Computer + Video Games - Commodore Is Awesome

0- MACHINES: SPECTRUM
4811281CBM 641128.
IP- SUPPLIER; DESTINY.
0- PRICES: 0.99 SPECTRUM
481128, £8.99 CBM 641128
CASS, C12.99 DISK.
VERSION TESTED:
SPECTRUM 481128.
REVIEWER: GARY WHIM,
Activision's first release on
its new sub-label, Destiny.
sees you in command of a
strange robot•like being by
the name of Supertronic,
whose job it is to secure a
huge prison spaceship
which has recently
malfunctioned, thus letting
all the prisoners escape.
The Supertronic is a weird
shaped device,
resembling a flying
metallic Melon. The
Supertronic glides around
the scrolling prison ship
landscape with the intent
of stealing all the the exit
hatches to stop as many
prisoners as possible from
escaping_
In order to do this, the
Supertronic is equipped
with a nifty little device
which allows it to
trionsmutate into any of four
different control modes:
Hillbar Mode :In this
mode, the Supertronic
retracts all its outboard
systems in order to protect
itself from attack and
collision. The problem with
Hibar Mode is that as this
mode uses up zero power,
you have no control over
the Supertronic at all, so
you are forced to drift
around helplessly until you
choose another mode.
Solar Mode : By hitting
the S key you are
transformed into Solar
Mode, allowing you to
replenish your ships
energy supplies by sucking
in the energy from the solar
pannels that are scattered
around the ship. As Solar
energy replenishment is a
time consuming process.
it's possible to get another
one of your five
Supertronics into action
while the other one
re-energises.
Killar Mode As the name
would sugest, this one is the
most fun! Killar Mode
activates the Supertronic's
onboard weapons system.
thereby allowing you to
eliminate anything that
stands between you and
mission completion.
•
1 1 =
•
•
• D000000 000000
A • 00000000C-
,
,
0
D
,
0
0
• I a a a , ,
Pink e 1 OS
t
10 %
%
=
1
F
r
i
10
1 000%
I 00% I oev.•
10 10 to •
0
SOLAR SCAM SUM SUM SOLAR •
0
A
DI
Diamonds are forever — but rtaff an 0 the Speccy
MON
0
0
0
0
0
Rovar Mode: No, you unsealed exits, from where
don't turn into a dog, t h e prisoners escape. To
although you do work like seal it you simply stop over
one. In this mode you glide it. Although you do have
about the ship looking for access to use your
,
•
-
v
3
0
0
0
p
o
o
•
:
-
•
•
-
,
c
,
•
•
-
61!
--
•
-
,$)(- •
, 000.c
, 000c>0
----000000 0 0 0 0 . 0
O
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
00000000-0000 ,
000 C z
,
0
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A Sparklers fail o shine.
ei , teex I oex
IMF% 1 0 1 0 1 0
Ninon IOWA SCAM SOLAR
A Diamond — "not enou•h achan"
weapons systems in this
mode, unlike Killar Mode,
you cannot use your
inertia-field modules.
which is just a fancy word
for limited invincibility_ By
sealing all the exits on a
prison ship, the ship is
pronounced secure once
more and you pass onto
the next level.
Other Supertronic modes
available allow you to
transfer power from one
Supertronic to another,
and use two Supertronics
together to help each
other out of tight corners
and traps.
Diamond sounds from
this review like a pretty
deep and absorbing
game, but it isn't. It doesn't
really break any barriers
as far as Speccy games
are concerned, and the
gameplay is too diluted to
offer any long term
challenge, which is a
shame as the game's
graphics and sound aren't
half bad, with some nifty
scrolling routines and
excellent use of colour.
There's also a free cassette
single featuring
up-and-coming band The
Company She Keeps but I
can't comment on this as I
haven't been able to listen
to it (Julian won't let me
borrow his Walkman).
So there we have it. Not
too bad as Spectrum
games go, quite involving
the first couple of goes, but
not enough action to hold
you for long, especially not
for the price.
r
-ION-
GRAPHICS 6
-11
-11
!PP- VALUE
4
1
- 1
PLAYABILITY 4
— SL11
—
O,
UPDATE
U-
The Spectrum version is
now on sale. The C64
NO
version will hit the shops
D Vtowards
the end of
August. No other versions
5E
of Diamond are planned.
R
A
L
L
4