Thursday, January 27, 2011

Microsoft Mouse Ce0560 Drivers

Re.BIT 4 is online!

Dear readers this time we did it! The fourth issue of Re.BIT is now available for reading and download web Retrogaming History . To start browsing its virtual pages you will not have to do is follow this link and jump headlong into reading. The new bi-monthly has allowed the preparation to make a number of almost 90 pages beautifully typeset in the usual care and the unmistakable style that characterized the work of Francis "Gekido" Ugga. The topics are many: it starts with a spectacular special on CBS Colecovision , continue with the lesson retroprogrammazione dedicated to the legendary Commodore 64 and then move smoothly into the analysis of some of the devices that have made only the small and ZX Spectrum to some interesting reflections proposed by a ispiratissimo NeoWolf discuisisce that the death of retrocomputing and violence in video games (timeless theme!). The angle of the reviews is very crowded and proposes among other titles come out as soon as Crown Encantada for Spectrum and MSX and Adventure in Time for Commodore Plus 4 (title to which is dedicated the cover). I would also point to the comprehensive review of Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road , the wonderful interview with Paul Besser WOPR (TGM still collaborator and promoter of the AROS project) and the spectacular report on the participation of crew Retrogames History all'AQUIGAMES 2010 (take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to the staff for the third birthday of their fantascito site).

So there really that amuse until the arrival of the next issue ... Take time to read it slowly ... will not regret it!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

What Is Construction Cough

Lemmings (1991)

In February 1991, thanks to the duo Psygnosis / DMA Design (now Rockstar North , the authors of the Great Theft Auto series ... just to figure out who we're talking about), arrives on the screens of 16-bit home computer, and then for 8-bit console , What is probably the most famous puzzle game ever. I'm obviously talking about
Lemmings title many fans who gave sleepless nights and mornings full of yawns ... then we go to see what it is ...



I lemming (in Italian terms) are small arctic rodents, belonging to the same family of hamsters, especially common in polar tundra. Like all rodents have a high reproductive rate which, if favorable environmental conditions, may lead to a real population explosion. If there is such a sudden increase of the population hungry sorcetti begin to migrate in groups in search of sustenance.
In 1958 nature documentary White Wilderness , produced by Walt Disney , shows scenes of "mass suicide" where small rodents are thrown headlong into the ocean. The release of the film led to the spread of an "urban legend" that the lemming, in case of overcrowding, voluntarily put an end to its existence for the good of the community.
Despite this belief is without any scientific basis, the animals end up in the ravine they were carried along by the mass of individuals that move chaotically, it is up to the present day providing inspired programmers of DMA Design in the realization of this game is intended to become a legend.

Look Mom ... a lemming!


In the game the lemmings (here represented as small bipedal green hair, the pink nose and blue shirt) fall steadily to a maximum number for each level, a trap door that opens into the sky. Once you hit the ground they begin to walk to the right and continue until you encounter an obstacle that blocks forcing them to retrace their steps. The aim of the player is to get a certain percentage free Rodents, stated objective at the beginning of the level, the portal that leads to next stage. I emphasized the word free because sorcetti, consistent with the urban legend, will be undeterred in their gear, regardless of the dangers that threaten their safety. Without our intervention, the tender lemming, affoganti will end up in the mud or water, burned in the lava, burned by fire, splashed to the ground and so on in a pout- Purri of sadism and perversion.

The first two levels of Lemmings. Things are simple at first but gradually levels there will be sweating

To save the unsuspecting sorcetti the player can assign them special abilities (selectable from the bar at the bottom section of the screen) to open a road to the coveted goal. Depending on the skill

selected simply lemming "Walker" is transformed into:

