Flood

Title		Flood
Game Type       Platform
Company		Bullfrog Productions
Players		1
Compatibility	A500
Submission	Chris Burns

Review
	A weird but enjoyable game! Quiffy is a subterreanean dwelling,
green, slimy - but cute! - creature; one day his underground world starts
filling with water but with Quiffy being from a tidy race of creatures, he
has to tour 42 levels picking up all the rubbish he's left lying around
before fleeing to the safe and dry surface.

	You guide Quiffy on his quest (well, were you suprised to hear
it?) and must find the correct way to solve each level, picking up all the
rubbish on the way while avoiding the monsters and other obstacles. Of
course, each level is filling with water as you play it - so hurry!
Solving each level isn't too difficult and the most taxing thing you have
to do is hit levers to open new sections of the level. To help you, there
are several different types of weapons lying around - grenades,
flamethrowers, throwing stars, dynamite and boomerangs. Quiffy also has
one special power and that is the ability to walk along most walls and
ceilings (although there are some he can't stick to). A space hopper
(remember them?) can be found on some levels and occasionally you'll need
one to bounce across a wide pit of lava etc. There are laser beams that
appear and disappear - these can block your way temporarily but can also
be climbed to gain access to new areas.

	The monsters are of the non-intelligent variety and mostly just
trot up and down a defined path, so they're pretty easy to dispatch with a
carefully placed stick of dynamite or whatever :-)  Some monsters do ping
around a bit, but in general there's nothing too tricky about them. Some
will hinder your progress by dropping litter and there are some great
teddy bears with mouths in their tummys (!?!!) that will help you by
eating litter!  However (you knew there'd be a 'however' didn't you?)
Quiffy's ghostly Auntie follows his exact path through the level (although
she starts perhaps 10 seconds after he does) and will drain his energy if
she touches him.  This can be a bit annoying if you spend a few minutes in
one place trying to negotiate an obstacle..

	Overall, a fun, enjoyable game!  Maybe a bit short at only 42
levels but there's enough there to keep you occupied for a while. One of
Bullfrog's products they seem to want to forget (and it certainly does not
compare very well to the likes of Populous and Syndicate) it does seem to
have been done in a bit of a hurry. The graphics and sound, while good,
are not spectacular and also - according to an interview I once read with
Peter Molyneaux (Bullfrog head honcho) - there is code and graphics in the
game for another monster, which simply never appears.  Sloppy maybe, but I
don't think you'll regret a quick look!

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