- Molecule Man (video game)
-
Molecule Man 
Developer(s) Robin Thompson Publisher(s) Mastertronic Platform(s) Sinclair Spectrum, Commodore Plus/4, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, Amstrad CPC, MSX Release date(s) 1986 Genre(s) Arcade adventure Mode(s) Single-player Media/distribution Compact Cassette Molecule Man is an isometric 3D arcade adventure game released by Mastertronic in 1986 for a variety of 8-bit home computers.
Contents
Plot
Molecule Man is trapped in a radioactive maze and must reach the escape teleport before the radiation kills him.
Gameplay
The player controls the Molecule Man in his quest to escape. He must find the teleport and repair it using 16 circuit board pieces that are scattered around the maze. Bombs must be purchased to blow open inaccessible areas. Meanwhile the radiation is killing him and health pills must be purchased to prolong his life.
Coins can be found lying around. These must be collected and taken to dispensers to purchase bombs and pills.
There is also a time limit that must be beaten.
Controls
- Q - Up
- Z - Down
- I - Left
- P - Right
- B - Buy (bombs/pills)
- G - Pick up (coins/circuits)
- D - Throw bomb
- A - Abort game
- SPACE - Pause/Unpause
Miscellaneous
- The game will end within seconds unless a health pill is consumed. Fortunately, a coin is just NE of the start, and a pill dispenser just beyond.
- A level editor is included which enables the player to design their own mazes
Reviews
- ZX Computing: "No not another 3-D maze game! 'Fraid so..."[1]
- Sinclair User:
"It's a little bit of Cylu, it's a bit Ultimate, it's a bit like quite a few other games, but Molecule Man is still wonderful... Around six months ago quite a few programmers seemed to discover surrealism as a way of life, programs started to be filled with objects normally not associated with one another - Sweevo with its little girls, odd fowl and tropical fruit is one memorable example. Molecule Man belongs to the same surrealist school of graphics design... a very entertaining, fairly original and addictive game..."[2]
References
- ^ "Molecule Man Review", ZX Computing, September 1986
- ^ "Molecule Man Review", Sinclair User, August 1986
External links
- PC remake of Molecule Man by Robin Thompson
- Molecule Man at World of Spectrum
- Molecule Man at MobyGames
- Molecule Man at Lemon64
- Molecule Man at c64.com
Categories:- 1986 video games
- Action-adventure games
- Video games with isometric graphics
- ZX Spectrum games
- Amstrad CPC games
- Commodore 64 games
- Atari 8-bit family games
- Commodore 16 and Plus/4 games
- MSX games
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