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WEETABIX VERSUS THE TITCHIES

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

Game Type : Arcade Shoot-'em-up

Author : Steve Clark

Standalone Release(s) : 1984: WEETABIX VS THE TITCHIES, Romik, Free With WEETABIX

Compilation Release(s) : None

Stated compatibility : Electron/BBC Dual Version

Actual compatibility : As stated

Supplier : ROMIK, 272 Argyll Avenue, Slough, BERKS

Disc compatibility : ADFS 1D00, CDFS 1D00, DFS 1D00

Instructions

The Weetabix are being attacked by The Titchies. Your job is to help them eat off these attacks.

Fortunately, the rest of The Weetabix have found a supply of Weeta-rockets below the screen, so with your help Dunk can throw these up the screen to defeat the evil Titchy threat.

The Titchies are trying to hit Dunk by dropping dangerous lightning bolts, so you should try to make him dodge the bolts if you can. If a bolt gets too close, you can neutralise it with your Neet Weet Force Shield. Be sure to use it in time, otherwise it will activate automatically to destroy the bolt, but will also drain away some of Dunk's precious Neet Weet Energy.

The amount of energy Dunk has left is shown by the level indicator on the screen - the shorter the coloured block, the less energy Dunk has left...so be careful!

(Running about throwing missiles, and using your force shield also uses up energy so don't overdo it.)

Dunk's only chance is to defeat The Titchies with the missiles. These will be passed up from the bottom of the screen by Bixie, Crunch, Brains and Brian. Dunk will pick up any missile he finds on the ground, but you must direct him to it, and tell him when to throw it.

The Neet Weet Energy the missile contains is more than enough to overcome the first Titchy it hits, but if it misses all The Titchies it will explode harmlessly at the top of the screen.

In an attempt to make Dunk's task even more difficult, the Titchies move in an odd formation - they wind their way slowly up the screen, but once at the top they speed down again towards the ground and across the screen, just above Dunk's head. This is when they are at their most dangerous, so be careful...

If you and Dunk can wipe out the whole Titchy formation before running out of energy, a new wave of faster, meaner, more vicious Titchies will appear. To deal with the new attack, Dunk will be topped up with more Neet Weet Energy just before the battle starts. Don't waste it.

Dunk gets points for each Titchy he hits. At first he gets 10 pts per Titchy, but this increases to 20, 30, 40, etc as he wipes out successive waves of Titchies. Dunk's score and the number of Titchies remaining on the screen are shown on the top of the screen.

Dunk needs your help so good luck. OK!

You'll enjoy many hours of fun playing this unique computer game especially produced for Weetabix by Romik.

Game Controls

You can play WEETABIX VERSUS THE TITCHIES using either your computer keyboard or a joystick. If you wish to play using the keyboard the control keys are:

Z - Left, X - Right, M - Fire

The shield is activated with <SPACE> (or by pushing the joystick forward).

Instructions' Source : WEETABIX VERSUS THE TITCHIES (Romik) Inner Inlay

Review (EUG)

So is this a 'neet' game? [Groan! - Ed] Bet your brekkies it is, "OK!" Thanks to Romik software, one of the characters from the cereal Weetabix is invading your Electron to protect us from 'The Titchies', an inferior brand of morning wheat-diet. Naturally enough, these are embodied as a pack of wiggly green space invaders up above your character Dunk who moves back and forth over the bottom of the screen picking up and firing rockets at them.

Probably the most ironic thing about this title is that it is the best thing Romik ever produced and the only one that the public got free (by collecting cereal box tokens)! That said, it's a pleasant variation on the Invaders theme; the Titchies are unfriendly and drop lightning bolts, Dunk must avoid and ultimately destroy them.

The game is more forgiving than many and rather than killing if hit by a bolt, Dunk will be 'shielded' from it by a kind of incomplete halo automatically appearing over his head. Energy ('Neet Weet Energy'!) is deducted if this has to be done by the computer and the observant player can operate the shield himself to avoid such a penalty.

The action takes place on a Mode 2 screen so everything is colourful and bright; Dunk is of various colours, the rockets are white, the score is purple and there's no rubbish on screen. As more and more Titchies are despatched, the game speeds up - arguably to increase difficulty but, as many a programmer knows, because less memory is needed to move the fewer characters.

The missiles to fight with are passed through the yellow floor at a distance easily reachable by Dunk. He must first collect one and then try and judge the best moment to throw it up. The titchies, not endowed with any intelligence, have a lucky habit of sidestepping them, particularly when flying high up the screen - the rocket takes longer to reach them there and they have more time to move! A new rocket appears when the other one strikes home or disappears above screen.

As the game progresses, the energy ticks down with each few seconds and each hit Dunk takes from overhead. Unfortunately, the player doesn't require a lot of skill to operate the shield, generally keeping the energy at a level causing no concern and this tragically makes the game unchallenging. Another small niggle is players are expected to know they must press <M> to begin a new game without any intelligent message to inform them.

The code is short and the game itself loads in just over a minute from cassette. It is a simple and fun machine-code game that was developed to appeal to children and adults of a different time - being the only game I know offered free by a cereal manufacturer! Although not masquerading as a masterpiece, WEETABIX VERSUS THE TITCHIES is a straightforward retro game which, through this uniqueness, achieves the status of 'classic'.

Dave Edwards, EUG #47