PrinceWatercress plays Whoopsy - The Longplay

Now for the game, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Whoopsy is a game for the BBC Micro from 1985 where you're playing as a baby who was to avoid his mum and collect his toys, all the while taking a dump on the floor in order to keep as much distance between yourself and your mum as possible. Collecting all the toys takes you to the next level. As you're doing all this, you'll only have a limited amount of "whoopsies" that you can make (read: taking a dump on the floor), and you'll also have to avoid the moving toilets, as touching the toilets causes you to lose one of your whoopsies. If you get caught by your mum, you lose a life and you also receive some slightly annoying red and blue flashing. Lose all your lives, and the game is over.

: moves up, / moves down, Z moves left and X moves right. Space lets you take dump on a floor aka "make a whoopsy." Escape lets you back out to the main menu. Joysticks can also be plugged in and used; just switch to joystick control on the main menu. You can change those keys at any time in the main menu, which I gratefully welcome. 

When you leave a whoopsy on the floor, your mum will not be able to harm you; instead, she will go right for the whoopsy and clean it up. As soon as she gets to the whoopsy, however, the whoopsy disappears and she will immediately get back to chasing you. No cleaning animation or anything of the sort occurs; the crap is gone and she gets right back on you immediately. The placement of your whoopsies is absolutely crucial because of this.

Bonus lives are awarded at 50,000 and 100,000 points, assuming you can make it that far.

On the main menu, you'll see the top nine scores, you can start the game, change the difficulty level from 1 to 9 with the number keys, switch the music on and off, and switch between keyboard and joystick controls. Space Bar starts the game.

As soon as the game starts, you have to make a whoopsy in order to move. I'm not making the rules here; you actually have to use one of your whoopsies to get everything moving. At least you can plot your course before you take a dump on the floor, so that's a plus. Also, I'm beginning to wonder if what I'm typing is what it will sound like if Aqualung from Aqualung's Game Reviews ever sat down and reviewed this game for YouTube.

At the top of the screen, you'll see your high score, your current level, your current score and the amount of bonus points you'll earn - which slowly ticks down as you play the level - when you clear the level. To the right of that is your amount of whoopsies, and to the right of your whoopsies is your current amount of lives. You'll start in the lower right, while mum starts in the upper left. The toys will be randomly strewn about, and when you collect them, they will re-appear in the crib on the lower left. The whoopsies you have will help with that, but there's a catch: you cannot collect any toys while you have a whoopsy on the floor and your mum is rushing to clean it up. If you try, you'll just move straight through them. You'll have to take a dump, get to a toy, get moving once you collect the toy that you've grabbed, grab a few more toys and make a whoopsy at the right time, and you'll need to do this in such a way that you'll always have a few whoopsies on hand in order to keep distance between yourself and your mum. Not only that, you'll also have to move around in such a way that your mum cannot catch up with you, as she moves faster than you do.

When you complete a level, you and your mum will be back to their original starting positions, and you'll gain three more whoopsies for the next level. You'll also have to collect more toys to get to the next level. In case you lose a life from colliding with your mum in any way, you'll go back to the lower right, but at least you'll get three more whoopsies to make up for it. 

I like this game, although a few things could have made it more fair. You could have had a little animation of mum cleaning the whoopsy up that could have bought you just a little more time. Also, not being able to collect toys while a whoopsy is in play can be a bit irritating. While it gives the game a stop-start motion that you at first get used to before eventually mastering and manipulating in order to get through each level with as few headaches as possible, it can also be a bit of a burden even when you get a grip on how the game wants you to play it. It really feels like the game wants you to play it in a certain way if you want to get a high score and succeed.

As for the rest of the game itself, the game controls wonderfully, and I didn't run into any errors of any kind. The graphics, being the basic things that they are for any BBC Micro game, as identifiable, so they work in that regard. The fact that there is always music playing is a nice touch, but you may still find yourself turning it off, as it can get annoying fast. This is a fun and mischievous game for the venerable Beeb, but while it is easy to play, it is challenging to master, and it is definitely a game to get a grip on if you want a challenge for an arcade-style game.

PrinceWatercress plays Whoopsy

Well, this is an interesting game. I don't know what else to put here, to be frank.

Longplay

Whoopsy is a game for the BBC Micro from 1985 where you're playing as a baby who was to avoid his mum and collect his toys, all the while taking a dump on the floor in order to keep as much distance between yourself and your mum as possible. Collecting all the toys takes you to the next level. As you're doing all this, you'll only have a limited amount of "whoopsies" that you can make (read: taking a dump on the floor), and you'll also have to avoid the moving toilets, as touching the toilets causes you to lose one of your whoopsies. If you get caught by your mum, you lose a life and you also receive some slightly annoying red and blue flashing. Lose all your lives, and the game is over.

: moves up, / moves down, Z moves left and X moves right. Space lets you take dump on a floor aka "make a whoopsy." Escape lets you back out to the main menu. Joysticks can also be plugged in and used; just switch to joystick control on the main menu. You can change those keys at any time in the main menu, which I gratefully welcome. 

When you leave a whoopsy on the floor, your mum will not be able to harm you; instead, she will go right for the whoopsy and clean it up. As soon as she gets to the whoopsy, however, the whoopsy disappears and she will immediately get back to chasing you. No cleaning animation or anything of the sort occurs; the crap is gone and she gets right back on you immediately. The placement of your whoopsies is absolutely crucial because of this.

Bonus lives are awarded at 50,000 and 100,000 points, assuming you can make it that far.

On the main menu, you'll see the top nine scores, you can start the game, change the difficulty level from 1 to 9 with the number keys, switch the music on and off, and switch between keyboard and joystick controls. Space Bar starts the game.

As soon as the game starts, you have to make a whoopsy in order to move. I'm not making the rules here; you actually have to use one of your whoopsies to get everything moving. At least you can plot your course before you take a dump on the floor, so that's a plus. Also, I'm beginning to wonder if what I'm typing is what it will sound like if Aqualung from Aqualung's Game Reviews ever sat down and reviewed this game for YouTube.

