ERE/Infogrames
£24.95
The year
is 2912 AD and the possibility of a global war breaking out on Earth
is high. All of the spatial colonies are threatened, and if the
Central Galactic Control Computer is destroyed all life will
disappear on the dependent planets.
You play the part of Crafton, an Android who
specialises in dangerous missions and you are accompanied by Xunc, a
creature known as a podocephale who is like a head sitting on top of
a foot. Your mission is to penetrate the research centre protecting
the Control Computer and avoid the catastrophe. Well, there you have
the basic story behind the game.
In play, 'Grafton & Xunc' is fairly good. The screen
layout is similar to that of many arcade adventures, showing the
proceedings in 3D. You view each of the many rooms within the
research centre from above one of the corners, making the room look
like a diamond shape. The rooms each contain many objects, such as
tables, chairs, settees, plants and usually something hostile, be it
alien robots or green haired punks! All of these objects are very
colourful and well drawn, thus giving the game a very pleasing look.
The sprite which you control is fairly well defined,
as you can see all the major features such as his face, arms, legs
and his red bobble hat wobbles about when he walks. 'What!?' you may
well ask, 'an Android wearing a bobble hat!' Yes, Crafton wears the
bobble hat to cover up his topless head. According to the comic book
which accompanies the instruction sheet, Crafton's skullcap was
misplaced, and then eaten by Xunc your (faithful!?) companion. But
enough of that, it is not really important to the game.
As you roam about the research centre you will come
across many different objects (as mentioned above). Most of these
objects are movable, so moving cupboards away from walls can
sometimes reveal hidden doorways. Also, hostile robots which chase
you around can be trapped by cutting off passageways with tables or
chairs. In addition, you will meet a few people during your
exploration, including green haired punks and various blonde haired
women, who will do their best to stop you doing any more
exploration. Furthermore, there are some ancient looking scientists
who must each be interrogated to obtain part of a secret eight
figure code, which will eventually give you access to the central
computer.
The
sound in 'Crafton & Xunc' on the whole is not bad, the music at the
beginning is fairly catchy, and the sound effects throughout the
game are above average.
Overall not a bad game with some nice touches and new
ideas, although I do think that it is a little overpriced.
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