SNAKERL -ZX Kerl

 As the old saying goes, you wait ages for a bus and then two come along at once, I thought there would be a fancy name for this, but it appears to be called clustering or Bus Bunching compared to Wiggenstein's Third Law. Why am I talking about buses? Because I am en route to talk about snakes. Having just posted a review for a snake game, another drops into my inbox. 

It is very basic, but actually quite good. In the original Snake you used to eat things like apples, each one you ate you got longer until you had trouble avoiding your own body. However, your body used to move with you. In this version (very like Snakemower) your tail stays put and you get longer with each move. 

There is one other major difference to Snake, this time you are a fire-fighting snake. You need to collect water (blue squares) to pass over (extinguish) the fires (red squares). 




A handy gauge tells you how much water you have. So the trick is to avoid your body and red squares unless you are carrying water. Extinguish all the fires to win the level.

That's you in the middle.

When you start you get to choose the level you want to play. The water squares flash blue and cyan, and the fire squares are red and yellow. For some reason, if you press the fire key when the level starts you instantly die. The game area wraps around which is handy when you have created a blockade across the middle of the board.


The keys are nicely responsive so you can mash Down and Left to double back on yourself for example. In all a good twist on the snake theme.

Technical Ability - 30%

Nothing special in the programming, even more basic than the last ZX Kerl offering. UDG's for the water and fires would have been nice.

Achievement - 50%

Despite the fairly bare-bones approach, there is actually a playable game here.

Fun - 65%

I actually willingly played this a few times.

Crap Factor - 65%

Basic game, but a bit of fun. A good type-in-level game.

Roundup

Pros -
  • Slightly fun gameplay
  • Responsive keys
Cons -
  • Unable to choose a new level without re-running
  • No input checking while choosing a level
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.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If you thought 2023 was crap, think again!

Image
Some mornings begin with a headache. Some mornings begin with 'What the hell have I done?' Some mornings begin with a feeling of dread and some mornings combine the whole lot. Such was the morning the email popped slyly into my inbox. It looked so normal, almost innocent, but inside contained the words 'I'm sorry, but I think you might be the loser.' I scratched my head? What had I entered and what had I lost? Suddenly it dawned the Crap Game contest, but how had I lost, my game wasn't too crap, in fact, I had polished it, improved it, and even started to take a little pride in it. Well, that is exactly the way to lose a Crap Game contest. I hadn't read the golden rules  and as a result, had broken most of them. I wasn't alone, looking back over the entries there were some very good games in the mix. Games that had a polish far beyond the Advanced Lawnmower Simulator. Games I would have happily paid 1.99 for at the local newsagent. So far this has been a...
Read more

As we prepare to see a crap year out and welcome in another

Image
Before going any further I have to honour a promise made early in the year. I confess it took ten spins before I was brave enough to settle on a result. Goes nicely with salted porridge Honourable mentions There were so many entries that took the art of creating a crap game to lofty levels.  All of TMD2003's entries came with a wealth of fascinating notes and development logs and each entry was extremely highly polished. So much so that Katakombs of Kakrafon was at risk of winning best game for much of the contest. Vegetable Stock wins Best Loading Screen in my mind for the perfect use of the Spectrum's palette to reproduce highly recognisable vegetables. Sweary Hangman also deserves a mention for its very professional loading screen. All the Firelord Quality Games came with extensive (and very amusing manuals) which probably took as much time to write as the games themselves. Most unusual machine entry was Number Board Plus for the Lambda. Good to see the QL getting a look in...
Read more

Sloth Attack - absinthe_boy

Image
 One of the requirements for a crap game surely has to be a great name, one that instils a frisson of excitement and a sense of wonder as to what it will herald. This game has such a name, move over Ant Attack here comes Sloth Attack. The accompanying email adds to that level of promise "Anyway to this Spectrum game. It's all quite simple. You control a character who's sole need for survival is to avoid a sloth. A rampaging, murderous sloth that kills on contact. And it is hell bent on doing so. Fortunately it's a sloth, and it's slow. But it's constantly out to get you. It's probably on cocaine or something because it never goes to sleep. " Now if this is paired with excellent graphics, kickass music and unmissable gameplay play this game will be a winner. It begins with a simple intro explaining the content of the game. All framed with a pretty leafy border. So far, so good. Unfortunately, there isn't any intro music, but still a chance for excel...
Read more