At the top of the screen, you'll see your high score, your current level, your current score and the amount of bonus points you'll earn - which slowly ticks down as you play the level - when you clear the level. To the right of that is your amount of whoopsies, and to the right of your whoopsies is your current amount of lives. You'll start in the lower right, while mum starts in the upper left. The toys will be randomly strewn about, and when you collect them, they will re-appear in the crib on the lower left. The whoopsies you have will help with that, but there's a catch: you cannot collect any toys while you have a whoopsy on the floor and your mum is rushing to clean it up. If you try, you'll just move straight through them. You'll have to take a dump, get to a toy, get moving once you collect the toy that you've grabbed, grab a few more toys and make a whoopsy at the right time, and you'll need to do this in such a way that you'll always have a few whoopsies on hand in order to keep distance between yourself and your mum. Not only that, you'll also have to move around in such a way that your mum cannot catch up with you, as she moves faster than you do.

When you complete a level, you and your mum will be back to their original starting positions, and you'll gain three more whoopsies for the next level. You'll also have to collect more toys to get to the next level. In case you lose a life from colliding with your mum in any way, you'll go back to the lower right, but at least you'll get three more whoopsies to make up for it. 

I like this game, although a few things could have made it more fair. You could have had a little animation of mum cleaning the whoopsy up that could have bought you just a little more time. Also, not being able to collect toys while a whoopsy is in play can be a bit irritating. While it gives the game a stop-start motion that you at first get used to before eventually mastering and manipulating in order to get through each level with as few headaches as possible, it can also be a bit of a burden even when you get a grip on how the game wants you to play it. It really feels like the game wants you to play it in a certain way if you want to get a high score and succeed.

As for the rest of the game itself, the game controls wonderfully, and I didn't run into any errors of any kind. The graphics, being the basic things that they are for any BBC Micro game, as identifiable, so they work in that regard. The fact that there is always music playing is a nice touch, but you may still find yourself turning it off, as it can get annoying fast. This is a fun and mischievous game for the venerable Beeb, but while it is easy to play, it is challenging to master, and it is definitely a game to get a grip on if you want a challenge for an arcade-style game.

PrinceWatercress plays Rising Damp - The Longplay

Now for the game, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Despite having the same name as a 1970s British sitcom, this has nothing to do with the show starring Leonard Rossiter or Don Warrington. Instead, this is a type-in arcade-style game from Issue 4 of Acorn Programs from June/July 1984. In this game, you move left and right to collect all the droplets that you can in a bucket before the strength of the floor below your bucket completely weakens and gives way from all of the falling water droplets. In each stage, you have 60 seconds to survive until the carpenter shows up and re-strengthens the floor. The strength of the floor starts out at 100, but goes down by 5 every time a water droplet hits the floor. 

The game starts out easy, but by the time you reach the third screen, the game becomes near-impossible to complete. It is very possible for a droplet to drop down in an area that you can't reach despite your best efforts, even when there are only so many areas in the ceiling where the water drops can drop down from at that point due to how fast the droplets are coming from. Good luck trying to reach even the fourth screen in this one. One session of this game will only last a few minutes, at most.

Is the game playable? Yes. Are there any problems with the controls? Absolutely not, from what I gathered. At the end of the day, this game gets really hard, really quickly, but at least it's enjoyable for what it is and how long it lasts. The graphics, while pretty crude, are easily identifiable and easy to pick apart. You'll only hear sounds when you either miss or catch a water droplet, but given how the BBC Micro is, especially with games from the first half of the 1980s, it's serviceable and something I can't complain about. It may be one of the earlier type in games for the system, but it's good for what it is.

PrinceWatercress plays Rising Damp

Not to be confused with the 1970s ITV sitcom of the same name.

Longplay

Despite having the same name as a 1970s British sitcom, this has nothing to do with the show starring Leonard Rossiter or Don Warrington. Instead, this is a type-in arcade-style game from Issue 4 of Acorn Programs from June/July 1984. In this game, you move left and right to collect all the droplets that you can in a bucket before the strength of the floor below your bucket completely weakens and gives way from all of the falling water droplets. In each stage, you have 60 seconds to survive until the carpenter shows up and re-strengthens the floor. The strength of the floor starts out at 100, but goes down by 5 every time a water droplet hits the floor. 

The game starts out easy, but by the time you reach the third screen, the game becomes near-impossible to complete. It is very possible for a droplet to drop down in an area that you can't reach despite your best efforts, even when there are only so many areas in the ceiling where the water drops can drop down from at that point due to how fast the droplets are coming from. Good luck trying to reach even the fourth screen in this one. One session of this game will only last a few minutes, at most.

Is the game playable? Yes. Are there any problems with the controls? Absolutely not, from what I gathered. At the end of the day, this game gets really hard, really quickly, but at least it's enjoyable for what it is and how long it lasts. The graphics, while pretty crude, are easily identifiable and easy to pick apart. You'll only hear sounds when you either miss or catch a water droplet, but given how the BBC Micro is, especially with games from the first half of the 1980s, it's serviceable and something I can't complain about. It may be one of the earlier type in games for the system, but it's good for what it is.

PrinceWatercress plays Pendragon - The Longplay

...and now for the game, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Pendragon is a clone of Pengo for the BBC Micro written by Gordon J. Key and published in Volume 4, Issue 4 of Micro User from June 1986. Much like in Pengo, you'll be kicking blocks around not only to make a path around the level, but also to temporarily get rid of enemies.

In this particular close, you play as Polly Pendragon, a parrot working in a sugar processing factory. The factory is infested with an enemy known as "the yellow peril" (we're better than that), which eat the sugar as well as attack anyone who is in the factory. You'll need to keep them at bay while pushing four large emeralds into each corner of the room in order to move on to the next room. If you run into an enemy, you're losing a life.

Z and X move Polly Pendragon left and right, : and / move up and down, Space pushes the block you are facing, and M toggles the music, which can get a little annoying after a while.

You start out by facing one monster in the first stage, two in the second and the maximum of three in the third. After that, it's three monsters for every stage after the third. Dealing with enemies is easy: just kick sugar cubes or emeralds at them. It is possible for your attack to miss the enemy, causing them to be unaffected, so keep that in mind. Enemies are best dealt with by giving yourself some space and hoping that the enemies line up with you so you can kick something at them. The more distance you have, the better, for it they are right near the sugar cube you are about to kick, they will destroy it before you can attack. Thankfully, they can't destroy the emeralds.

Placing the emeralds in the corners is a pretty unique way of clearing the stages compared to Pengo as well as other Pengo clones, but it is possible to kick emeralds around in such a way that you cannot get the emeralds into all four corners. If that happens, kiss your chances of moving on to the next level goodbye.

