Producer: Blaby
Memory Required: 48K
Recommended Retail Price: £5.50
Language: machine code compiled
Author: Rob Jones

Games which plunge into the very psyche of Uncle Clive's little computer seem all the rage these days. The hero of this particular jaunt is young Percy Pluggit. Percy's an I.C. chip who has got himself lost in a maze of circuitry far away from his homely I.C. socket.

There are two coloured keys to find which will, when put into the right keyhole, unlock the correct door. Unfortunately they must be done in the right order. The maze is full of resistors, diodes and capacitors which are chasing poor Percy, and his energy, which starts at 1200, runs down very rapidly. On top of that the walls of the maze are electrified, which fries Percy like bacon.

COMMENTS

Keyboard positions: cursor keys, not the best arrangement
Joystick options: AGF or Kempston
Keyboard play: responsive 4-directional movement
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: quite good
Sound: average, good end of life sound
Skill levels: 1 against the clock
Lives: 3

Pluggit isn't as exciting to play as Gotcha! Perhaps because there are such a lot of maze type games around. But it isn't that easy either. The maze area is very large, only a small part appears in the playing area, and there are at least four electronic horrors in each screen. Your I.C. chip and his enemies all move very smoothly.

Moving Percy around is a bit difficult if you are on the keyboard because the cursor keys are not an instinctive arrangement for fingers, but everything works very well otherwise. There is a firing key which sends lethal bolts of energy in the direction of movement, although you can't fire and move. Good graphics, a worthy maze game.

This wouldn't be that enthralling to play if it weren't for the electrified walls, but they make everything so fraught that you suddenly realise you've been playing quite a while. Perhaps not as addictive as some other games I've seen from Blaby, but very colourful and quite playable.

Producer: Blaby, 48K
£5.50
Author: Rob Jones

The hero, Percy, is a little IC chip who has become unplugged from his socket. You must guide him through the maze of circuitry inside 'Uncle Clive's' computer and plug him in again. There are two keys to find which, when used in the correct door, will unlock them, but they must be done in the right order. The maze is full of resistors, diodes and capacitors which are chasing Percy, and his energy, which starts at 1200 units, runs down very quickly. To add to his problems, the walls of the maze are electrified. The only weapon is an energy beam which fires in the direction of movement. Only a small part of the total playing area is visible on screen. Good graphics and smooth compiled movement. Auto start and cursor contgrol keys are a slight drawback. CRASH rating: a worthy maze game if not quite up to Blaby's addictive standards. Overall 63% compiled M/C.

Producer: Blaby, 48K
£5.50
Author: Rob Jones

The hero, Percy, is a little IC chip who has become unplugged from his socket. You must guide him through the maze of circuitry inside 'Uncle Clive's' computer and plug him in again. There are two keys to find which, when used in the correct door, will unlock them, but they must be done in the right order. The maze is full of resistors, diodes and capacitors which are chasing Percy, and his energy, which starts at 1200 units, runs down very quickly. To add to his problems, the walls of the maze are electrified. The only weapon is an energy beam which fires in the direction of movement. Only a small part of the total playing area is visible on screen. Good graphics and smooth compiled movement. Auto start and cursor contgrol keys are a slight drawback. CRASH rating: a worthy maze game if not quite up to Blaby's addictive standards. Overall 63% compiled M/C.