The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

BUG EYES 2

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

Game Type          : Arcade; Platform Shoot-'Em Up Adventure

Authors            : Kevin Blake and Jason Sobell

Standalone Release(s)  : 1986: BUG EYES 2, Audiogenic, £7.95

                    1988: BUG EYES 2, Alternative, £2.99

Compilation Release(s)   : 1986: ELECTRON POWER PACK, Audiogenic, £9.95

Stated compatibility    : Electron/BBC Dual Version

Actual compatibility    : Electron, BBC B, B+, Master 128

Supplier            : AUDIOGENIC, PO Box 88, Reading, BERKS

Disc compatibility     : Unknown

Instructions

"Light years from Earth lies the rusting hulk of the Xxabanean flagship, disabled while on its mission to vapuourise our planet by the super-heroine Space Agent Zelda! She managed to destroy its power source, but was captured in the attempt and locked away in the depths of a distant and desolate asteroid. You, as Space Agent Starman, must penetrate the defences of the ship and collect the 25 keys required to free Zelda from her intergalactic prison.

"But beware. Some of the old Xxabanean booby traps are still in operation and strange alien creatures have moved into the empty hulk. You only have five refills of oxygen and your limited supply is depleted more quickly by collisions with objects and creatures. You must find the keys before it runs out.

"This package contains a BBC-B version and an Electron version. This is a flicker-free zone and a no-go area for nasty small sprites!

"Here's what the critics said about Bug Eyes...

"'Flipped!' Home Computing Weekly Top Rating

"'The graphics are superb,' Electron User."

Game Controls

Z - Left,   X - Right,   : - Up (in lift),   / - Down (in lift)

Q/S - Music Off/On

Instructions' Source   : BUG EYES 2 - STARMAN TO THE RESCUE (ASL) Inner Inlay

Review (Electron User)

After completing her mission to destroy the Xxabanean flagship, agent Zelda was captured and imprisoned in the depths of a desolate asteroid. You are agent Starman and must negotiate the asteroid's defence systems and find the 25 keys which are required to free her.

Neither the title nor the rather mediocre cassette cover do anything to entice you to buy the game, which is a pity as the game is a stunner. BUG EYES 2 could be summed up by the term "big is beautiful". Each of the screens in this ladders and levels game looks like it has been painted with a four inch brush.

The graphics for both the background and the sprites are big, chunky and colourful. The simplicity of each screen does not necessarily make the game easy. It has been designed in such a way that you feel each screen is merely a tiny portion of a larger unseen screen.

Some of these sub-screens are linked directly - for instance, falling off the edge of a cliff will take you straight into the screen below. Other screens are accessed via the lift shafts which riddle the asteroid. On leaving the lift you are hoisted on to a Sinclair C5 and driven to the next screen.

The reliability of this mode of transport is suspect as you occasionally have difficulty starting the vehicle. You enter the asteroid with five lives and a life is lost each time your oxygen supply is exhausted.

You can fall from any height without suffering damage but contact with an alien will deplete your oxygen supply. The types of aliens range from huge spotted caterpillars to enormous dinosaurs which fly with the aid of jet packs.

Playing BUG EYES 2 is relaxing and enjoyable, and for my money it is one of the best games of its type to date.

Sound ........................... 7
Graphics ........................ 9
Playability ..................... 9
Value for money ................. 9
Overall ......................... 9

Carol Barrow, ELECTRON USER 3. 9