After making a Let's Play out of this game, I wasn't as frustrated with this as I was with Mango. The game controls well as Mango did, and I had a little more room to maneuver. I also liked some of the presentation, such as the diamond on the title screen opening up when you press Space, the instructions being typed out one letter at a time, and the vortex that gets drawn on the green screen before the game begins. 1986, from what I've gathered from the games I've played up until this point, signifies a time when people who were still making BBC Micro games even after the 16-bit micros started taking over knew more about how not just to make a game, but also do some pretty impressive stuff. With that said, this is one of the better arcade-style games that I've played for the BBC Micro, and it's hard to believe that this is a type-in game. If you're looking for a good Pengo clone, this is a good place to start.

PrinceWatercress plays Pendragon

Let's follow up a Pengo clone on BBC Micro with...another Pengo clone on BBC Micro. Yeah, that's what I get for randomly selecting BBC Micro games for playing at times.

Longplay

Pendragon is a clone of Pengo for the BBC Micro written by Gordon J. Key and published in Volume 4, Issue 4 of Micro User from June 1986. Much like in Pengo, you'll be kicking blocks around not only to make a path around the level, but also to temporarily get rid of enemies.

In this particular close, you play as Polly Pendragon, a parrot working in a sugar processing factory. The factory is infested with an enemy known as "the yellow peril" (we're better than that), which eat the sugar as well as attack anyone who is in the factory. You'll need to keep them at bay while pushing four large emeralds into each corner of the room in order to move on to the next room. If you run into an enemy, you're losing a life.

Z and X move Polly Pendragon left and right, : and / move up and down, Space pushes the block you are facing, and M toggles the music, which can get a little annoying after a while.

You start out by facing one monster in the first stage, two in the second and the maximum of three in the third. After that, it's three monsters for every stage after the third. Dealing with enemies is easy: just kick sugar cubes or emeralds at them. It is possible for your attack to miss the enemy, causing them to be unaffected, so keep that in mind. Enemies are best dealt with by giving yourself some space and hoping that the enemies line up with you so you can kick something at them. The more distance you have, the better, for it they are right near the sugar cube you are about to kick, they will destroy it before you can attack. Thankfully, they can't destroy the emeralds.

Placing the emeralds in the corners is a pretty unique way of clearing the stages compared to Pengo as well as other Pengo clones, but it is possible to kick emeralds around in such a way that you cannot get the emeralds into all four corners. If that happens, kiss your chances of moving on to the next level goodbye.

After making a Let's Play out of this game, I wasn't as frustrated with this as I was with Mango. The game controls well as Mango did, and I had a little more room to maneuver. I also liked some of the presentation, such as the diamond on the title screen opening up when you press Space, the instructions being typed out one letter at a time, and the vortex that gets drawn on the green screen before the game begins. 1986, from what I've gathered from the games I've played up until this point, signifies a time when people who were still making BBC Micro games even after the 16-bit micros started taking over knew more about how not just to make a game, but also do some pretty impressive stuff. With that said, this is one of the better arcade-style games that I've played for the BBC Micro, and it's hard to believe that this is a type-in game. If you're looking for a good Pengo clone, this is a good place to start.

PrinceWatercress plays Mango - The Longplay

...and now for another look at the game, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Mango is a Pengo clone released for the BBC Micro in 1987 and published by Blue Ribbon Software. In this game, a bird-like creature named Mango is trapped in a refrigerator with entities known only as "The Heat Men." In order to defeat them, he must not only kick the ice cubes at them to hit them, but he must also make a path for himself and get distance between himself and the Heat Men by kicking paths through the walls of ice cubes in the refrigerator. After defeating all of the enemies on a screen, Mango heads to the next level.

Z and X move Mango left and right, : and / move up and down, and Return pushes and/or melts the ice cube you are facing, depending on whether the ice cube you are looking at is obstructed. Kicking ice cubes will be the way of getting rid of the enemies, but you will need some distance between yourself and the Heat Men in order to more easily get rid of them, as they can destroy the ice cube you are above to kick ahead if they get right next to it.

S and Q turn the sound on and off respectively, Copy pauses the game, Delete un-pauses the game, and Escape abandons the current game and takes you back to the controls screen, where you can also choose between three difficulties before playing.

If you can line up the three bonus blocks with the "B" on them, you can get extra points, but good luck getting that to happen with the enemies constantly chasing you around.

With each level comes more and more enemies to take out. Be ready to kick ice cubes and even the bonus blocks to get rid of the enemies when they pop out of the eggs that spawn on screen. Also, points give you extra lives, but you'll need a lot of them: 5,000 for your first and 10,000 for your second.

Despite my frustrations with Pengo clones, I eventually warmed up to this one (as well as the game that I'll be playing after this) after getting better with the game. I like the idea of having to defeat all the enemies to move on to the next level, but the fact that the enemies seemingly move faster than you and tend to move around the block you want to kick more often than not even on the easiest difficulty level makes this anything but easy. The graphics are pretty basic for a game from 1987 yet easily identifiable, and the arcade-like sound is sparse yet is able to get the job done while not getting too annoying. The play control is pretty responsive, too. It may not be graphically impressive in hindsight, but it's still a fine Pengo clone worth playing once you get used to it.

PrinceWatercress plays Mango

This one took me a while to warm up to, no pun intended. 

Longplay

Mango is a Pengo clone released for the BBC Micro in 1987 and published by Blue Ribbon Software. In this game, a bird-like creature named Mango is trapped in a refrigerator with entities known only as "The Heat Men." In order to defeat them, he must not only kick the ice cubes at them to hit them, but he must also make a path for himself and get distance between himself and the Heat Men by kicking paths through the walls of ice cubes in the refrigerator. After defeating all of the enemies on a screen, Mango heads to the next level.

Z and X move Mango left and right, : and / move up and down, and Return pushes and/or melts the ice cube you are facing, depending on whether the ice cube you are looking at is obstructed. Kicking ice cubes will be the way of getting rid of the enemies, but you will need some distance between yourself and the Heat Men in order to more easily get rid of them, as they can destroy the ice cube you are above to kick ahead if they get right next to it.

S and Q turn the sound on and off respectively, Copy pauses the game, Delete un-pauses the game, and Escape abandons the current game and takes you back to the controls screen, where you can also choose between three difficulties before playing.

If you can line up the three bonus blocks with the "B" on them, you can get extra points, but good luck getting that to happen with the enemies constantly chasing you around.

With each level comes more and more enemies to take out. Be ready to kick ice cubes and even the bonus blocks to get rid of the enemies when they pop out of the eggs that spawn on screen. Also, points give you extra lives, but you'll need a lot of them: 5,000 for your first and 10,000 for your second.

