Xavior

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 5/10

Clare Edgeley 5/10

XAVIOR PSS Software Memory: 48K Price: £5.95 Joystick: Kempston Strands of DNA are firmly connected in most people's minds with biology lessons, yet PSS has succeeded in basing Xavior on those tiny gene carriers. Xavior, the last surviving member of his race, must find and collect all the strands of DNA which carry the make-up of his people from a subterranean storage complex. Only when that is done can he ensure the perpetuation of his race. The game starts at the entrance to the cavern; Xavior enters and at once sees a shimmering blue orb in a corner of the room. He picks it up knowing that this will de-energise the doors to each room in the complex. However, the orb has only enough power to neutralise four doors, and though others can be collected en route it is wise to pick them up only when needed. Your task is enormous - hidden in over four thousand rooms are a small number of DNA strands guarded by apparitions formed from pure energy. You have just enough time to run through each room before they materialise, but should you stop to pick up an orb or piece of DNA then they will do their best to neutralise you. Xavior is the kind of game which leaves you panting in frustration, convinced that it is impossible to find all the strands of DNA and thus complete the game. The instructions state that the player must find the secrets to the orbs - an impossible task if, indeed, any secrets exist. However, for those that like bashing their heads against a brick wall - this is the game for you.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Crash

Use of Computer 79%

Graphics 74%

Playability 67%

Getting Started 70%

Addictive Qualities 64%

Value For Money 71%

Overall 71%

Unknown

Unknown

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Producer: P.S.S. Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code Author: Paul Hutchinson Yes, it's down to you again, this time you really are the very last survivor, in fact you are XAVIOR! If you think XAVIOR sounds a bit like SAVIOUR, you might be right, because that's what you are, the saviour of your race. In a vast subterranean complex beneath your planet the constituent sections of the DNA which, when combined, form the vital chain that enables your people to thrive once more, have been scattered about. The pieces take the shape of small red wiggles. In some rooms there are blue globes to be collected which allow you to open doors and fire. Fire power is essential! The complex is huge, 4096 rooms to be precise, and they are inhabited by as many as 256 different apparitions which materialise as soon as you enter a room. Contact with any of these apparitions is fatal. As the DNA pieces are collected, they are automatically linked up. On collection of the final piece of DNA the genetic chamber has its doors revealed and you must enter, destroying the nasties will ensure the survival of your race. The screen is split up into a square playing area, with the walls of the rooms taking up quite a bit of the space. The doors are set into these walls, blue before exit is permitted, left black after opening. Once a room has been cleared of monsters it remains so, allowing free access to it again. On the right is the status board which informs you of how many 'clones' you have remaining, whether an orb has been collected and what you are allowed to do with it, DNA pieces linked, bugs purged and the amount of unused orbs. COMMENTS Control keys: user definable, four directions and a fire needed Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair 2, AGF, Protek Keyboard play: very responsive Use of colour: good, very colourful Graphics: fairly smooth, very large and detailed Sound: spot effects with tunes Skill levels: 1 Lives: 3 Screens: 4096 Special features: Currah Microspeech

One of the thousands of identical rooms from XAVIOUR with the red indian-like hero fighting his way through tons of materialisations.

Personal Computer News

Overall 8/10

Bryan Skinner 8/10

PRICE: £5.95 PUBLISHER: PSS [redacted] As you might guess from our hero's name, your aim is to save something - no less than strands of DNA, crucial to the continuation of your race. In the cassette wallet there's a half-page story which outlines the scenario. You control Xavior, who is pretty large but quite well animated, even if he does waddle up the screen. Control is key-definable or joystick. The display is the standard square with action to the left, gauges down the right. Instrumentation includes counters for DN As Linked, Bugs Purged, Orbs Unused and an Orb Meter. The action takes place in rooms linked by hexagon-shaped blue doors. Some rooms contain orbs, which must be collected to keep up strength, needed to get through the doors. Others contain fragments of the DNA which have to be collected. Unfortunately, the rooms are monitored by a security system which is activated as soon as you enter, and a host of nasties slowly materialise. You can dodge them if you're nimble fingered, and you can hurl orbs at them. This may help your rating when you've lost your third life, but don't be reckless, as you only start with 2,048 of them. Unfortunately the orbs don't bounce around. There are supposed to be 4,096 rooms, and 32 designs. Many of the locations look rather similar but the monsters are varied and neatly animated. Xavior is so complex and difficult that it should keep you amused for hours.