Tunnel by XavSnap
Tunnel for the ZX81 with 16K RAM.
This game comes from the past to 1981. It was sent by Xavier to my predecessor through a forum and not to the official email address, so Ed didn't notice it in time. Fortunately, Mr. Toovey. after passing the contest torch to me, sent me XavSnap's entry as the first CGC 2025 contestant.
And what a game.
It immediately reminded me of the handheld electronic games of my childhood. Like this wonderful CASIO Great Race:
Simple, direct, fun.
The contestant includes simple instructions that read as follows:
You are on a train in a tunnel, Turn left or right if you can do it !
All move Right or left will give points...
All train switch missed will cost you a point.
KEYS "5" GO TO THE RIGHT SIDE.
KEYS "8" GO TO THE LEFT SIDE.
Translucent clear.
With clever use of characters, the screen shows a dark tunnel through which our train travels at high speed, thanks to a well achieved scrolling effect of the train's track crosspieces.
Possible exits to the left and right are paraded at full velocity. In the center of the screen, a small arrow indicates the direction to take. But, if you look at it, you can no longer see the exits. More of a slightly evil distraction than a help. I like it.
A text is also displayed on the screen each time you make the right turn. But it disappears so quickly that I had to look it up in the game listing to find out that it says ‘GOOD’.
The keystroke detection is good but not perfect and your head screams “I'm sure I did it in time” more than once in the game. A certain frustration arises.
After a series of attempts, the game ends up indicating your disastrous score which is often negative. And then it stops. To play again you have to press RUN + ENTER. I am sure that, with 16K there is room for the game to restart itself. It gives the feeling of having been finished in a hurry because there is no introduction to the game or even a “get ready” to start. Squid Yoghourt points.
The program mixes assembler with BASIC in an surprising listing. Very clever and fast!
When I received the game files, it was impossible for me to run the game. My predecessor was kind enough (my knowledge of the ZX81 is minimal) to change the extension of one of the files so that EightyOne would recognise it as a snapshot. The rules weren't public at the time XavSnap made his contribution but, hey, this is the law now and the law says that is not friendly at all.
Corollary: I like this game. I've played it several times more than required for the review. Nice coding but lacks completion. Fails to be very crappy. Unfriendly for the tester.
Scrambled Smile: 8/10
Broccoli and Squid Yoghourt: 4/10
Deep Fried Ice Cream: 7/10
Strawberry Monosodium Glutamate: 9/10
Affable Hot Chocolate Sauce: 1/10
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