PrinceWatercress plays Freddy and the Spiders from Mars

The game may be simple, but at least the dream is as nonsensical as those I've had in real life.

Longplay

Freddy and the Spiders from Mars is a type-in game for the BBC Micro from 1985, from Issue 38 of Input Magazine.

Freddy is a window cleaner with an intense dread of spiders. He's been to his doctor and innumerable specialists who cannot cure his condition. Things are so bad he now has a recurring nightmare, concerning a Martian spider, a collection of balloons, and his favourite hobby, archery.

Frequently he wakes up bathed in sweat after dreaming of beings stranded on his ladder equipped with a supply of arrows. He has been trying desperately to burst balloons, which if allowed to reach the spider's cage above hie head, unlock the doors which imprison the beast.

Help Freddy burst the balloons, or he'll end up as the spider's breakfast! Points are awarded for each balloon Freddy bursts. If he lets through three balloons, the Martian spider is released.

A and Z move up and down, while Space fires an arrow. At the top of the screen, you'll see your current level, how many balloons you have left before moving on to the next level, your current score and the high score for the current session.

As you can probably guess, you'll be climbing up and down a ladder while firing an arrow, hoping to hit a balloon. You can only have one arrow on the screen at a time, so you'll really need to be good with your shots, especially when the balloons, which always show up one by one, show up at different points from the ground. If you can time things right, you can stand in a certain spot on the ladder, fire at a certain point depending on how close the balloon is to you, and hit the target every time.

As mentioned in the instructions, you can only miss three balloons before the Martian spider is freed and Freddy gets eaten in his absolutely nonsensical dream. Thankfully, whenever you reach a new level, all of the walls blocking the Martian spider from being unleashed will be restored, and you'll be back to the three misses. But beware, as the balloons move faster which each new level, and they get pretty fast pretty quickly. I usually never make it past level 3. As a result, sessions of this game do not last very long.

The game is great for what it is, especially when you consider that it is a free type-in game. The graphics are easily identifiable, the only sound you get is the balloons popping, and the controls work like they should. However, like most of the other games that I've played for the BBC Micro, you'll get enjoyment out of the game for a few minutes max before moving on to something else. Is the game still worth looking at? Well, yes. I still have an itch to shoot down some balloons, even if poor Freddy is going to be devoured before Level 3 is over every single time.