ZX Computing


Talos
By Silver Soft
Spectrum 48K

 
Published in ZX Computing #21

Talos

Though this might seem like a standard maze-chase-zap-and-collect game, the theme and ideas behind this program make it a little unusual. For a start, you are not a whole person, in fact you are not a person at all. The crown of Eternity has been stolen and all the once docile creatures have now become your deadly enemies. Talos is the only robot left who can retrieve the crown but he has been smashed into seven bits and all that is left that will operate is his hand.

So, you control this lightning throwing hand, avoiding savage snails and grasshoppers and similar attackers as it searches the maze for the rest of its body. To add to your problems is a candle which continually burns down, and burns faster when you are in contact with an insect. This is your 'lifetime left' indicator and it can be topped up by passing over various objects. Each time it burns out you lose one of the three lives you began with. Bonus lives can be gained by topping the candle to its maximum height.

This is a fast and furious game which really needs to be played with a joystick for you to stand any chance of success. The screen backgrounds are simple but the sprites are well drawn and animated. I couldn't find my first arm so I only saw my hand movement and this was nicely done. My only criticism is that I wished there was a varying difficulty level as it takes an awful lot of practice to achieve any success; after 45 minutes, my highest score was 17%.