  • Climber: The lemming will climb any wall it encounters.
  • Paratrooper : the lemming fall gently from any great height with a parachute, instead smasched to the ground as would normally happen. A lemming simultaneously climber and jumper is labeled athlete.
  • blocker or trap: the lemming will stop in place preventing any movement in that direction to the other lemmings. Useful to block the road before a hazard.
  • Explosive: The lemming will self-destruct five seconds after digging the ground around him. Before exploding into a distinctive cries like "oh, no!" which gave its name to the first expansion of the game.
  • Manufacturer: lemming will appear on the steps which will build a scale (with an angle of approximately 30 degrees). Usually, the steps are 12 (it stops when it encounters an obstacle) and a sound effect warns the player when they're finished.
  • Punch: The lemming dig horizontally through a wall. If the action is given when the lemming is not in the immediate vicinity of a wall, it will be wasted.
  • Digger: The lemming dig through the ground vertically.
  • Miner : the lemming dig diagonally through the ground.
course, to increase the strategic element of the game, you can not abuse different skills as they are available in limited numbers. As a last "bad luck" of small rodents we mark the time limit within which the level must be completed under penalty of immediate self-destruction.

Other commands allow you to increase and decrease the frequency with which lemmings fall through the trapdoor, to pause the game to reflect a bit 'and trigger the self destruction of ending the suffering of the little creatures (essential to sacrifice lemming blockers that they will never reach the exit).

A level and an arctic hell

Longevity Title is assured by ben120 levels that must be addressed in order to enjoy nice dela final screen, the first few levels are quite simple, preparatory to the use of different abilities, but went on in the game will be more complex to reach the coveted opening. The levels themselves, which occupy a single screen at the beginning, they will have man man forcing a larger slide the screen with a further increase of the difficulty in taking the situation under control, to facilitate such operation in the command bar, as seen from previous figures, there is a handy map with which to select the portion of the visible level. It meets the player a very easy system of password which will resume the adventure from the last level successfully.

Graphically the game is certainly not a miracle but it is very colorful and the animations of the small players are really state of the art. Speaking of graphics I must show you two levels dedicated to as many successes Psygnosis (many of internships are full of quotes, you find out which games are inspired!).

level inspired by Shadow of the Beast

level inspired Menace

Same for the sound, nothing spectacular but full of nice marches that accompany different levels ( London Bridge is Falling Down , rocking a wedding march, a piece of Swan Lake, etc.). The control system is excellent and given to the mouse which proves, as always, perfect for this type of games.

Before leaving with the inevitable movie, which give you an appointment the next article, I leave a couple of goodies:

  • Amiga version of the game, with the ability to connect two mice to the jewel Commodore , allows two friends to challenge mode split-screen.
  • If you want to know all the secrets of this game invite you to check this site (completely in English) edited by one of the programmers of DMA Design ... really interesting.
  • A talented programmer has created a version of Lemmings completely in javascript and then playable with any browser ... click here to get started today to hear the funny animated by endless suicidal rodents.
Unfortunately, because of my ignorance polished, I was not able to contain my video in a single session of play as the DosBox , disrupts the acquisition whenever the video resolution varies. As the title goes from 320x200 to 320x240 screen between the goals and the game itself I found myself compelled to post a video each with six small the solution of its level of play ... force remain only 114 stage to be completed: o)

Levels 1 and 2

Levels 3 and 4


Levels 5 and 6

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Plumbing Pipe Diagrams

passion for

Abstract: http://tbbfanclub.blogspot.com/2011/01/blues-in-teatro-la-prima-impressione.html

The review comes to innovation and research of different sounds, the desire to involve the public a variety of arousing emotions. From my point of view I can say I was proud to be one of the architects of this success. Especially with regard to the "guitar". After
became an integral part of the life of Treves Blues Band, first as founder of the fan club, then as curator of the various sites, blogs, Facebook, Myspace, etc.. Are also able to appreciate me for my talents of "chitarraio. I do not define your own maker, because they are not. If anything, big fan, almost a fetish, a 6-string electric instruments! The guitarist of the Treves Blues Band, Alessandro Gariazzo was immediately trusted me and one day has given me his "No. 1", an incredible Gibson Les Paul Gold Top 1971 (mini humbucking).


say that if I was him I would not have entrusted some of the first that happens, but it was so, and that was how our association began.
is a bit 'when they teach you how to swim jump into the water where you do not touch! I found myself in front of a piece of history. A guitar legend, not because of his name, and for the successes achieved by its owner on stages all over Italy. Tanned to throw away, dirty, worn out beyond belief and "infirmities" due to extreme age and very difficult to solve. I did everything to fulfill the trust placed in me that Alex had. I gathered information, I bought the right tools and did everything possible, even the impossible to meet this great man.
followed suit, the second "job", even more challenging and disturbing: Heritage H-526.

