This is the review that caused "millions of downloads" as well as over-loading Bob's Stuff server
///Introduction///
There is a nasty Viral mutation that could wipe out mankind if it was allowed to spread, and Shaun is our last line of defence!
///Header///
ZX81 gets Virus
///Spec box///
Product: Virus
Price: £TBA + postage
Developer: Bob Smith -
www.bobs-stuff.co.ukPublisher: Cronosoft -
www.cronosoft.co.ukPlatform: 16K Sinclair ZX81 and compatibles
///Scores///
Overall: 9
Virus is a very playable and extremely polished top-down shoot-em up, making the most of the machine's limitations.
///Body copy///
Like Bob Smith, I've never been a big fan of office parties, and in his latest Sinclair ZX81 game Virus, the game story starts at one just before the Christmas shut-down. Macrobiology Industries Limited were enjoying the end-of-year blow-out, but amongst all of the celebrations, something disastrous was happening in the bio-hazard containment refrigeration units. With the anticipated pandemic of swine-flu not happening, an overload on the disco lights blew the fuses and shut off the fridges which were full of different strains of influenza. Unfortunately, no one checked them before leaving at the end of the night, raising the units to room-temperature, ideal for mutations.
Returning on the January of 2nd, a security guard started making his rounds and switched the fuse boxes back on. Once getting to the fridges, he noticed that the doors were broken. He saw strange mucus-like cells moving around. Grabbing his SHARPS pistol, he goes to hunt down all of the mutated strains before they spread to the general population and cause havoc. Your task is to guide the guard around the now infected labs, shooting the mutations for each area before moving onto the next.
Bob says this game is based on Into the Eagle's Nest, released by Pandora in 1987 for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and other 8-bits. It also bears something of a passing resemblance to Atari's arcade classic Gauntlet too, with the exception of no diagonal movements for the player. The difference is that as you move the screen scrolls with you, and at a very reasonable rate too.
Some doors require keys, and some are simple partitions that can be shot through. Your health is a constant concern, as you become slowly weaker as you play, but this can be replenished with the first-aid kits that are strewn about each level. You have a limited supply of ammunition, but refill cartridges are also around and about, and some storage boxes have hidden power-ups too.
Virus has eight expansive levels, some maze-like and others a little easier mentally map, but all can be explored once all of the mutated strains have been removed providing you have enough health left. You will find three types of viral strains throughout, but all will generally move towards you if you're in the immediate vicinity to infect you and quickly drain your health.
It can be tricky to obliterate some of the virus strains as some are smarter than others. Whilst most will head straight for you, others will hide behind walls. As the gun is held only in your right hand, it is sometimes necessary to re-align yourself to take out the mutated mucus. And once all are gone, it's time to head to the exit for the next level. The three difficulty levels pose a unique challenge on a real ZX81. At its' hardest, the viral mutants move as fast as you do: if you have more than a couple chasing you, they can corner you quickly. With the keyboard being touch-sensitive and non-tactile, it can be easy to lost your position over the keys, unless you're lucky enough to have a compatible joystick interface. I suspect that most people will play this from the comfort of an emulator though, but if you have a real machine still, the likelihood is that the keyboard is no longer functional. The good news is that RWAP Software provide durable and newly-manufactured replacements, of which I've purchased two. If you require one to play this game 'the hard way', head over to
www.rwapsoftware.co.uk and have a look at their Sinclair pages.
On completing the game, it tells you that the virus has been eradicated, before a question mark appears, which is a strong suggestion that a sequel might appear at some point in the future, which is only a good thing. Put simply, this is Speccy-quality gaming on a ZX81. More of the same, please Bob!
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Virus1.png
///Caption///
Domestos won't sort out this problem!
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Virus_Inlay.jpg
Seriously though, an EotB clone with some depth would be an interesting and rewarding project to develop for the ZX81.