Despite my frustrations with Pengo clones, I eventually warmed up to this one (as well as the game that I'll be playing after this) after getting better with the game. I like the idea of having to defeat all the enemies to move on to the next level, but the fact that the enemies seemingly move faster than you and tend to move around the block you want to kick more often than not even on the easiest difficulty level makes this anything but easy. The graphics are pretty basic for a game from 1987 yet easily identifiable, and the arcade-like sound is sparse yet is able to get the job done while not getting too annoying. The play control is pretty responsive, too. It may not be graphically impressive in hindsight, but it's still a fine Pengo clone worth playing once you get used to it.

PrinceWatercress plays Freddy and the Spiders from Mars - The Longplay

...and now, the game minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

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.

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. 

PrinceWatercress plays Checkout - The Longplay

...and now, here's some gameplay, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Checkout is a pretty interesting looking game for the BBC Micro written by Mike Cooke and published by Virgin Games in 1984 for the BBC Micro. This is one of many "tile-walking" games in existence out there, and to get through this game, you'll need to walk on each tile twice and get all the titles on the same pattern that this produces while also avoiding the drone that rotates around the game board as well as its lasers.

Z moves left, X moves right, : moves up and / moves down. At the top of the screen is your current score and the number of lives you have left. On the left side of the screen is an hourglass, and when all the sand goes down, the drone will zap a laser in four directions. If that laser hits you, or if the drone touches you in any way, you'll lose a life. On the right side is a bar that fills up with red bars, and if you complete 17 levels in a row without a game over, you'll enter a second loop that is much more difficult due to the smaller timer, which allows the drone to zap its laser every few seconds as it zips around more quickly compared to its usual speed.

At the bottom is the timer for the magic square and the three-digit number that dictates how many points you'll get from it, which leads to an explanation for There is a chance that you can walk onto the "magic square,"  which is one of the tiles on the board chosen by the game at random If you land on it within 30 seconds of starting a level, you'll get a jingle, the action will stop, and the numbers on the "reels" of the three-digit number will spin like reels on a slot machine. You'll need to press the space bar to stop the numbers in the bottom right-hand corner, and you'll want to stop the reels on high numbers, as the higher the number you get, the more points you'll get out of it. When you get the magic square and the bonus points, the reels will disappear.

As for the drone, the drone moves around the perimeter between the edge and the center of the board, and it will reverse directions every so often. You'll want to keep an eye on where it is going as well as the hourglass. If you get too close to the drone's path, you will lose a life. If the hourglass empties and the laser that it fires in four directions hits you, you'll also lose a life from that. If you know the drone is about to fire soon, get to one of the corners, as the lasers will never reach them.

It takes quite a bit of skill to get to the later levels, and as you progress through the game, the colors of the tiles, the text and even the background will change colors every so often so as to liven things up, making it so that no two games look the same visually. Also, if you can get to the second loop, you'd better be fast, as not only will the drone fire lasers every few seconds, but the drone will also get a lot faster. The game takes a little while to get used to, but once you get used to how things go, it gets a lot more fun and also a lot more addicting. It also helps that this looks like some sort of game that I could have played on my parents' old Tandy PC back in the early 1990s when I was five or six years old and would still have fun with despite probably not being able to get very far in it. Either way, this is a fun arcade-style game for the BBC Micro and worth checking out.

PrinceWatercress plays Checkout

Are you ready to walk on tiles and avoid a drone on your BBC Micro?!?

Longplay

Checkout is a pretty interesting looking game for the BBC Micro written by Mike Cooke and published by Virgin Games in 1984 for the BBC Micro. This is one of many "tile-walking" games in existence out there, and to get through this game, you'll need to walk on each tile twice and get all the titles on the same pattern that this produces while also avoiding the drone that rotates around the game board as well as its lasers.

Z moves left, X moves right, : moves up and / moves down. At the top of the screen is your current score and the number of lives you have left. On the left side of the screen is an hourglass, and when all the sand goes down, the drone will zap a laser in four directions. If that laser hits you, or if the drone touches you in any way, you'll lose a life. On the right side is a bar that fills up with red bars, and if you complete 17 levels in a row without a game over, you'll enter a second loop that is much more difficult due to the smaller timer, which allows the drone to zap its laser every few seconds as it zips around more quickly compared to its usual speed.

At the bottom is the timer for the magic square and the three-digit number that dictates how many points you'll get from it, which leads to an explanation for There is a chance that you can walk onto the "magic square,"  which is one of the tiles on the board chosen by the game at random If you land on it within 30 seconds of starting a level, you'll get a jingle, the action will stop, and the numbers on the "reels" of the three-digit number will spin like reels on a slot machine. You'll need to press the space bar to stop the numbers in the bottom right-hand corner, and you'll want to stop the reels on high numbers, as the higher the number you get, the more points you'll get out of it. When you get the magic square and the bonus points, the reels will disappear.

As for the drone, the drone moves around the perimeter between the edge and the center of the board, and it will reverse directions every so often. You'll want to keep an eye on where it is going as well as the hourglass. If you get too close to the drone's path, you will lose a life. If the hourglass empties and the laser that it fires in four directions hits you, you'll also lose a life from that. If you know the drone is about to fire soon, get to one of the corners, as the lasers will never reach them.

It takes quite a bit of skill to get to the later levels, and as you progress through the game, the colors of the tiles, the text and even the background will change colors every so often so as to liven things up, making it so that no two games look the same visually. Also, if you can get to the second loop, you'd better be fast, as not only will the drone fire lasers every few seconds, but the drone will also get a lot faster. The game takes a little while to get used to, but once you get used to how things go, it gets a lot more fun and also a lot more addicting. It also helps that this looks like some sort of game that I could have played on my parents' old Tandy PC back in the early 1990s when I was five or six years old and would still have fun with despite probably not being able to get very far in it. Either way, this is a fun arcade-style game for the BBC Micro and worth checking out.

PrinceWatercress plays Winter Olympics - The Longplay

...and now, the whole game, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Winter Olympics is a multi-event sports game much like Winter Games by Epyx for the BBC Micro. You play through six events in order to get the highest score that you can.

There are six events, and you can practice them all before playing them for real to get points. I'll explain how to play them, as well as my experiences with them.

Event 1: Speed Skating

In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys in order to get to the finish line as quickly as possible. This is the easiest event of the six to play through, and I had no problem beating the Olympic record more than once to get 1,000 points for each time I did it.