Here now the challenge was launched. More than anything else to myself. And again I was able to accomplish the mission. In practice, the extreme use of instruments and low maintenance always leads to apparently insurmountable problems for those guitarists (very good) that do not have adequate experience put in the hands of their instrument.



Loose Screws, handles no longer adjusted properly, unpacked setup, instruments that do not take the tuning keys, misaligned, so many nice words "flaws" to be resolved without going to damage ' uniqueness and prestige of the guitar.
To complete its range of sounds, for the concert last night, Alex has also brought along my last "patient", a Stratocatser early 1990, that entrusted me because it is no longer used for many years and in need of a "refreshed".


In fact, despite the Fender are my daily bread, this layer was the biggest challenge I had to accept. I soon found out at first sight of something strange: the handle misaligned with respect to the body and of the strange screws used to fasten the same handle (head cut instead of the cross). After disassembling horrified! The screws used were those given the standard plugs that came with "Fisher" that are used to attach the brackets to the walls, the pieces of plastic had been "drowned" with the glue inside the handle probably due to the previous total strip the threads in the same. A relatively rudimentary, made by the previous owner about twenty years ago. The glue used had been "cooked" and the fisher had crumbled with disastrous consequences for the general layout of the poor layer. I also discovered the reason for the span: a misuse of the criminal and the limit of adjustment "Microtilt" in this guitar is equipped with (guys, if you do not know the co'è Microtilt not put any hand, please!)
At the end with so much love, patience, a vertical drill, four cylinders of Canadian maple, glue for violin and sweat of the brow (not so much for the effort but for the fear of failure) have also managed to fix this little girl.
The concert last night was the culmination of all my efforts. I stood on the sidelines auditorium in Nova Milanese, who was sweating watching and listening to those three guitars that sounded heavenly ... ...
a satisfaction that is priceless!

A big thanks to Renato Cifarelli for photos!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I Have A 7 Cm Cyst On My Kidney

Lode Runner (1983)

The history of video games is marked, from time to time, by securities over time risen to the rank of classic titles so popular and appreciated by merit even today, decades after their original publication, remake or new releases in compatible version with modern systems. Among the immortal classics of the '80s today I would have thought to tell you about Lode Runner , title released in 1983 by Brøderbund Software , initially for Apple II, and later carried on most systems available at the time (and not just since the last remake , Xbox 360, is dated 2009). Hoping to welcome you to what I'm going to start ...


Before you rush headlong into the description of the game, say a few words about the genesis of this title, as often happened in those years, it has some interesting aspects.

all started out in the summer of 1982 when Douglas E. Smith, a young architecture student at the University of Washington , to pass the time, decided to develop a game, Kong, taking advantage of the resources provided by the laboratory of university campus. The title originally developed in Fortran a Prime Computer 550 is subsequently ported to VAX systems (with the inclusion of routine Pascal) to allow it to travel on the terminal system of the university network.

Since this blog is also history, here's a nice picture of a "microcomputer" Prime: o)

Given the positive feedback received from colleagues, Doug decided to convert the game for Apple II (the program is completely rewritten in ' assembly of 6502), rename Miner and submit it to a Brøderbund 'eventual publication. Unfortunately the game is completely in black and white and without support for the joystick , is discarded because it was considered unattractive. Doug but not discouraged: bought a color monitor and a joystick and after having introduced some improvements, the end of 1982, is ready to resubmit its title, renamed Lode Runner , Major publisher . This time the Brøderbund sees the potential blockbuster , agreed to distribute the game marking the start of a global success.

