Psychedelic Warp

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Vocabulary 7/10

Atmosphere 8/10

Personal 9/10

Jim Douglas 9/10

SUPPLIER: Silversoft MACHINE: Spectrum 48K PRICE: To be announced Joe Minniver inhabits the "near future". From time to time he feels that something is terribly wrong. He harbours a nagging doubt that the year isn't 1995, but a decade in the past. Being the rugged, square jawed, blue-eyed and all-round adventurous type, Joe decides that instead of going quietly insane, he wants to find out exactly what is going on. And that's where you come in. As soon as you "Press S to start your day" an impressive picture of your "conapt" (pad/gaff/place/home) appears. I was reminded a little of Alien 8 by the semi-octagonal doorways and metal panelling on the walls. The text is simple, but with graphics like these, you don't need to be told anything except which routes are available. After a while you find yourself in the second location - Central Hall. The picture here is even better. Large spiral towers and glass domes extend into the horizon. Very atmospheric. There are a large number of objects around, plus as many tables and chairs, and by the time you have examined a few things the list of items has scrolled off the screen. REDESCRIBE gets them back, but you have to see the picture reconstructed, which isn't all that fast. Finding myself in a talking taxi, I was led to the Palace (great piccy!) but couldn't get inside. A friendly chap in the park offered me some blue capsules, and they LOOKED harmless enough, and they WERE very pretty, so I "popped" a couple. Phee! Zap! After an amazing graphic sequence, and generally feeling high, I found myself in my apartment in 1985. A little exploration revealed that the game now takes place in basically the same locations, though ten years apart. The Central Hall is a plaza, the plus shopping area a deserted supermarket, and so on. A fairly original plot, some inventive touches (SCORE produces "You're still hoping this is a game, aren't you?") and some very exciting graphics make this a completely enjoyable game. A good buy if you like a game with good graphics.