The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

FRANKENSTEIN 2000

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

Game Type          : Arcade; Multi-level

Authors            : David Crofts, Ian Elliott, Jason Sobell & Kevin Blake

Standalone Release(s)   : 1985: FRANKENSTEIN 2000, Audiogenic/ICON, £6.99

                    1988: FRANKENSTEIN 2000, Atlantis, £1.99

Compilation Release(s)   : None

Stated compatibility    : BBC B (Although Electron version on Side B)

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

Supplier            : AUDIOGENIC, PO Box 88, Reading, BERKS

Disc compatibility     : CDFS E00, DFS E00

Instructions

"It is the year 2000 AD. Using all the advanced micro-particle technology now available, Freddy Frankenstein has set about bringing to life the monster created by his great grandfather, the infamous Baron Frankenstein."

The year is 2000 AD and Freddy Frankenstein has inherited his great grandfather's castle in Bavaria. On taking possession of the estate, he discovers the location of his great grandfather's creation, the monster.

He decides to follow in his ancestor's foorsteps and revive the monster by using the advanced 21st century technology that is now available. After many weeks of sleepless nights the experiment is ready. Using a micro-particle reduction field, Freddy is going to shrink an explorer class submarine to the size of a pin head (whilst he is inside it) and inject it into the vast body of the monster in an effort to locate and correct the defects that have caused the experiment to fail in the past.

Trachea - Destroy as many hopping frogs as possible whilst you journey down the throat.

Lungs -   Wipe out the rampaging cigarette packets whilst avoiding the lethal carbon dioxide bubbles.

Heart -   Guide your way carefully through to the implant, avoiding the electrical impulses and pumping heart valves. Launch a torpedo at the impant to activate the heart.

Stomach - Your motors are now starting to overheat and are in desperate need of some lubricating grease. Within the stomach walls, the deadly fried eggs must be avoided until you have managed to obtain six slices of greasy bacon.

Brain -   Finally, you reach the brain. You must now neutralise the eight mutant electrons by nudging them off the delicately tuned circuit board.

Game Controls

Z - Left,   X - Right,   * - Up,   ? - Down (Used in Heart and Brain only)

<RETURN> - Fire

Instructions' Source   : FRANKENSTEIN 2000 (Atlantis) Back And Inner Inlay

Review (Electron User)

In FRANKENSTEIN 2000 your aim is to revive the famous old monster which you have found on inheriting the infamous baron's castle. In the futuristic world of 2000 AD your method is to shrink yourself down to a tiny size and enter the monster's body.

Stage one finds you in the monster's throat which is full of frogs. Your task is to destroy as many of these as possible during your journey downwards. This is best described as a version of Space Invaders. As you travel you will sustain damage from colliding with frogs or the throat walls. You will also use up oxygen. Too much of the first or too little of the second spells the end of your mission.

Before reaching the lungs, a pellet of oxygen must be shot. If you take a long time to hit it you won't have much oxygen for the next stage.

The activity in the lungs is very similar to the frogs in the throat, but here it is cigarette packets you must shoot. An added hindrance are bubbles of carbon dioxide which float up towards you. After shooting another oxygen pellet you reach the heart where you steer through the various cavities to activate the implant.

It requires careful timing to get past the electrical impulses and to slip through the valves as they open.

A rather unpleasant task faces you in the stomach. You have to shoot the slices of bacon, while avoiding the fried eggs. Finally you reach the brain where, if you've got the oxygen supplies and a minimum of damage, you can knock out the bad neurons. This requires real precision, and I have not yet managed to do it.

Audiogenic has an original idea with this game, but it doesn't quite succeed. Technically it's all fine with neat, fast graphics and it has pleasing sound effects. However the whole program lacks any kind of extra feature to make it
stand out from the crowd.

Sound ........................... 6
Graphics ........................ 7
Playability ..................... 5
Value for money ................. 5
Overall ......................... 5

Rog Frost, ELECTRON USER 3.11

Review (Electron User) - "Old Flathead Is Back"

A few of our more archaic readers may remember FRANKENSTEIN 2000, now receiving a second airing as a budget title. Having missed it first time around, I was eager to compare, dare I say, yet another oldie with the genre of today.

In FRANKENSTEIN 2000 you play Freddy Frankenstein, great grandson of the legendary Baron Frankenstein. The year is 2000 AD. On inheriting the castle of your infamous relative, you soon discover the incarcerated body of the legendary monster.

In the true spirit of your ancestors, the urge to restore life to the hapless creature takes over. You board a nuclear powered Discovery class submarine, and with the aid of modern technology are subsequently reduced to the size of a pin head. Now able to enter the body of the monster - Inner Space-fashion - your task can begin.

You have to reach the brain of the creature and repair the malfunctions that previously turned it into a homicidal killer. You enter the body through the trachea, your progress being monitored on a map of the creature's internal organs.

Here you encounter your first obstacle when bombarded by a host of little green frogs. At an early stage of the game you soon realise the importance of avoiding collisions at all costs. Contact with virtually anything other than legal targets has your damage indicator bleeping  towards a critical level.

Also it is essential to scan your oxygen supply. Surprisingly, you only have the one life, and failure to keep both instruments at an acceptable level will result in your untimely end.

You must navigate four organs on your way to the brain, and all adversaries and obstacles must be overcome. There is a mandatory stop after successful completion of each organ, where you are given the opportunity to replenish a rapidly depleting oxygen supply.

By now my first impressions that the game seemed a bit too easy had been well and truly squashed. And just wait until you reach the brain - this is simply murder. In fact, if I don't complete the mission this time, I think I'll leave the poor creature to the mercy of one of my future relatives.

I found the graphics well formed and the sprites large and easy to recognise. There wasn't much in the way of sound, just a few noises here and there. Perhaps this had something to do with the monster being tone deaf.

I was initially disappointed by the screen's sluggish scrolling and readers with a Turbo Driver will benefit here. However, in Turbo mode the submarine may be distorted on a few screens. Having said that, I found playing in normal mode hard enough.

I enjoyed playing FRANKENSTEIN 2000, in which you first imagine that things are going to be easy, only to discover quite early on that you are not going to complete this mission without a great deal of practice and a whole bucketful of patience.

For those who missed this one first time around, enjoy a game that doesn't require the reading of a manual the size of War and Peace. As a budget title, this offers sound value for money.

Steve Bissett

* * * Second Opinion * * * (Electron User)

I thoroughly enjoyed this game first time round and it is a welcome sight on a budget label. The graphics are good, the gameplay reasonably varied and it is quite addictive. If you haven't seen it before don't miss it second time round - you'll have lots of fun.

Janine Murray

Sound ........................... 4

Graphics ........................ 7

Playability ..................... 8

Value for money ................. 8

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

Janice Murray, ELECTRON USER 6. 3