SierraVision
ROM or Disk £18.95
If you have ever fancied following
in the footsteps of the Ewings or the Carringtons this game from
SierraVision gives you that chance. Mind you, you will have to use
a heck of a lot of imagination!
OIL'S WELL is, basically, a maze
game. Your gusher has come in and you are on the way to becoming
a multi-millionaire but first you must mine the oil rich deposits
of petromin that lie underground. You do this by sinking your drill
bit and then guiding it around the maze with a joystick to gobble
up all the dots. The drill bit lays a pipe as it moves which causes
problems as the pipe is liable to be attacked by the 'oozies'. These
cross the maze at random intervals from left to right and vice-versa.
Luckily they have no defence against your drill bit and you can
gobble them up for extra points. Pressing or holding down the fire
button allows you to retract your pipe to avoid the oozies. Bombs
(yes, bombs!) wander across the screen occasionally. They will destroy
your drill bit but they pass harmlessly through your pipe.
Naturally it wouldn't be a maze
game without the customary 'secret weapon' or power pill as they
are more readily known. You get one of these on each level of play
and it has the effect of slowing the oozies down for a limited period
of time, giving you the chance of clearing the maze unhindered.
Meanwhile you gain large bonus points for collecting the golden
goblets which appear rather infrequently.
You must complete each individual
maze before the timer runs out. Once you do this, you advance on
to the next level of play and anew maze. There are 8 different mazes
in all and after each is completed, extra buildings are added to
the construction site at the top of the screen. By the end of level
8 there is quite a huge complex up there. That's if you manage to
get that far!
OIL'S WELL is one of my favourite
games at the moment. It has more variety than the average maze game
and, once you get used to it, it is not really all that difficult
to play. On the minus side, it is rather pricey at £l8.95.
Datamost have a similar game on
the market called ARDY THE AARDVARK but OIL'S WELL is the better
and more playable of the two. It sure beats watching Dallas any
day, but then doesn't anything??
top
