Producer: Virgin Games
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £5.59
Language: Machine code
Author: Martin Wheeler

Martin Wheeler is 16 and still at a local comprehensive school. Like so many young Spectrum programmers today, he started off with the ZX81, but found himself unable to get into his school's computer class. Since then he has become so involved with computing that he gave up his hobby of drawing cartoon comics, and the result of such sacrifice is this game. He hopes it will give encouragement to all the kids who are not good at maths and cannot get into computer classes.

Well it may do just that. Dr Franky & The Monster is a platform with holes and jumping game that has an original feel to it. On each of the nine screens there is a six-floor dungeon, and the object is to guide Dr Franky from the very bottom up to the top, collect a white conical flask on the way and take it to the Monster who stands lifeless against a wall at the top right. This refreshes the parts that other white conical flasks cannot do, and, incidentally, takes you to the next screen.

The problems come in the form of four ghosts who roam the dungeon and chase Dr Franky all the way. There is also a cart filled with bricks on the top floor which will run him over. The gap, too, on the top floor is a problem because it is quite wide, and Dr Franky can only jump up through the holes, not over them. The magic hammer helps in this case, as it does on other screens. Because of the layout of floors, holes and lifts, there is the usual element of strategy involved in discovering the best route through to the top, and this goes for each screen which has its own separate layout. To make things worse there is a time limit - and it's quite a severe one.

COMMENTS

Control keys: 1/2 = left/right, 0 = jump
Joystick: none, doesn't need it
Keyboard play: responsive, but tricky
Colour: very good and varied
Graphics: very good
Sound: very good
Skill levels: 1
Lives: 3
Screens: 9

These are some of the meanest ghosts I've yet encountered. They won't let poor Franky take a step without anticipating him. Because he can only jump up the holes and not across, it takes some getting used to - running along a floor, for instance, often means falling down a hole to the next level and instantly leaping up again. The graphics are very good, large, smooth and well drawn; good sound too. Apart from Spectron, I think this is Virgin's best ever game.

This is a good game from Virgin. The graphics are very good, colourful and well animated (l think the flicker on the ghosts is deliberate) Dr Franky's movement is nice (and simple with only three keys used). The game is fun and fairly addictive. The ghosts look like they escaped from a Pacman game. I like it.

Dr Franky is a difficult platform game and quite challenging to play. With each screen being different it means that you get the hang of those you can master, and then instantly lose a life on a new one until you can 'see' the way through. Timing and jumping skill is of the essence. A really good game from Virgin at last - I hope they'll do more like it.

DR FRANKY FALLS FOUL OF THE GHASTLY GHOSTS

Memory: 48K
Price: £5.95

It is fortunate the reviewer of Dr Franky and the Monster already had his own copy of the program. The game provided for review loaded perfectly, displaying the initial Manic Miner-style cavern, a few ghosts, the flask of elixir and the famous monster waiting for life to be poured into him. There it stopped, as the motion keys failed almost completely to obtain response on-screen. Irritation replaced interest after a dozen or so attempts to play.

There appeared to be no data corruption, however, and the second copy functioned perfectly. Whether it was one bad tape or a potential bug is yet to be seen so, if you buy the game and have similar problems, refer it to Virgin Games.

The aim is to bring the bolt-necked monster to life by collecting a flask of chemicals which must then be given to the lifeless hulk at the top of the tiered caverns, nine in all. The gloomy dungeons are also populated by the ghosts of the wretches whose spare parts have been used to manufacture the monster. They will hunt you as you attempt to move and jump along the passageways. There are other hazards such as mine wagons and bridges to negotiate. Movement is simple using only three keys.

The graphics are bright, fast and clear and you will need to move with some speed to avoid the vengeful ghosts. The monster comes to life with a satisfying electrical glow once the flask has been taken to him by the bizarre Dr Franky and good timing and judgement are needed to do that succesfully. Dr Franky is an enjoyable and attractive game but, in view of the problems experienced by the reviewer, it may be wise to check that your copy runs well before you leave the shop. Dr Franky and the Monster will run in 48K only.

IGOR! IT LIVES!

MAKER: Virgin
MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
FORMAT: cassette
PRICE: £5.95

Virgin have yet to produce any genuinely outstanding games but after their initial crop of certified stinkers Dr Franky seems positively glowing. Martin Wheeler's game manages to remind you of several arcade prototypes without drawing too-closely on any one.

The task is to manoeuvre the inane, bespectacled doc through various dungeons (nine screens in all), each abrim with grim-faced ghouls who obliterate him on touch. He can also be topped by falling brick walls or run down by what looks like a miner's caboose but if he manages to pocket the white phial on the top left of each screen and get it to his dozing monster he can move on to the next stage.

A simple three-key control lets him go left right or jump - and since every screen is a maze of potholes and trapdoors our man often goes on a kind of ingenuous hopscotch. The monsters are pretty smart, though, and the 'magic hammers' which dot the screens are seldom of any use. Sparse sound and detailed, if rather familiar, graphics make - this scientific Kong (its closest counterpart) an amusing if unremarkable proposition.

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
JOYSTICK: No
SUPPLIER: Virgin
PRICE: £5.95

Dr Franky is pursued by three nasties as he jumps from level to level to fetch a flask from the top of the screen. He must deliver it to the monster, who is in need of refreshment and lives in the top right-hand corner.

Once refreshed, the monster shakes like something in a lager advertisement, and then it's on to the next screen.

The task in each screen is the same, but the layout changes, forcing the player to adopt slightly different tactics.

The opposition are fairly intelligent, and there's a time limit for each screen, although this isn't mentioned in the instructions.

The graphics are acceptable, but only just. They flicker quite a bit, and their movements aren't the smoothest I've seen.

Dr Franky is a creditable attempt for a 15-year-old programmer, but there are better ways of spending your money.

This month we focus on a selection of games and on the new range of software for students of Shakespeare from Penguin Books.

The player takes the part of Dr Frank y who is trying to bring his monstrous creation to life. To do it, flasks of life-giving chemicals must be collected from one side of the dungeons and carried to the monster on the other side. Of course, in a computer game things are never so simple. Dr Franky is being chased by the ghosts of his previous victims, the floors of the dungeons are riddled with holes, and crossing the dungeons involves jumping on and off a very unsafe lift.

The game is fast and furious, for the ghosts seem to be everywhere at once, so, for some time, it can be difficult to decide how to move more than a few inches without being killed. The screen layout, the ghosts, the difficulties of the game are not startlingly original.

Nevertheless, despite the air of deja vu which many buyers will feel, the game provides a real challenge even for the most experienced arcade games player.

Dr Franky is produced for the 48K Spectrum by Virgin Games Ltd, 61-63 Portobello Road, London W11 and costs £5.95.