Event 2: Ski Jump

In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys to build up speed, then press the Space Bar near the end of the slope for a successful jump. You'll need to time the jump just right, or else the jump will either be too short or end with the worst landing ever. Since I can't get the timing of this down, I usually end up doing the latter.

Event 3: Ski Slalom

Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. If you fail to get between gates, you'll get a ten second penalty, and if you hit a tree, the run ends. You'd think this would be easy, but unfortunately, the responsiveness of the controls is even worse than Robo Swamp, and that's saying a lot. You have to hold the buttons down to actually move, and you never start or stop at the exact moment that you hold down or let go of Z or X. Because of this, I constantly miss gates and run into trees. It gets to the point that I sometimes don't hit a tree when I know I will, and always hit the tree when I don't want to. I rarely, if ever, make it to the finish, and if I do, I incur a bunch of penalties on the way there. This could have been better.

Event 4: Ski Downhill

Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. Same controls, except you have nothing but trees to avoid. Since this is the exact same game as Event 3 except without the gates, I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you that I'd rather play Mogul Maniac for Atari 2600. That game did it right. 

Event 5: Cresta Run

Anybody else find it interesting that when the skiing games are done, the game starts being playable again?

Anyway, this is basically the bobsled event. The Space Bar will start your run, and you'll need to use Z and X to turn left and right respectively. This is true when you're taking turns and your bobsled goes off center. While being at the edges will give you a faster speed, being on the edges for too long will cause you to fall off the course and end your run. You'll need to mix both speed and safety in order to get the most points and even beat the Olympic Record for an extra 1,000 points. Playable, but there's a bit of a strategy and a secret to playing this event that I find alluring, which makes it my second-favorite event below Speed Skating.

Event 6: Curling

Z and X moves your player left and right respectively, while Return throws the curling stone. Your goal is to throw your five curling stones as close as you can to the center pin, which is indicated by the black circle. If you can get it directly there, you'll get six points, and you'll get fewer points the further and further away your stones get to the center pin when they stop. You have three ends - or periods - in which to outscore your opponent, and whoever has more points after three ends is the winner. You can also gain or lose points from your opponent's stones - or your own - knocking your stones away, and the same can happen to your opponent. Holding down the Return button dictates how powerful your throw will be when you let go, and it's a bit tricky to get the throwing strength that you want. Because of that, I usually end up losing to the computer opponent by one point, and it always ends up being pretty close. Still a fun game, though.

All in all, Winter Olympics is still a fun game for the BBC Micro. It's not Winter Games, but it doesn't need to be. The graphics are bright, colorful and identifiable, and the sound is there exactly when it needs to be. My only real gripe is that I wish the skiing games were easier to play, and that Ski Slalom and Ski Downhill didn't have the wretched unresponsiveness that they do. Nevertheless, the other three games are a blast to play. There are better games, but you can do worse than this one.

PrinceWatercress plays Winter Olympics

It may not be from Epyx, but it still has its bright spots. Too bad the skiing games are a big downer.

Longplay

Winter Olympics is a multi-event sports game much like Winter Games by Epyx for the BBC Micro. You play through six events in order to get the highest score that you can.

There are six events, and you can practice them all before playing them for real to get points. I'll explain how to play them, as well as my experiences with them.

Event 1: Speed Skating

In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys in order to get to the finish line as quickly as possible. This is the easiest event of the six to play through, and I had no problem beating the Olympic record more than once to get 1,000 points for each time I did it.

Event 2: Ski Jump

In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys to build up speed, then press the Space Bar near the end of the slope for a successful jump. You'll need to time the jump just right, or else the jump will either be too short or end with the worst landing ever. Since I can't get the timing of this down, I usually end up doing the latter.

Event 3: Ski Slalom

Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. If you fail to get between gates, you'll get a ten second penalty, and if you hit a tree, the run ends. You'd think this would be easy, but unfortunately, the responsiveness of the controls is even worse than Robo Swamp, and that's saying a lot. You have to hold the buttons down to actually move, and you never start or stop at the exact moment that you hold down or let go of Z or X. Because of this, I constantly miss gates and run into trees. It gets to the point that I sometimes don't hit a tree when I know I will, and always hit the tree when I don't want to. I rarely, if ever, make it to the finish, and if I do, I incur a bunch of penalties on the way there. This could have been better.

Event 4: Ski Downhill

Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. Same controls, except you have nothing but trees to avoid. Since this is the exact same game as Event 3 except without the gates, I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you that I'd rather play Mogul Maniac for Atari 2600. That game did it right. 

Event 5: Cresta Run

Anybody else find it interesting that when the skiing games are done, the game starts being playable again?

Anyway, this is basically the bobsled event. The Space Bar will start your run, and you'll need to use Z and X to turn left and right respectively. This is true when you're taking turns and your bobsled goes off center. While being at the edges will give you a faster speed, being on the edges for too long will cause you to fall off the course and end your run. You'll need to mix both speed and safety in order to get the most points and even beat the Olympic Record for an extra 1,000 points. Playable, but there's a bit of a strategy and a secret to playing this event that I find alluring, which makes it my second-favorite event below Speed Skating.

Event 6: Curling

Z and X moves your player left and right respectively, while Return throws the curling stone. Your goal is to throw your five curling stones as close as you can to the center pin, which is indicated by the black circle. If you can get it directly there, you'll get six points, and you'll get fewer points the further and further away your stones get to the center pin when they stop. You have three ends - or periods - in which to outscore your opponent, and whoever has more points after three ends is the winner. You can also gain or lose points from your opponent's stones - or your own - knocking your stones away, and the same can happen to your opponent. Holding down the Return button dictates how powerful your throw will be when you let go, and it's a bit tricky to get the throwing strength that you want. Because of that, I usually end up losing to the computer opponent by one point, and it always ends up being pretty close. Still a fun game, though.

All in all, Winter Olympics is still a fun game for the BBC Micro. It's not Winter Games, but it doesn't need to be. The graphics are bright, colorful and identifiable, and the sound is there exactly when it needs to be. My only real gripe is that I wish the skiing games were easier to play, and that Ski Slalom and Ski Downhill didn't have the wretched unresponsiveness that they do. Nevertheless, the other three games are a blast to play. There are better games, but you can do worse than this one.

PrinceWatercress plays Snake (Acornsoft) - The Longplay

...because of course, there's a session of this game without commentary. Enjoy!