A screen in his incarnation of Lode Runner for Apple II

Well, let's move the plot ... Sometime in the future an evil criminal organization, the Empire Bungeling , has stolen a huge load of boxes of gold scattered in the 150 levels of its headquarters. As a special agent will be up to you to infiltrate into the narrow building to recover the stolen goods. To make your company more difficult (and challenging) the robot guards and the intricate structure of the levels that will force you to carefully plan your moves.

Two levels of play

As you can see from the pictures that I have just proposed, the game presents itself as a platform a fixed screen (one level occupies the entire screen without of scrolling) which moved the protaginista (the man is white) and robot guards (white and magenta). The only other elements of the scenario are the platforms on different levels on which we can run around, ladders and ropes that allow us to move vertically and horizontally, and the precious boxes of gold to be recovered in order to gain access to the next level (access via a staircase that will appear as soon as the last treasure recovered ). Unlike robot, which are then disarmed and harmless, except in case of direct contact, the main character is equipped with a laser beam that allows him to chip away at the two blocks adjacent to him the platform (you can pierce the sun sections made of bricks, those "solid" but are indestructible). Forget the guns and then take a sinister robot but get ready for a more scientific only source of our defense. As you can see from the pictures the action of laser creates some real holes in the layer structure: these gaps can be used both to allow the player to access the underlying platform (you can fall from any height and emerge unscathed) and for imprisoned for a few seconds, the guards (in this situation we can happily walk on their grand). The open gaps in the scenario are closed again after a few seconds, putting an end to the suffering of anyone who is imprisoned (including you if you have not had the foresight to draft an appropriate way out). Once you destroy the robot , regenerate in a random location the framework of the game.

Two other levels of play

A classic example of strategic use of laser is illustrated by the level of the castle (right) to recover the funds raised in the two "finestrotti" Central, you'll have to prepare the necessary space to go down to the opening under them, otherwise they will be crushed relentlessly.

Further strategic part of the game is inherent in AI of your opponents: the robot always move to achieve in the first instance, your position vertically and then horizontally to make you (let a game or watch the video at the bottom of the post to realize). Although at first glance may seem like a pattern very stupid (and known in advance!), I assure you that more than once you'll be resigned to narrow the angle achieved by the robotic opponents. With experience, however, you will be able to exploit this characteristic to your advantage, for example, to lure the enemy in a position that suits you best, in fact, the level of the castle we could attract them to one of the two towers and then to imprison them roam freely to recover treasures.

So do not be fooled by the apparent similarity with many platform, Lode Runner is much more and brings a strategic element that will not leave you indifferent ... Technically the title

Brøderbund does a miracle ... in the early '80s, the graphics are CGA and the sound is played by buzzing beeper ... in this case do not be fooled, behind one aspect is not too flattering lies a masterpiece of playability and fun.

Before the inevitable video I want to remember that Lode Runner was one of the first titles to include a chart editor level that allowed thousands of fans to create their own pictures without any programming knowledge ... really bad.

And now the inevitable movie ... the next: o)



PS The game goes a little too fast on DosBox , act appropriately on the parameter cycles to adapt to the title of performance your computer.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Funny Pictionary Question

HEAVY WEIGHT in the final!


We were hoping ... indeed, I do not think to get this far in the competition for rock band "Rock on the Road" Desio! We have included as a replacement for another group that has given package, and the first time we ended up with no move up in the semifinals, then last night we won the semi-finals and we are the first group finalist! Incredible!
I do not know what to say, we're probably too modest and overly critical of ourselves by not realizing that a group at a higher level than the others, will be due to the average age of the group, in which militate characters, some of whom have passed (even abundantly) of the 40 springs ! Much experience of treading stages in Milan, Italian and not only Italians! Many genres and musical styles, from smooth, to blues, pop and various musical fashions 70s - 80s - 90s. A nice "call" now very hard to produce that sound rough, rough, but like Tamarra and apparently what people want to hear!
I do is invite my readers to watch the victory (or defeat) of HEAVY WEIGHT ... One thing is certain: we will go there to have fun, as we have done so far, and if there will be still good, thank all friends who have supported us!
FINAL ON THE ROAD CONTEST "
ROCK ON THE ROAD
Via Mascagni 83 / A
Desio (MB)

