Personal Compuer Games


Killer Caverns
By Virgin Games
Oric 16K

 
Published in Personal Computer Games #3

Killer Caverns

Yuk! That's my reaction after playing Killer Caverns from Virgin Software. The game is so bad in so many respects, it amazes me how Virgin could have released such rubbish! If this is what's called games software, then we all have a chance to make a fortune.

The scenario is this: helpless Harold is alone in a cave in search of treasure. To get it, he has to travel through the caverns collecting - one by one - seventeen pieces of a ladder. There are nasties such as a snake in a box, falling stalactites, a flying monster, the cavern of spiders, and a giant Thing which will randomly try to duff you as you travel through the caverns.

This sounds fine, but once the game is loaded and run, disappointment sets in. The 'caverns' are a green area for the floor and a blue area for the walls/ceiling from which yellow stripes (for stalactites) hang. Harold is a small character which you move left or right by using the arrow keys.

Killer Caverns

The graphics in this game are terrible - especially for those monsters, with no smooth movement whatsoever. The package also has its number of bugs. Standing next to a falling stalactite would result in it not being displayed properly. Walking into a new cavern would sometimes lose a life for no apparent reason, and so on.

Even if the graphics were improved, and the bugs fixed, Killer Caverns would still not offer much. There is no fun in endlessly pressing an arrow key hoping you don't get randomly killed.

I can do a service to Oric owners by recommending that you avoid this game at all costs, especially your own!

DJ