77 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
77 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
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STIR CRAZY
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STIR CRAZY is a strategy arcade game based on a comic strip by Paul Deliege,
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coming to us from Infogrames of France and the Antic Catalog. It offers
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excellent graphics, sound, and animation, six separate games, provisions for as
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many as six players, and joystick or keyboard control. This review is based on
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the Atari ST version.
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STIR CRAZY is incredibly silly. The characters are exaggerated, the situations
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are ridiculous, and gameplay is absurd. The program, however, does not operate
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under false pretenses: It's ludicrous, we know it's ludicrous, and that's what
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makes it such dumb fun. It's enough that Eric Mottet and his programming team
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didn't collaborate with Electronic Arts -- it'd be a skill-based role-playing
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game set in Alcatraz.
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The main character in STIR CRAZY is Bobo. He bears a sinister resemblance to
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Fred Flintstone, and he's been an inmate of Inzeeslammer for 17 years. The six
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games that make up the program involve ladling soup, preparing potatoes, mopping
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a floor, and helping fellow prisoners escape. Bobo's escape is the subject of
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the fifth game: jumping electrical wires. His subsequent recapture forms the
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sixth game: stopping the snoring of his cell mates.
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In the canteen, Bobo must keep the bowls of six prisoners filled with soup.
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This is accomplished by guiding Bobo between the tables. The prisoners are a
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testy lot. They'll bang on the tables with their spoons, and holler and scream
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and cry. Bobo earns points every time he dispenses a ladle of soup.
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Preparing potatoes means taking one, peeling it, then tossing it away. If it
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hasn't been properly peeled, it'll end up back in the pile. Bobo earns point for
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each peeled spud.
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To wash the floors, you must guide Bobo and his mop around a room. The room has
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six doors that are opened constantly by other inmates, prison officials, and
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even a dog, all of whom leave muddy tracks. Bobo earns points for swinging the
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mop, making someone who's just entered the room turn back, or preventing someone
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from entering the room at all.
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When the warden takes a break, the prisoners attempt to escape by jumping out
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the windows. Bobo guides a trampoline back and forth beneath the windows and
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bounces the inmates over the outer wall. Bobo earns points for each prisoner who
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escapes.
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When Bobo escapes, you'll have to guide him along three electrical wires.
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Sparks zip down the wires, so you must make him jump in order to avoid
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electrocution. The score is based on the length of time Bobo stays on the wires.
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Bobo's subsequent capture returns him to his cell, where five other inmates
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sleep and snore. Bobo must travel from bunk to bunk, stop the snoring, and go
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back to sleep. Sleeping earns points.
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The Atari ST screen display consists of a single backdrop on which the events
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take place. Below the main screen is the Score for the current game, the High
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Score for that particular game, and the Very High Score, which is the total for
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all games. You can select to play any one game or all six in sequence.
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Each event can be controlled with either joystick or keyboard. When using the
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keyboard, the cursor keys move Bobo directionally; the Spacebar does many
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things, and its specific use depends on the game. When using the joystick, the
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stick moves Bobo directionally, and the button substitutes for the spacebar. The
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method you use will have to be your choice; certain games seemed easier using
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one control instead of the other.
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Everything about STIR CRAZY is silly except its implementation. The graphics
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and animation are marvelous. The facial expressions of the prisoners range from
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consternation to childish rage. Footprints (and paw prints) appear as characters
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traipse across Bobo's clean floor. The trampoline makes "BOIINNGG!" sounds. The
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whole package is colorful and cartoon-y, and very much in keeping with its
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source material.
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STIR CRAZY is dumb fun, wonderfully done.
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STIR CRAZY is published by Infogrames and distributed by Antic.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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