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

What Do I Say For A Welcome Address At Church

Janitor Joe (1984)

Today we discuss the first platform game that I had the chance to try in my thirty-year career as a gamer. The game is dated 1984 so do not expect collapse but, given the special affection that binds me to the title, I decided to dedicate my tribute reminiscent of that which gave me hours of fun.


Joe is the lone custoste a NASA space station in orbit around the earth. One fateful day, staff the station's robotic crazy becoming a threat to poor Joe that you see thus forced to give up fighting for his orbiting home unharmed. To achieve salvation the fearless guardian, wearing his space suit, will go through the five sections that make up the space station, taking the key there scattered. To put a spoke in the wheel to the protagonist will think crowds of robot out of control and levels of full scale, platforms (fixed and mobile), elevators, poles, slides and a variety of amenities placed at art. If we add to the limited air supply, which will oblige Joe to complete the level within a maximum time, the complete lack of weaponry, which will cause the player to skip or bypass the robot to avoid the fatal impact and the inability to survive falls from a height is immediately clear that the company is anything but simple! Now I just have to ask yourself one question: "Are you ready to put on the whole space?".

The first two levels Janitor Joe

As you can see from the pictures the game provides a very spartan graphics far from the results obtained by other contemporary titles, however, based on standard CGA (just look at the excellent Alley Cat you that I just mentioned in one of the first post of this blog ). The sound is at its lowest terms, it is only a few sound effects and a fun jingle the title screen ( beeper course). Despite the obvious technical limitations, Janitor Joe is filled with the gameplay (and the difficulty within the limits of frustration) that contrastinguevano games first-generation videogame. In short, despite a title that only five levels you will have a hard enough reason. To give a hand to his longevity are also meeting the five difficulty levels that affect the behavior of the robot mad: as low as they move along predefined pattern, gradually becoming faster, smarter (will move in your direction if you enter in their field of vision) and lethal (with the ability to shoot) man man who adds to the challenge.
not optimal, in my opinion, the control system that provides the touch of a button to stop the stroke of the character (after you select a direction the main character keeps moving until you stop it explicitly) and the inability to stop while climbing a ladder. From these limits in the control system arising most situations that will lead you to rant violently to the programmer: o)

The third and fourth level

Just to its program and the gestation of this game I want to dedicate this last paragraph.

The game was developed in solitary (very common in those days) by a boy of 16 years Atlanta (Georgia ) in just 5 days. Kevin Bales Is the name of the young programmer, decided to publish the game on a BBS of his city, a choice that allowed the game to spread rapidly gaining a large group of admirers (think that, despite the low prevalence of dell'antisegnano Internet in Italian peninsula, the game managed to get on my bold Olivetti M24). Technically, the game was developed in BASIC language (later filled in) ... precisely the limits of this language derive some of the major flaws of this game as the of sprite flickering and approximate control system.

Before leaving the inevitable movie I was sweating the proverbial seven shirts, you raise the challenge that the same programmer offers you the instructions on the screen: "unable to find the secret room?" (If you have the patience to watch the movie to the end will give you a bell'aiuto!).



PS The game works fine with the proper DosBox. Given the limits of the programming language the title is not able to adapt to the speed of modern processors, then set the value cycles (in the file dosbox.conf) to a value close to 300 to avoid splashing good to see Joe at supersonic speed (alternatively press Ctrl + F11 to change this value at runtime ). Have fun ...