Let's Play

In my upkeep of my interest in retrogaming, I've learned that "snake games" have been around since the arcades and the beginning of arcades and the home consoles...and that they weren't always called "snake games;" that term would show up in the late 1990s with games like "Snake" on the Nokia 2210. They used to be called "Blockade games" or "Blockade clones" after Boundary, a 1976 arcade game by Gremlin Industries (not to be confused with Gremlin Graphics from the United Kingdom).

The instructions are simple: guide the snake towards the food, which it gobbles up on contact. The more food the snake eats, the more points you get and the more the snake grows. However, you must keep the snake from running into the wall or itself, or else you will lose a life. You have three lives, and if you earn 400 points, you can earn a fourth one - but that's the only extra life you're going to get.

The food varies in value - the bigger the food is, the more points you score. The food will get small until it disappears, and when it disappears, it re-appears somewhere else.

Z moves left, X moves right, / moves Down and - moves Up. The Space Bar restarts the game when the game is over. There are two types of game: the slow game and the fast game. The slow game is a nice pace and is the game to start with, while the fast game starts off a lot faster and stays that way, and will take practice to get really good at.

The game starts out rather easily, but as it goes along, your snake will get a lot longer and it will soon get a lot harder to not lose a life. It can get pretty difficult on the slow game, but on the fast game, it can get even more difficult to maintain control of your snake. Not surprisingly, my games on the fast mode ended much more quickly.

It's a simple game with the most basic of graphics and sound for the BBC Micro and it came out early for the Beeb's lifespan, but it's a fun one. There were no errors in the programming that I could find, the game controlled rather well, and fun was had all around. If you need an arcade-style game for the BBC Micro that you can pick up and play for a couple of minutes, Snake from Acornsoft's Arcade Action series is a good place to start.

PrinceWatercress plays Snake (Acornsoft)

...and now, another simple, arcade-style BBC Micro game.

Longplay

In my upkeep of my interest in retrogaming, I've learned that "snake games" have been around since the arcades and the beginning of arcades and the home consoles...and that they weren't always called "snake games;" that term would show up in the late 1990s with games like "Snake" on the Nokia 2210. They used to be called "Blockade games" or "Blockade clones" after Boundary, a 1976 arcade game by Gremlin Industries (not to be confused with Gremlin Graphics from the United Kingdom).

The instructions are simple: guide the snake towards the food, which it gobbles up on contact. The more food the snake eats, the more points you get and the more the snake grows. However, you must keep the snake from running into the wall or itself, or else you will lose a life. You have three lives, and if you earn 400 points, you can earn a fourth one - but that's the only extra life you're going to get.

The food varies in value - the bigger the food is, the more points you score. The food will get small until it disappears, and when it disappears, it re-appears somewhere else.

Z moves left, X moves right, / moves Down and - moves Up. The Space Bar restarts the game when the game is over. There are two types of game: the slow game and the fast game. The slow game is a nice pace and is the game to start with, while the fast game starts off a lot faster and stays that way, and will take practice to get really good at.

The game starts out rather easily, but as it goes along, your snake will get a lot longer and it will soon get a lot harder to not lose a life. It can get pretty difficult on the slow game, but on the fast game, it can get even more difficult to maintain control of your snake. Not surprisingly, my games on the fast mode ended much more quickly.

It's a simple game with the most basic of graphics and sound for the BBC Micro and it came out early for the Beeb's lifespan, but it's a fun one. There were no errors in the programming that I could find, the game controlled rather well, and fun was had all around. If you need an arcade-style game for the BBC Micro that you can pick up and play for a couple of minutes, Snake from Acornsoft's Arcade Action series is a good place to start.

PrinceWatercress plays London Adventure - The Longplay

...and now, the game, minus commentary. Enjoy!

Let's Play

For those not knowing what the British Council is, it is a British organization specializing in international cultural and educational opportunities while promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language around the world while also encouraging cultural, scientific, technological and educational cooperation with the United Kingdom.

You have been spending your holiday in London. You are returning home today and must catch the five o'clock flight from Heathrow Airport. Before you go to the airport, you want to buy some souvenirs for your friends at home. You have to find your way around London, visit the right shops and buy the presents you need.

You will be told where you are at what you can see at each place. You will then be asked what you want to do or say.

Choose what you want to do or say by using the arrow keys (to the top right of the keyboard) until your choice is shown at the bottom of the screen and then pressing Return. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to know what to pick if you have a grasp of the English language; nevertheless, I'll mention what you need to pick in this blog.

This is your shopping list: a tie, a policeman doll, a print, a statuette, a tea tray and perfume. You can get some useful information (including your shopping list) by pressing some of the red keys at the top of the keyboard. A reminder of these keys will appear at the top of the screen.

Remember your time is limited. You must not miss your plane. Good luck!

The game starts at 9 A.M. in Charing Cross, in front of the National Gallery. It is nine o'clock in the morning. You have a wallet with £5 in it, six traveler's cheques, your passport and your return plane ticket. You are outside the British Council office in Spring Gardens and you can see the large building on the other side of Trafalgar Square. To the right there is a kiosk and the entrance to a Tube station.

F0 shows the time. Believe it or not, while time passes as you do things in the game, time will still pass even if you're not doing anything and leaving the game idle, so keep that in mind. F1 shows your inventory, which shows what you are currently carrying. F2 shows the shopping list, which we've seen earlier. F3 shows the guidebook, assuming you've bought it. F4 shows the Tube Map, assuming you've bought it.

Walk to the kiosk. Here, buy the carrier bag. You'll need to increase the amount of things you can carry as well as make it so you can carry all of the souvenirs that you are buying. If you want, you can buy the Tube Map and the Guidebook. The Tube Map will show the routes to all the places you need to go, with different colors for different lines, and the Guidebook will tell you where you can buy all the souvenirs. (Not surprisingly,  The carrier bag are 5p, 50p and £2, respectively. 

• "I'd like this carrier bag, please."
• "I'd like this Tube map, please."
• "I'd like this guidebook, please."

From here, you can either make your own hand-drawn map or take a picture of the map, or you can copy down what is in the guidebook or take a picture of the screen stating what is in it. Since I can do that, I then restart the game in the Let's Play video of the game (as opposed to the longplay).

From here, you can buy the policeman doll for £2.50. You can buy the policeman doll at the kiosk outside any large building, but I just do it here for the sake of it.

• "I'd like this policeman doll, please."

