ZX Computing


Frank 'N Stein
By PSS
Spectrum 48K

 
Published in ZX Computing #16

Frank N Stein

Frank N Stein by PSS is the type of polished game expected to come from such a good software house. The idea is the same as Manic Miner, zooming round the screen picking things up. This time not light bulbs but... yes, parts of a monster's body. It is your task as the mad, mad professor (I wonder if he was intended to bear a resemblance to Sir Clive?) to collect and assemble all seven parts of the body and then make it come alive in order to get to the next screen. This may sound easy, but to add to the difficulty of your mission the body must be collected in the correct order and not in any old fashion and the pieces are not always in the most easy or accessible place.

On the first screen, the professor has to grab the right chest and then immediately slide down a rope, else the gun successfully kills you, which is just one example of lots of hair raising and adrenalin pumping action that is to follow.

The jumping to get to different floors is not as easy as in Manic Miner as the professor needs to be exactly positioned over a spring to jump up a rope or to slide down before activation can take place. I found it easier to walk past the spring with the jump button held down at the same time, so at the right moment the professor would jump and no time would be lost. Incidentally, the control keys are well placed and the game is joystick-compatible.

Frank N Stein

Some thought needs to go into some movements. How on earth is the professor going to grab a leg, for example, without being squashed by a barrel or get hold of an arm without being poisoned by the lobster.

After each body-collection screen there is just a straightforward (?) obstacle course. This is great fun as you manoeuvre the Professor to the top of the screen in order to activate the monster again before going in to the next room in Frank N Stein's lair.

The obstacle course is more enjoyable than collecting the body as a direct plan of action to be adhered to, else the ball may fall on your head or the crabs, lobsters, spiders, barrels, mice, crocodiles, pumpkins, bats, snails... (the list is endless) may get you.

Another problem is the ground, which is not always as sound as it may seem. Ice is strategically placed and is great fun to watch as the Professor slips and slides. So also are the green patches of grass, slowing the movements of the Professor down greatly as he ambles across, admiring the view, and the light bulbs, causing an electric shock and finally the transformers, which delay you greatly as they beam you to their side.

All these and more go forward to make the game exciting, intelligent, fun to play with faultless graphics and sound. A must.

David Harwood

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