SNAKE ESCAPE
(Einar Saukas, 2016)
Oh wow, I've just found out that Spectral legend Mr. Einar Saukas is from Brazil, not Russia where most modern day ZX heroes hail from. I wonder how he got into the Speccy scene, I had no idea it reached that far. Although I did spot someone from Angola checking out this site the other day amazingly. Hello to you if you're reading now! Einar's probably from Croydon now isn't he, and Spectrum Computing have sold me a fast one...
Anyway he needs no introduction, apart from that terrible one above (sorry Einar). This game is a puzzler he made back in 2016, apparently his take on the game Lime Rick by Tommi Tuovinen, a Finnish rally driver possibly. The things you find out when you need some goss for your reviews.
Can't see an inlay anywhere, okay. Let's say your name is Stiletto Snake (thanks Jack), you're a snake and you like to eat apples. But sometimes they're really hard to get to. So you have to use your body as a snaking ladder to get higher up, like the opposite of the popular board game. You can only go a maximum of 2 blocks up in the air before your face goes red from all that stretching and you have to recoil in horror (not sure if that's a joke or not).
It's a whole heap of serpentine fun, this one. The multi-colour graphics are cute, the various tunes from good old MmcM as cracking as ever, and it's highly addictive and frustrating in equal measures, as all good puzzle games should be. You could say it's a tad one dimensional I suppose, but it's certainly got a lot more to it than that snakey game of old called Snake, simplistic classic though that was. Can we stop talking about snakes now please?
CAPTAIN DREXX
(Vladimir Burenko, 2014)
Snakes alive, it's Captain Drexx! This effort scooped 4th place in the Retro Games Battle of 2014, which I remember not at all. This may not sound overwhelmingly impressive to some, so who beat it then, let's see? Ah, Metal Man Reloaded, Dreamwalker: Alter Ego and Castlevania: Spectral Interlude. No wonder it didn't beat those, its title is way too short and has no colons. Still, an awesome line-up - what a time to be alive that was!
Wossit all about then? Well you're the buff Captain who's trying to defend his space base from "spongers, munchers, robotrons and greasy things" the inlay informs us. By building towers and heaving them into position using his throbbing... muscles. Our mighty macho man has to work quickly though as a seemingly endless conveyor belt of alien scums (like a more evil The Generation Game) are on the warpath to penetrate his area. I know, I need to stop.
You can buy a tower for $8 which seems a snip. But you can only get another one once you've earned more space spondulix by destroying the baddies. Not too sure cash really needs to be involved in this game, with space exchange rates confusing matters, but never mind. Upgrading your towers up to the power of 4 can be done gradually once you've earned enough pocket money.
Tower defence. Doesn't sound that exciting, but I have to say this game is BRILLIANT! Once you've grasped the basics, which does take a short while. But there's a very helpful intro to explain it all, and you can pause the alien onslaught at any time while you get your bearings, which is a real lifesaver. It's hard as heck but riotously addictive and maddening. To add to this, it looks great, is hugely colourful and has awesome music and sound effects. This one's a revelation to me - download it now and tell me I'm wrong!
PUZZLING PERCENTAGES
SNAKE ESCAPE 87%
CAPTAIN DREXX 92%
I'm enjoying Snake Escape. I initially had trouble finding it as there is some bloke called Snake that wanted to escape New York and then L.A. so searching for it was tricky. Speaking of tricky I seem to be stuck on one particular level, it's very frustrating!