Zzap


Plotting
By Ocean
Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Zzap #68

Plotting

After a two month gap, C64 Plotting follows the Amiga game onto the world stage (and hopefully this time Film Planning won't get it confused with Future Basketball!). You control a tile-throwing potato who starts off with a block of tiles which must be reduced to a certain number to complete the level. You can fire tiles from the side, or vertically by bouncing them off the steps at the top.

You destroy tiles by throwing an identical design tile at them - skilful players arrange their hits to create long lines of identical tiles which give bonus points when hit. If the tile thrown out after a hit won't match any of those available, one of three 'miss' tiles are used up. Further miss tiles are awarded at set point scores as the levels become more complex with uneven steps and pipes.

Phil

I'm a bit disappointed with this conversion, not that the game was that good on the Amiga. With the lack of the competitive two-player mode and construction kit, all you're left with is a very simplistic puzzle game which soon gets repetitive with its non-random level layouts.

Plotting

And sadly no real use of the cartridge format is made - a few good interlevel presentation screens might have livened up the dull proceedings.

Stu

The attractive title page comes up a second after turning on but the intro demo is shorter than the Amiga's. Also, the designer and two-player options have been cut (the latter probably because a split-screen would make individual tiles too small to work on the C64).

But the core game remains, looking particularly nice with attractively done backdrops and tiles. The basic idea is shaping the block of tiles to avoid being stuck with an unusable tile, and it works well enough for puzzle-maniacs.

Verdict

Plotting

Presentation 65%
Zero-fuss fun of slamming in the cart, great title screen, nice demo but no two-player or designer options.

Graphics 70%
Very attractive backdrops and tiles are superior to most puzzle games.

Sound 50%
The jolly in-game tune is okay.

Plotting

Hookability 74%
Easy to get into, although some of the finer gameplay points can be puzzling until you've read the instructions.

Lastability 63%
Lots of progressively tougher levels, but it can get repetitive regoing earlier levels.

Overall 68%
A fun, but unremarkable, puzzle game.