- Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror
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Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror 
Publisher(s) Micro Power Series Doctor Who Platform(s) Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64 Release date(s) 1985 Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror is a game for the Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro[1] and Commodore 64. It was first released by Micro Power on the BBC Micro in 1985, and on the Amstrad CPC & C64 [2] in 1986.[3]
In-game screenshot (BBC Micro)
The game's play centers around the player's character of the Doctor (specifically his sixth incarnation), and his robotic programmable cat Splinx.[4] The goal of the game is to halt the Master's production of Heatonite, retrieve stolen plans for the Time Lords, and return safely.
The game's screen always has the player in the center, and depending on the direction of movement, the entire screen scrolls horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The player can move freely, but can die in many ways: monster attack, robot attack, too great a fall, forced regeneration, lack of oxygen, and sharp spikes.
Enemies include patrolling robots that resemble the Daleks; however, the actual name and exact design of the Daleks was not used due to the rights to the being part owned by Terry Nation, creator of the Daleks.
The game was too large to fit into the standard memory of the BBC Micro so it came with its own ROM chip which had to be installed for the game to run in conjunction with game's main disk. This also caused problems for the unreleased (but heavily previewed and advertised) ZX Spectrum version which would have required an add-on cartridge.[5]
The costs associated with producing this game are often cited as crippling Micro Power[6] who folded soon after its release.
The game began life as a sequel to the hit BBC Micro game Castle Quest, and was adapted into a Doctor Who game mid-development.
References
- ^ http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/cgi-bin/sitewise.pl?act=det&p=1549
- ^ http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/c64/data/568759.html
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/c64/action/doctorwhoandthemot/index.html
- ^ http://www.gamebase64.com/oldsite/gameofweek/13/gotw_doctorwhomines.htm
- ^ "Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror". World Of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0011666. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ "Micro Power section". The BBC Games Archive. http://www.beebgames.com/games.php?company=2. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
External links
Doctor Who video games 1980s Doctor Who: The First Adventure (1983) • Doctor Who and the Warlord (1985) • Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror (1985)1990s Dalek Attack (1992) • Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors (1997)2000s Top Trumps: Doctor Who (2008)2010s Doctor Who: The Adventure Games (2010) • Doctor Who: Return to Earth (2010) • Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth (2010) • Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time (2010) • Doctor Who: Worlds in Time (2011)Micro Power Games Adventure · Cybertron Mission · Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror · Felix and the Fruit Monsters · Felix in the Factory · Frenzy · Imogen · Gauntlet · Ghouls · Killer Gorilla · Positron · Stock Car · SwoopPlatforms Acorn Atom · Acorn Archimedes · Acorn Electron · Amstrad CPC · BBC Micro · Commodore 64 · Memotech MTX · ZX SpectrumCategories:- 1985 video games
- Amstrad CPC games
- BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games
- Commodore 64 games
- Cancelled ZX Spectrum games
- Doctor Who computer games
- Sixth Doctor stories
- Doctor Who stubs
- Computer game stubs
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