but if you happen to actually LIKE platform games, this one's alright, if somewhat marred by high difficulty.
What makes it hard: The jumping and movement is very stiff, and there are too many enemies. If they had either thinned out the enemies or made the jump routine a bit looser giving us some air-control, it would be a fair and challenging game. As it is, it's largely frustrating unless you play with infinite lives.
On top of all this, they added a time limit, so if you somehow survive a missed platform and lose progress in a room, you have to exit the room and re-enter to reset the air supply. What worked in Manic Miner is really just a pain in this game.
The plus points? I quite like the atmosphere and the layout of the map. You really feel like you're exploring an ancient pyramid. I admit, I played this game as a child, and used to love finding new rooms and looking at the densely packed world inside my Speccy.
Probably give it a miss, unless you're a big fan of platform games as I am.