To get more money, you'll need to find the bank, and to find the bank, you'll need to stop a passer-by and ask them where you can change traveler's cheques. You'll get some directions and head to the bank automatically, but the bank will only be open between 9:30 and 15:30. 

The Tube is the London subway system, and you can use it to go anywhere in the city. When you go there, always head to the ticket station first and buy a ticket. Of course, it helps to know where you're going and where to buy a ticket for, and you can ask how to get somewhere. You can then pick which Tube station to stop at and then ask how to get there. For Knightsbridge, for example, you take the Jubilee line and change at Green Park.

• "Could you tell me how I get to (insert Tube station name here)?"

From here, you can buy a ticket to the Tube station you want to go to. From here, you can go down the tunnel marked "Jubilee Line," and you'll then wait on the northbound platform until the train arrives and the doors open.

• (Insert Tube station name here), please."

Get on the train, and get out when the train arrives at Green Park station. This part is timed, and if you wait too long, the train moves to the next stop, much like in real life. From here, go up the escalator, and you'll be back outside.

From here, I go to the bank like I tried to do earlier. Once at the bank, go up to the counter marked "Foreign Business." When changing traveler's cheques, change one or two at a time. If you change too many at once, you'll lose more money out of them from fees, so just change one or two - $20 or $40 worth of cheques - every time you need more money.

• "I'd like to change some traveler's cheques, please."

After getting my money, you can stop a taxi. Ask the driver to take you to Harrods.

• "Harrods, please."

The taxi ride can either become pleasant and take you there, or you can get stuck in traffic. Sometimes, you may end up back where you started, and you'll have to spend more money to call another taxi and try to get to Harrod's again. Thankfully, the fare is not all that expensive. You can also use the Tube to get to Harrod's as well. 

Once you make it to Harrods, you can then walk to it after you pay the fare and step out of the taxi outside of a large building. Enter the large building to enter Harrods. Once inside, approach an assistant. You'll need to do this to politely buy what you need. The perfume is £15, the tie is £8, and the tea tray is £4.

• "I'd like this perfume, please."
• "I'd like this tie, please."
• "I'd like this tea tray please."

From here, leave Harrods, stop another passer-by to go to the bank, and change two traveler's cheques - $40 - worth of money. At this point, you should know what to do.

The only things you'll need left are the print and the statuette. The statuette can be purchased at the British Museum near Goodge Street. Head to the tube, and ask how to get to Goodge Street. You'll have to take the eastbound line and change at Leicester Square. From here, buy a ticket for Goodge Street, then go down the tunnel marked "Eastbound." 

• "Could you tell me how to get to Goodge Street?"

Enter the train, then stay on until the train stops at Leicester Square. When it does, get out. From here, enter the tunnel marked "Northern Line" and go down the tunnel maeked "Northbound." Get on the train, then get out when you reach Goodge Street. Go up the escalator, then enter the large building to enter the British Museum. Approach the assistant, and politely ask for a statuette, worth £8.

• "I'd like this statuette, please."

Leave the building, then go back to the Tube and head to the ticket office to buy a ticket to Charing Cross.

• "Charing Cross, please."

Enter the tunnel marked "Southbound," then get on the train when it arrives. Get off the train when it arrives at Charing Cross, then go up the escalator and enter the large building. You'll be in the National Gallery. Approach an assistant and politely ask to buy a print for £2.50. 

• "I'd like this print, please."

You'll now have everything on your shopping list, so leave the building and take the Tube. Go to the ticket office and politely ask for a ticket for Heathrow Central, which will take you to Heathrow Airport and end the game. 

• "Heathrow Central, please."

You can ask the ticket office attendant how to get there, but you'll eventually find out - either through them or the tube map - that you'll have to do it the same way I'm doing it here. Get on the train, and stop at Green Park, then go down the tunnel marked "Piccadilly Line" and go down the "Westbound" tunnel. Get on the train, and get out when you see the "All change, please." message. You'll be at Heathrow Central station when it happens, and when you get out, you'll reach the airport and end the game, and you'll have done it with all the souvenirs as well as plenty of time and money to spare. You just beat London Adventure!

It's a fine text adventure game, and it's a heck of a way to find all the cool spots in London. While all the action is in the dialogue prompts, they get the job done, and the game behaves like it should. My only complain is that the game goes the same way every time and that the shopping list is not randomized, so that's quite a few places in the game that are left completely unexplored. Other than that, it's still a fun game and one to recommend.

The Guidebook

Foyles: The largest bookshop in the world. Nearest tube - Tottenham Court Road.

Hamley's: A large toy shop in Regent St. Nearest tube - Piccadilly Circus.

Harrods: A high quality department store. Nearest tube - Knightsbridge.

HMV Shop: Sells records and cassettes of music to suit all tastes. Nearest tube - Oxford Circus.

Selfridges: A general department store in Oxford Street. Nearest tube - Marble Arch.

British Museum: Contains antiquities of all kinds. Nearest tube - Goodge St.

National Gallery: Houses a fine selection of European paintings. Nearest tube - Charing Cross.

PrinceWatercress plays London Adventure

Compared to some of the other BBC Micro games that I've played, this one is a little more involved despite still being a text-adventure style game. It can be, however, quite fun.

Longplay

For those not knowing what the British Council is, it is a British organization specializing in international cultural and educational opportunities while promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language around the world while also encouraging cultural, scientific, technological and educational cooperation with the United Kingdom.

You have been spending your holiday in London. You are returning home today and must catch the five o'clock flight from Heathrow Airport. Before you go to the airport, you want to buy some souvenirs for your friends at home. You have to find your way around London, visit the right shops and buy the presents you need.

You will be told where you are at what you can see at each place. You will then be asked what you want to do or say.

Choose what you want to do or say by using the arrow keys (to the top right of the keyboard) until your choice is shown at the bottom of the screen and then pressing Return. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to know what to pick if you have a grasp of the English language; nevertheless, I'll mention what you need to pick in this blog.

This is your shopping list: a tie, a policeman doll, a print, a statuette, a tea tray and perfume. You can get some useful information (including your shopping list) by pressing some of the red keys at the top of the keyboard. A reminder of these keys will appear at the top of the screen.

Remember your time is limited. You must not miss your plane. Good luck!

The game starts at 9 A.M. in Charing Cross, in front of the National Gallery. It is nine o'clock in the morning. You have a wallet with £5 in it, six traveler's cheques, your passport and your return plane ticket. You are outside the British Council office in Spring Gardens and you can see the large building on the other side of Trafalgar Square. To the right there is a kiosk and the entrance to a Tube station.

