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| requirements = console, monitor or television, cassette recorder, Extended BASIC cartridge, joystick optional
}}
Garkon's Getaway stands among
the most entertaining games written
in Extended BASIC that I have seen. It
is fun to play ,.rnd fun to watch. The
graphics are well done and the chal
lenge is such that once you start play
ing you don't want to stop.
Pt:>rformance: Garkon's Getaway,
written by Bill Zielinski, is a game of
escape. According to the game's story
line. Garkon is trapped in the dungeon
of a wizard. Your job is to help him
escape by climbing through an open
ing in a wall at the left side of the
screen.
Ironically, you can't escape without
the help of the wizard. You see, the
wizard has installed lasers in the ceil
ing which fire randomly at the dun
geon floor. Wherever the laser beam
hits, a colored block is formed, thus
raising the floor of the dungeon. There
are 28 blocks to each row and 20 rows.
If Garkon is unable to escape by the
time the entire dungeon is built up,
well, it's curtains.
Using the joystick. you move Gar
kon about in the hopes of avoiding the
lasers. If a laser should happen to hit
Garkon, forming a block over his
head, he "dies." His demise is
depicted by an angelic, white figure
rising to the top of the screen to the
tune of "Taps." Fortunately, Garkon
starts out with nine lives. The game
also ends when Garkon runs out of
lives..
As long as Garkon manages to keep
from being struck by the laser, the
laser beam continues to lay down
colored blocks. (This process is inter
rupted only long enough to allow Gar
kon 's angel to rise out of sight.) How
ever, this by itself would not be of
much help. since Garkon is able to
jump up only one block at a time. Since
the lasers are aimed randomly, the
floor is built up randomly. But Garkon
is not simply a powerless victim of
fate. He is armed with a gun that is
capable of vaporizing blocks, one at a
time. By vaporizing blocks, Garkon
can adjust the level of the block rows,
creating a stairway of sorts to the
exits, which are located at the left side
of the screen.
There are three exits, each at vary-
ing heights. The lowest exit is easiest
to reach. The highest exit is extremely
difficult to reach. Bonus points are
awarded by virtue of successfully
escaping through one of the exits. The
lowest exit adds 1000 points to the total
score and one life. The second level
adds three lives and 3000 points. The
third level adds five lives and 5000
points.
Points are also scored for each block
Garkon vaporizes. Plain blocks score
few points. Treasure blocks, which are
shaped differently than the plain
blocks, are worth more. The value of
any block also depends on which row it
is on. The higher the row, the more a
block is worth. Ther are also Zapper
blocks which, when vaporized, cause
an entire row of blocks to be created on
the floor. While Zapper blocks do not
produce points, they come in handy
when trying to compensate for the
randomness of the lasers. The lasers
do not create a block over the spot the
Garkon is standing on when the floor is
being zapperized, to coin a word.
Having escaped, Garkon is returned
to the dungeon for another round of
dodge the lasers.
This game has many strengths,
including the use of color. The combi
nation of colors used in the various
rows of blocks is actually pretty, going
from magenta at the bottom, to red to
yellow to green. Also, I did not feel
frustrated by this game, despite the
fact that the action is fast-moving and
relentless. You have to think very fast,
not only in deciding which blocks to
vaporize but to avoid being hit by a
laser.
The graphics, though simple in
design, are effective and flawless. The
sound effects, those representing the
laser in particular. are realistic and do
not become annoying despite the
number of times you hear them.
The only drawback I can see is in the
fact that Garkon is able to move only
two squares at a time without pausing.
I suspect this is due to the limitations
of Extended BASIC. This creates a
problem when trying to jump out of the
way of the laser when it is about to
shoot. The program must either fire
the laser or respond to the joystick
command to move Garkon. At times
the joystick seems to take precedence
over the laser and at other times it is
the other way around. The fact that
you can ·t predict whether the joystick
will take precedence at any particular
point is bothersome at first, but I
adapted to it. Written in assembly lan
guage. this game would have enor
mous potential.
EasP of UsP: Garkon's Getaway is
simple to play and. once you get
started. obvious. All input is through
the joystick. The program, as far as I
could tell. is crash proof.
Doeunwntation: The game comes
with a brief but adequate manual.
Valm•: I enjoyed playing this game a
lot. So have others of varying ages who
tried it out. And the price is right.
'''— JK'''
