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Firebird
£1.99 cassette
1 player
1 joystick
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Firebird established themselves as a major UK
software house creating 'cheapo' games for those who had not yet
discovered the unrivalled power of Atari. 1985 saw the production of
their first Atari releases, one of which was an arcade adventure
called CHIMERA in the style popularised by Ultimate's Alien 8 on the
Spectrash. Now they have added a new dimension to re-release mania
by resurrecting CHIMERA, previously a £3.95 'budget' game in their
Super Silver range but now demoted to plain Silver status at the
ridiculously low price of £1.99.
If you missed the story first time around, let me
guide you through. As luck would have it, you have managed to get
lumbered with the unenviable job of saving the earth from total
annihilation (yet again!). The problem seems to be that an incoming
alien vessel looks set to pulverize life as we know it, unless of
course you can prevent this happening by activating the vessel's
conveniently inbuilt self destruct mechanism and (preferably)
escaping prior to its detonation. If you are thinking 'that doesn't
sound like the easiest task in the universe' then you would be dead
right! The game begins with a warning that it will not be solved
quickly and if you manage to complete it within a month then you
must be some kind of freak. I do not doubt these claims for a
minute!
You control the somewhat sensitive movements of
Chimera (Could be one of R2D2's relatives) around an astounding
three dimensional complex of rooms and corridors which have to be
explored if you are to collect all of the necessary items, including
loaves of bread and mugs of water to top up your food and liquid
supplies. The graphics here are excellent, especially the intricate
detail of your Chimera.
The lower half of the screen displays information
on the state of your health, the current object being carried and
the score, which is calculated according to the number of problems
you have solved. Above this is a scrolling message indicator that
keeps you informed on the the latest gossip and provides assistance
should you request it from computer terminals which appear
throughout the complex.
Added difficulties arise in the form of
water-sapping radiators, electro-static barriers, hidden objects and
that damned irritating thumping noise in the background! Drawing up
a map of the complex is absolutely essential. There is no save game
feature so it will be necessary to plot the positions of bread,
water and other artifacts for future reference. Pause mode deserves
a mention, there is a super 'rainbow' graphics demo accompanied by
some good quality music.
Compared with Mastertronic's Molecule Man which
runs along similar lines, CHIMERA comes up tops in my book. Don't
expect a fast paced action game, but be prepared for a real
challenge. At 'normal' prices it would be a good buy. At under two
pounds, you can't go wrong!
Paul Rixon
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