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→Escape From Balthazar
| requirements = console, monitor or television, cassette recorder, joystick optional
}}
I did not expect much from Escape From Balthazar when I loaded it into the computer. Happily, I found it to be an amusing game that anyone can run on a minimal Tl99/4A system. The graphics and movement are better than I expected for a game written in
console BASIC at this price.
===Performance===
The distributors call this an "animated adventure." I think that's a little misleading. I'd call it a game of action. It is not actually "animated," though the graphics are well done. Sound is also incorporated into the game.
There are nine levels of difficulty, which the user selects before the game starts. Then a screen is drawn, representing the map of a city. There are numerous streets, buildings, trees, a hospital, a casino and a food store. According to the storyline, you have escaped from prison after having been incarcerated unjustly. A venge ful guard gives chase. He is armed with a gun. You are unarmed. Starting out with a small amount of money, you must somehow raise enough funds to bribe a pilot to fly you out of Balthazar to freedom. This is easier said than done, but that's where the fun comes in.
To raise money, you move· up and down the streets robbing businesses. While committing your crimes you must also avoid the relentless guard who chases you wherever you go. If you are shot, you may go to the hospital where treatment will be provided if you are willing to pay a bribe. If you are shot too many times, the game will end. You must periodically stop at the food store for meals. The food store will give you nine meals, for a price, and you will "eat" them as the game progresses. If you run out of food, you will starve, thus ending the game.
After accumulating a bankroll, you
may enter the casino. A second screen
is : drawn and you play blackjack
against the house. For every hand you
win, you receive a piece of gold. The
pilot will fly you out of the country for
s·�'ven pieces of gold, so you've got to be
pretty lucky at the card table. If you
run out of money, you are sent back
onto the streets where you must again
prey on the merchants of Balthazar to
raise another bankroll.
There is a group of status indicators
on the right side of the screen. One
records the number of meals you have
left, another records the number of
wounds you've suffered, a third
records the amount of money you've
accumulated and a fourth records the
number of gold pieces you have. You
win the game the instant you've won
your seventh piece of gold.
It seems that bribery makes the
world go 'round in Balthazar. Eve
ryone is on the take. including the
shopkeepers. At times you· II be
required to pay a bribe to a merchant
who refused to give in to your robbery
a t t e m p t . Re m e m b e r. y o u' r e
unarmed.
Ease of Use: Escape From Bal
thazar may be played from the key
board or with a joystick. After a couple
of games, moving up and down the
streets was easy. Level 1 is relatively
simple. I cannot imagine how one
could win this game at Level 9. It is
very difficult.
Documentation: The game comes
with a five-page manual that ade
quately gets a new player through the
game.
Value: This game is a very fine
value at the price. It works well, seems
to have no bugs and keeps your inter
est. I have no qualms in recommend
ing it to anyone who has a basic TI
system.
'''— JK'''
