The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

DUNJUNZ

 

 

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

 

Game Type          : Arcade Multi-load Overhead Maze Game; THE GAUNTLET style

Author              : Julian Avis

Standalone Release(s)   : 1985: DUNJUNZ, Bug Byte, £2.99

Compilation Release(s) : None

Stated compatibility    : Electron Side A, BBC Side B

Actual compatibility    : As stated

Supplier            : BUG BYTE, Victory House, Leicester Place, LONDON WC2H 7NB

                    Tel: 01-429 0666

Disc compatibility     : Unknown

 

 

Instructions

"BEEB Game of the year! 1-4 players. Amazing all action adventure deep down under, four characters, weapons, treasure, spells, meanies, 25 levels. Fast, furious and funny. By Julian ("It's very deep") Avis."

 

Four heroes must recover the Chalice of Binding and save the World. Mackscrane the Great Demon has hidden it in the Dunjunz complex. They must battle it out against Bashers, find treasure, magic, adventure and death.

 

The Story So Far...

To help them on their quest, the Gods have given the four heroes extra powers:

 

The Ranger uses a bow, and his quiver has the power to produce an unlimited supply of arrows.

 

The Wizard has been taught how to cast powerful fireballs.

 

The Barbarian's axe can create clones of itself.

 

The Warrior can draw an infinite number of swords from her shealth.

 

Each character can only fire a certain amount of weapons at any one time; you need magic to maintain the weapon's existence.

 

Each character begins with a different set of fighting attributes. As the game progresses, you will find magical items which boost your character's abilities and so increase your chances of survival.

 

Four people can play this game at the same time, each person controlling his/her character. Each character has their 'own' quarter of the screen and go round the Dunjunz on their own, getting to treasures first and even hunting each other; the Barbarian is a good one to start with.

 

Progression Through The Levels

On each level of the Dunjunz, there is an exit, a square 'hole' which leads down deeper into the Dunjunz - the next level. By sliding down these exits, the characters will get nearer and nearer their ultimate goal - the Chalice.

 

The Characters

THE WIZARD can fire three arrows at a time. They are not that effective. He wears leather armour, which absorbs about a third damage. He does have one advantage over the Barbarian and Warrior - he can use magic; all monsters in the vicinity are killed but it drains his energy badly.

 

THE RANGER can cast two fireballs at a time, and each one does the same damage as two arrows. A robe protects him and when hit he takes maximum damage. Not a good fighter, he has one power no one can match - his magic, and he hardly uses any energy - a dangerous character.

 

THE BARBARIAN is a born fighter with no magic. He begins with one axe which does horrific damage and can kill in one shot! His natural tough skin is better than any leather and nearly matches the Warriors' chain mail!

 

THE WARRIOR can throw three swords at a time, and each equals a fireball in damage. She wears chainmail, carries a shield - maximum armour! But she has no magic.

 

Making It Through To The Next Level

As long as one character makes it through to the next level (i.e. reaches the exit) then all dead characters will be brought back to life on the next level with their original attributes. If the Barbarian had gained three axes and then died, on the next level he would be back to 1 axe and scores are reset to 0.

 

If all die on a level, then new heroes take their place, starting back on level 1.

 

Whenever a new level is begun, everyone has their health put back to full strength regardless of how weak they were on leaving the last level.

 

Objects In The Game

Exit

To go deeper, walk over a square hole.

 

Treasure

Worth 20 points.

 

Food

Increases health by 10 points. Health cannot exceed 99. Worth 5 points.

 

Teleporter

Teleport to another room on the same level.

 

Trap Doors

Where new monsters emerge from replacing dead comrades.

 

Energy Drainer

Lose 20 health points. They can be destroyed by repeatedly shooting them. BEWARE when a weapon hits an energy drainer, it bounces back. Worth 1 point for every hit.

 

Magic Sword

Increases the damage a character's weapon does by 1. Worth 10 points.

 

Pile of Weapons

Allows a character to fire an extra weapon, 3 being maximum. Worth 10 points.

 

Magic Helmet

Increases armour rating by 1 point. Less damage is taken when hit. Worth 10 points.

 

Boots of Speed

Moves you about twice the normal speed. A lightning bolt on the display shows the presence of the boots. Bumping into anything apart from walls, doors and keys loses the boot. Worth 10 points.

 

Potion of Healing

A blessing or a curse. The health of the character changes: Take the last digit (the rightmost digit) of his/her score, duplicate it, and this value is the new health value. Worth 10 points.

