Slaygon
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
 | |
| Publisher: Microdeal | Sound: |
| |
| Year: 1988 | Difficulty: |
 | |
| Genre: Maze | Lastability: |
| |
| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
4/10 | |
Oh what a lovely interface! Not cluttered at all. It looks like Dungeon Master with a science-fiction twist, well before Captive and Hired Guns.
In the future, a multinational corporation called Cybordynamics develops a deadly virus in a fully automated laboratory. It’s up to you to infiltrate the complex at the controls of a heavily armed military robot (the Slaygon). Your mission consists of gunning down everything that moves, let’s say everything that stands in your way, unlocking security doors using keys of every colour, hacking terminals to sabotage the reactor, and getting your treads out of there before everything explodes.
Got you there, didn’t I? It’s not exactly what you think. Whilst there are indeed, technically, big lasers and a first-person view, all of this is merely deceptive window dressing. Slaygon isn’t a real-time dungeon crawler but a modest, static maze generator. The rare enemies, stationary, wait patiently for an action on your part before firing, never pursuing you.
The game offers only a single level, arranged differently each time (and reduced by three quarters in “novice” mode). To get where you want to go, you’ll need to collect seven keys of different colours, while avoiding or disarming traps using appropriate tools. Problem: the inventory is limited to eight slots, which forces you to make choices, abandon part of your kit on the ground, then wander about like an idiot trying to find the spot again…
It was once I’d finished the game that I went to read the final part of the manual, the bit behind this warning: “turning this page may take away the fun of discovery”. And what’s the first thing we learn? That each higher-level key replaces all the previous ones! Did you think this information would take away my fun of scattering my belongings to the four corners of the complex? You rotters!
For reference, the key order is as follows: blue (lowest), green, yellow, red and finally white (highest). Weapons and shields share the same colour code, but limited to blue, green, red.
The interface at least has the merit of displaying everything on a single screen: inventory at the top, action buttons at the bottom, movement arrows in the middle. There’s no need to draw a plan on paper, though I do recommend noting down a certain five-digit code … and memorising the location of the energy recharging stations. Also remember to note the position of the entrance door, which serves as the exit door!
Explanation of the bottom buttons:
- Cloaker: makes you invisible to enemies’ eyes … but also blind (the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal syndrome). Never used.
- Sensors: evaluates the opposing robot’s power, before deciding whether to shoot or scarper.
- Shields: to activate in case of danger, then deactivate quickly, as it drains energy.
- Lazer: your negotiation instrument. Otherwise, Slaygon has legs. Well, tracks.
- Scanner: reveals the surrounding area at the cost of a bit of energy.
- Plotter: automatic mapping. Good luck finishing expert mode without touching it.
On the subject of grievances, I would have liked the game to display coordinates to more easily locate rooms and objects. I would also have appreciated being able to play with keyboard or joystick, and perform lateral movements. Once you’ve identified the important items and those to leave aside (I still haven’t understood the purpose of half of them), subsequent games become child’s play, especially as a save function is provided. “Expert” mode is merely longer and more tedious.
By the end of my second playthrough, I’d lost a tenth of vision in each eye from staring at the map … and my afternoon along with it. Playing this game gave me the same sense of emptiness one experiences from spending too much time watching random rubbish on YouTube. In fact, I was doing both simultaneously. As you find me now, I’ve reached the ultimate degree of mindlessness.
|