F0 shows the time. Believe it or not, while time passes as you do things in the game, time will still pass even if you're not doing anything and leaving the game idle, so keep that in mind. F1 shows your inventory, which shows what you are currently carrying. F2 shows the shopping list, which we've seen earlier. F3 shows the guidebook, assuming you've bought it. F4 shows the Tube Map, assuming you've bought it.

Walk to the kiosk. Here, buy the carrier bag. You'll need to increase the amount of things you can carry as well as make it so you can carry all of the souvenirs that you are buying. If you want, you can buy the Tube Map and the Guidebook. The Tube Map will show the routes to all the places you need to go, with different colors for different lines, and the Guidebook will tell you where you can buy all the souvenirs. (Not surprisingly,  The carrier bag are 5p, 50p and £2, respectively. 

• "I'd like this carrier bag, please."
• "I'd like this Tube map, please."
• "I'd like this guidebook, please."

From here, you can either make your own hand-drawn map or take a picture of the map, or you can copy down what is in the guidebook or take a picture of the screen stating what is in it. Since I can do that, I then restart the game in the Let's Play video of the game (as opposed to the longplay).

From here, you can buy the policeman doll for £2.50. You can buy the policeman doll at the kiosk outside any large building, but I just do it here for the sake of it.

• "I'd like this policeman doll, please."

To get more money, you'll need to find the bank, and to find the bank, you'll need to stop a passer-by and ask them where you can change traveler's cheques. You'll get some directions and head to the bank automatically, but the bank will only be open between 9:30 and 15:30. 

The Tube is the London subway system, and you can use it to go anywhere in the city. When you go there, always head to the ticket station first and buy a ticket. Of course, it helps to know where you're going and where to buy a ticket for, and you can ask how to get somewhere. You can then pick which Tube station to stop at and then ask how to get there. For Knightsbridge, for example, you take the Jubilee line and change at Green Park.

• "Could you tell me how I get to (insert Tube station name here)?"

From here, you can buy a ticket to the Tube station you want to go to. From here, you can go down the tunnel marked "Jubilee Line," and you'll then wait on the northbound platform until the train arrives and the doors open.

• (Insert Tube station name here), please."

Get on the train, and get out when the train arrives at Green Park station. This part is timed, and if you wait too long, the train moves to the next stop, much like in real life. From here, go up the escalator, and you'll be back outside.

From here, I go to the bank like I tried to do earlier. Once at the bank, go up to the counter marked "Foreign Business." When changing traveler's cheques, change one or two at a time. If you change too many at once, you'll lose more money out of them from fees, so just change one or two - $20 or $40 worth of cheques - every time you need more money.

• "I'd like to change some traveler's cheques, please."

After getting my money, you can stop a taxi. Ask the driver to take you to Harrods.

• "Harrods, please."

The taxi ride can either become pleasant and take you there, or you can get stuck in traffic. Sometimes, you may end up back where you started, and you'll have to spend more money to call another taxi and try to get to Harrod's again. Thankfully, the fare is not all that expensive. You can also use the Tube to get to Harrod's as well. 

Once you make it to Harrods, you can then walk to it after you pay the fare and step out of the taxi outside of a large building. Enter the large building to enter Harrods. Once inside, approach an assistant. You'll need to do this to politely buy what you need. The perfume is £15, the tie is £8, and the tea tray is £4.

• "I'd like this perfume, please."
• "I'd like this tie, please."
• "I'd like this tea tray please."

From here, leave Harrods, stop another passer-by to go to the bank, and change two traveler's cheques - $40 - worth of money. At this point, you should know what to do.

The only things you'll need left are the print and the statuette. The statuette can be purchased at the British Museum near Goodge Street. Head to the tube, and ask how to get to Goodge Street. You'll have to take the eastbound line and change at Leicester Square. From here, buy a ticket for Goodge Street, then go down the tunnel marked "Eastbound." 

• "Could you tell me how to get to Goodge Street?"

Enter the train, then stay on until the train stops at Leicester Square. When it does, get out. From here, enter the tunnel marked "Northern Line" and go down the tunnel maeked "Northbound." Get on the train, then get out when you reach Goodge Street. Go up the escalator, then enter the large building to enter the British Museum. Approach the assistant, and politely ask for a statuette, worth £8.

• "I'd like this statuette, please."

Leave the building, then go back to the Tube and head to the ticket office to buy a ticket to Charing Cross.

• "Charing Cross, please."

Enter the tunnel marked "Southbound," then get on the train when it arrives. Get off the train when it arrives at Charing Cross, then go up the escalator and enter the large building. You'll be in the National Gallery. Approach an assistant and politely ask to buy a print for £2.50. 

• "I'd like this print, please."

You'll now have everything on your shopping list, so leave the building and take the Tube. Go to the ticket office and politely ask for a ticket for Heathrow Central, which will take you to Heathrow Airport and end the game. 

• "Heathrow Central, please."

You can ask the ticket office attendant how to get there, but you'll eventually find out - either through them or the tube map - that you'll have to do it the same way I'm doing it here. Get on the train, and stop at Green Park, then go down the tunnel marked "Piccadilly Line" and go down the "Westbound" tunnel. Get on the train, and get out when you see the "All change, please." message. You'll be at Heathrow Central station when it happens, and when you get out, you'll reach the airport and end the game, and you'll have done it with all the souvenirs as well as plenty of time and money to spare. You just beat London Adventure!

It's a fine text adventure game, and it's a heck of a way to find all the cool spots in London. While all the action is in the dialogue prompts, they get the job done, and the game behaves like it should. My only complain is that the game goes the same way every time and that the shopping list is not randomized, so that's quite a few places in the game that are left completely unexplored. Other than that, it's still a fun game and one to recommend.

The Guidebook

Foyles: The largest bookshop in the world. Nearest tube - Tottenham Court Road.

Hamley's: A large toy shop in Regent St. Nearest tube - Piccadilly Circus.

Harrods: A high quality department store. Nearest tube - Knightsbridge.

HMV Shop: Sells records and cassettes of music to suit all tastes. Nearest tube - Oxford Circus.

Selfridges: A general department store in Oxford Street. Nearest tube - Marble Arch.

British Museum: Contains antiquities of all kinds. Nearest tube - Goodge St.

National Gallery: Houses a fine selection of European paintings. Nearest tube - Charing Cross.