Level Up - jj52

I'm beginning to think there should be an award for the tersest email accompanying an entry. If so this entry would be a serious contender.

"Enjoy the game.
Have a colorful 2024"

Attached to the email was a TZX file called Level Up 48K. So far not too much to go on, so I loaded it up. One blink later and it was done, so fairly short. Even better the screen looked like this


So no autorun. At this point there are only two real options LIST or RUN. Naturally, I listed the contents, 11 lines of basic. Normally I would hesitate to show the code here to avoid ruining the pleasure of listing it yourself. But the content will be easy enough to guess from the rest of this review.


Bonus points will be awarded for not turning off the green paper. The game (can it be called a game?) seems to be a sad reflection of mankind's current progress. At least with the first crap game you got to press M, there was a goal of sorts to mow a lawn. There was even some level of graphics. Not so here in this goalless production.



Pressing A displays the message Level Up with green paper backing, but it is overwritten before you can read it. Despite being told there is no score a randomised score appears. Despite being told to press A, any other key will also give you a score, just not a flash of green message. Despite being the implication that the game is 48K it also runs very happily on a 16K Spectrum. Despite calling itself a game it contains no gameplay. The most interesting thing about this game is the fact there are two versions on the TZX, the other is only 6 lines of basic and uses lowercase 'a', and yet is moderately more exciting.

Technical Ability - 11.2%

It is BASIC, it runs. It does something.

Achievement - 2.2%

I am totally at a loss as to what the aim was in order to measure its achievement. If I take the blurb on screen, then pressing A does indeed print (very briefly) Level Up, but there is a score displayed despite being told there isn't.

Fun - 1%

No.

Crap Factor - 93.1%

I hesitate to label this as a game, but it is certainly crap.

Roundup

Pros -
  • Didn't crash.
Cons -
  • Everything else that wasn't a crash.
Remember I play these games so you don't have to. Should you play this game I bear no responsibility for your mental health afterwards. Should the warnings not be enough you can download and play it here.





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