 

Door

Open by walking into it and by carrying the correct key. Some are hidden. Worth 7 points.

 

Key

For each door there is a key. Only one key may be carried at a time by a character. If you go over another key, then the key lying on the floor is picked up, and the original key being carried is dropped in its place.

 

Screen Display

Concentrate on the screen that your particular character controls, even if you appear on other character's screens. Your screen will always show your character in it.

 

Character Display

The lighting symbol means the character has double speed.

The key symbol denotes a key is being carried.

The shield bears the character's armour rating (maximum 7)

The number of swords denote the number of weapons a character can fire at any one time.

The numerical displays indicate health, score and the damage each weapon will inflict.

 

Game Controls

 

                   Ranger         Wizard    Barbarian     Warrior

    Up          CAPS LOCK           COPY            J           D

    Down             CTRL         RETURN            M           C

    Left            SHIFT      CURSOR UP            <           R

    Right               Z    CURSOR DOWN            >           T

    Fire                1         DELETE        SPACE           Y

    Magic               Q              *            -           -

 

                              Pause on/off = P

 

 

Instructions' Source   : DUNJUNZ (Bug Byte) Back and Inner Inlay

 

Review (Electron User) - "Super Dungeon"

Mackscrane, the Great Demon, has stolen the Chalice of Binding and hidden it deep within the Dunjunz. Four fearless adventurers must risk their lives to save the chalice and the world.

 

This is the arcade/adventure game to top them all. It is based around a dungeons and dragons type scenario in which up to four players compete simultaneously. This is achieved by dividing the screen into four action windows, all looking into the same dungeon and each showing the progress of one particular adventurer.

 

This system enables groups of players to explore the dungeon as a fighting unit, protecting each other against attack by the guards, increasing their firepower when destroying objects, or even killing each other.

 

The adventurers come in four guises: The Ranger uses a magic bow, the Wizard is hot stuff with a fireball, the Barbarian is an axe-wielding maniac and the Warrior is a mean swordswoman. The weapons all have different attack values - the higher the value the greater the damage inflicted with each blow.

 

This value is increased if the adventurer locates the magic sword or a pile of weapons. Similarly each character's armour has different values: The Warrior's chain mail and shield offer great protection from most blows, but not so the Ranger's robe which is of little defence against the guards' attack.

 

A game such as this would not be complete without a smattering of magic, so both the Wizard and the Ranger are endowed with mystical powers. These manifest themselves in smart bomb fashion, destroying every guard on the screen when a certain key is pressed.

 

The Wizard expends a great deal of energy in casting a spell, while the Ranger's energy value remains mysteriously unaffected.

 

As well as the obligatory treasure chests, the dungeon is littered with magical objects and keys. Keys will open doors to new area of the dungeon, and eating food boosts your energy rating by 10 points, up to a maximum of 99.

 

Not all objects you discover are beneficial. For example, the dungeon is riddled with trapdoors from which new guards appear to replace their dead comrades.

 

Most dangerous of all are the energy drainers, innocent-looking squares which relieve you of 20 energy points when touched and are sometimes used to bar your way to a new section of dungeon.

 

Drainers can be destroyed by multiple blows from a weapon but great care must be taken as they have a defence mechanism which reflects a weapon back on the attacker.

 

When I first played the game I was under the impression that I had to collect all the treasure on a level before I could jump through the trapdoor to level two. This is not so: If you want, you and your three comrades can exit level one in under 30 seconds. However, in doing so you would pass up the opportunity of improving weapon and armour ratings.

 

DUNJUNZ comes with 25 different levels, each loaded individually from tape as required. This may sound tedious, but each level takes only five seconds to load.

 

Loading occurs automatically when all surviving characters have jumped through the exit trapdoor. It is only necessary for one adventurer to survive to progress to the next level.

 

Once loaded, all dead character are reincarnated with a full bill of health but with only the default values for weapons and armour. A surviving character is restored to full strength.

 

A save game option would have been appreciated, as you are unlikely to fight your way through all 25 levels in a single session.

 

Ignoring the problem of cramming four people into an area of three square feet, there is no denying that DUNJUNZ is a stunning piece of programming. The action is smooth and fast, and the levels tortuously difficult. This game will sell and sell.

 

Sound ........................... 6

Graphics ........................ 8

Playability ..................... 9

Value for money ................. 9

Overall ......................... 8

 

"Electron User Golden Game"

 

James Riddell, ELECTRON USER 4. 9