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THE
ROCKY HORROR SHOW
CRL,
£9.95 cass, joystick or keys
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Having
been a cult Chelsea stage show, 'The Rocky Horror Show'
was filmed and became an even bigger cult as a movie.
All the late 60s decadence overlaid with the early 70s
cynicism appealed enormously. Recently, the film has
made something of a comeback, its rock music still very
much in vogue, and now you can play the game.
If
you are one of the last people on earth who knows nothing
of the 'Rocky Horror Show', film or stage play, then
you might be forgiven for not knowing what is going
on. Good, middle class American youngsters, Janet and
Brad, through some mechanical defect in their car, end
up in this weird house for the night owned by Dr Frank'n'Furter,
and one of them gets turned to stone -- well, it's a
long story -- perhaps you should see the film
after all.
The
player may choose to be either Brad or Janet and, depending
on which you choose, it will be the other that gets
stoned by the wicked Frank'n'Furter and his dreary Medusa
machine, but clearly the most sober of the pair must
do the rescuing. The task is simple; guide the rescuer
around the house and find the pieces of the De-Medusa
and put it back together, then you can wipe that rather
stoney smile from your partner's face and run like blazes.
Of course finding the pieces isn't a piece of rock cake,
you need to look for them, and that means opening doors
and that means finding keys -- the right keys. And while
you are lurching around this rather attractive period
dwelling, you are going to be chased by quite a few
people who would rather you didn't, and they have some
pretty mean ways of expressing their preferences, like
killing you.
Some of the film's obscure scenario enters into the
game's flavour in the way that these extraordinary characters
will come up and say things like, 'I didn't like my
Teddy!' or 'it's just a jump to the left . . . ' These
remarks are capable of moving Brad or Janet into a state
of total confusion and after a few more from the right
sort of person, that confusion moves up a grade, to
total death.
The
De-Medusa is made up of fifteen separate bits which
must be collected piece by piece and deposited in the
chamber next to your stiff friend. At the start of each
game you find that the characters and the vital pieces
have all been left in random locations around the house.
While there are fewer than fifteen rooms within the
house, some rooms have more than a mere lock to get
past, the worst being a strange electric beam. The beam
removes your one and only life if you get too close
-- fortunately it can be turned off, but 'how' is the
trick. Your other problems move around on their own,
they are the characters of the play, and each one of
them will have a lasting effect on you. The Butler (Riff
Raff) for example, is nuts, he wanders round all day
long complaining that nobody loves him while at the
same time he is trying to zap you. One of the girls,
Columbia, simply strips you naked when you bump into
her. Eddie is a chap/thing who is particularly unpleasant.
He was one of Frank's failed experiments. Fortunately
he spends most of his time in the freezer, unfortunately
the freezer doesn't work that well, the thermometer
at the base of the screen lets you know when he's on
the thaw.
Oh,
one last point, the whole house is a space ship, yes
it is difficult to believe, but there you are. From
your arrival you have 99 time periods (that's not as
long as it sounds) to rescue your mate and a run for
it, otherwise by then, you see, Frank will have grown
tired of your feeble efforts and left for home. Apparently
Frank is the guy from outer space and he wears the wrong
clothes, well, that seems to explain it all.
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