|
You've been sent off to the planet Anromadus to round
up members of a species of alien animal named ramboids
and teleport them to market. Despite the name, ramboids
are not Sylvester Stallone look-alikes, but are the
Anromadian equivalent of male sheep -- hence the name
ramboids. Technologically things have moved on quite
a bit since the days when a shepherd's only friend was
his dog. The modern shepherd has traded in Shep and
got himself a droid, a multi-functioning device specially
designed for the job. Capable of four different modes
of operation, the droid is used to guide the ramboids
into the teleport chamber.
When
you start the game you are given the option of inputting
a password in order to resume a game you were playing
earlier, otherwise you start at the beginning. There
are passwords for each of the twenty different ramboid-filled
caverns, and as you progress through each cavern, the
computer releases the corresponding password to you.
At
the start of a game the screen is split up into sever
different windows. Largest and centrally placed is the
main window which looks into a cavern, displaying a
view of your droid placed centrally amongst the scenery.
Your first task is to guide the droid to the start position.
When you arrive at the start the computer takes over
and places the droid in the first cavern.
Once
into the first cavern, the other six windows activate.
A narrow, vertical window to the left of the main screen
randomly shuffles eight different ramboids within itself
to set the collection sequence, which is the order in
which you have to get the ramboids into the teleport.
A window on the right of the main screen charts your
progress, indicating the ramboids you've penned so far,
with those herded into the correct place in the sequence
flashing.
The
four remaining windows, arranged horizontally below
the main viewing window, display the four modes in which
the droid can be operated. The mode the droid is currently
in is highlighted by a white bar above the relevant
icon. The most useful mode of transport is jet mode:
using the jet it's possible to zoom about in the normal,
left, right, up and down directions. The droid stays
central while the bricks and earth of the cavern whizz
by in the main window display. Burrow is the second
mode: the droid can move left and right along ledges
and burrows into the floor while fire is held down,
popping up again and leaving the floor intact when it's
released.
The
third utility mode allows the droid to alter the cavern
by digging tunnels. If the droid walks into a wall while
it is in this mode, a large portion of the barrier is
eaten away and the floor and ceiling of the newly formed
alcove is supported with purple girders. To switch between
the different modes, press fire; holding fire down reveals
a map displaying the positions of all the ramboids left
to be collected.
Ramboids
are dim. They move very predictably, and always reverse
their direction of movement if their way is blocked.
Once you know this and watch the set patterns of movement,
herding them is relatively simple -- but they are delicate
creatures which only live for about twenty minutes.
You are working against the clock all the time. Should
you fail to get at least four ramboids in the teleport
in the right order within the time, it's back to the
first screen.
|
