1st January 1988
It seems just yesterday that I was enthralled with Peter Scott's Omega Orb. Like an old friend, Mr Scott is back again with something resembling a space hopper on a pogo stick.
However, Al is not your average toy, but an artificial left form - terms like robot and android having long since been abandoned on grounds of mechanical discrimination. Initially, he's just armed with a front firing laser, but has the ability to collect a myriad of different weapons, including four types of smart bomb and six types of laser.
The scenario is a good old shoot-'em-up, with plenty to shoot at. There are 44 different aliens with 200 attack patterns, all spread over eight planetscapes. Each planet (named after a popular arcade game) is no less than 104 screens wide, giving an action-packed 832 screens.
At the end of each level you are awarded a bonus screen. You have to bounce on top of an alien spaceship while shooting the baddies. I haven't managed it yet.
The scrolling landscape moves at a devilish speed and you'll have to practice hard to see the end of each level.
What makes Ransack so challenging is a feature that is very easy to miss when you first play the game, especially when, like me, you don't read the instructions.
The landscape is not just scenery - it's a hazard. As you bounce along merrily blasting away at every mild mannered alien in sight, you might fail to notice the appearance of electrified spikes, which have quite a shocking effect on your energy level.
The spikes can be neutralised by a certain type of smart bomb - you will have to discover which one yourself. The problem with smart bombs, and other armament for that matter, is that they fly through the air along with everything else and are liable to be shot by a stray laser bolt, so beware.
The sound employed by Ransack is just what you'd expect from this type of game, with lots of atmospheric pops, bangs and whizzes. While the title tune sounds familiar, it's unusual and witty.
This is one for every collection. Now where did I put my multi-function, ultra-cluster, auto-sighting, hyper-ranging pogo stick?
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