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

What Does A Vet Charge To Remove A Cyst

I came back into the tunnel ... in 1:48 scale!


is the 1:48 scale models of static from my favorites strictly replicas of vintage aircraft of World War II. 18 years ago is finally stopped to build models of this type, taken from various other interests that I took away a lot of time and attention. Only now I realized he had the opportunity to "trap" This hobby of personal commitments, work, and other hobbies.
After so many years I have not lost "enamel" (it's appropriate to say so unfortunately ...), if the view is down quite a bit, so even the smallest details in making precision, on the other hand, however, has exacerbated the patience that the model is always a good tool to get good results.
A big help to start with this old passion was the gift that I was done at Christmas: a high quality and their airbrush compressor. In times gone by, I learned to use the airbrush and know all the tricks of the trade, I have not forgotten and I have further work, thanks to most wisely acquired after many years (in a series about gun does a bang, be very careful because we do not want anything to get it off!)
coatings, precision tools had been placed carefully in the cellar and after a careful archaeological excavation are were brought to light in almost perfect condition. We must admit that Tamiya acrylics makes them very well! After almost 20 years are still vivid pigments and paints all still perfectly usable (except for a few minor exceptions, of course). In addition to paints, brushes, clippers (including a fantastic cut-mounts and smears of the Trumpeter, I'm very proud. Not so much for the tool itself, but for the fact that rather impossible to find today), tweezers of various sizes, the micro-tip (0.3 mm to 0.9 mm !!!), the cutter precision, and so on. In a few short days
in the laboratory of the model has been rehabilitated and made operational. Lacked only the raw material to build the model. So I started looking for a kit. I must say that now in Milan models that sell this kind of items can be counted on fingers and most are not even so well supplied. By chance I found myself passing the shop CLESS models (which someone had given me to close) that included 80 years in my memory as the most equipped and experienced in the field with a formidable display of models and dioramas on display made by the previous owner. Unfortunately it is not so. The current operator has had to bend to the demands of the market, selling reproductions of weapons and models already assembled and painted. Very little with regard to the kit. From what little I could find I missed the eye suffered a Focke Wulf FW190 A-8 of Hasegawa, the legendary bird of prey livery with black painted on the side. I immediately thought that my wall is full of RAF aircraft in urgent need of a "party" represented by the legendary fighter of the Luftwaffe, so I bought realizing with pleasure that the price was also quite affordable.





From the photos that I enclose you can see the various stages of assembly and painting of the aircraft, which ultimately succeeded quite well. I also created a diorama made from a plate of plywood bought by Brico for 3 € (to the face of the bases for dioramas that I found on the Internet at prices impossible). Below you can see pictures of the assembly and painting of a Junkers JU-87 "Stuka" of Italeri I recently purchased in Florence and I almost finished, with good results (of course, are never totally satisfied, because I do some mistake always). The next works will be aircraft manufacturing Italian, as Reggiane and Macchi-Castoldi.






The static model, as we see now is a kind of pause of meditation, which allows me to isolate myself from my trouble and personal stress. It is a great way to relax and spend a quiet evening with themselves without computers, telephones ringing or Facebook. I think I do very well and recommend it highly to those seeking a little oasis of serenity in this chaos in which we live.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Brother Memorial At Wedding

Pharaon's Tomb (1990)

If like me you are fascinated by the mysteries of ancient Egypt, if you see at least once every year Stargate, The Mummy and The Ten Commandments (the original of 1932, I recommend) and if you dreamed of as children explore the tombs of pharaohs in search of treasure buried for centuries, this is the game for you ...


In 1990 a young programmer, George Broussard holder Micro F / X Software , go and knock on the door of the newly Apogee Software seeking a distributor for its Pharaon's Tomb. Among Scott Miller (founder of Apogee ) and Broussard understanding is immediate, and this first collaboration marks the beginning of a fruitful relationship, then will monitor our one of the most famous of PC gaming landscape. I'm obviously talking about Duke Nukem , foul-mouthed hero, and wiry in more than one occasion it was spent for the salvation of the earth and mankind. After this brief digression, to frame the appropriate size of the character and the period of the heat of platform PC / MS-DOS to talk about the title subject of this review ...
In the game we will have to play as Nevada Smith, a brilliant young assistant professor, whose achievements as an explorer and treasure hunter has always been "stolen" by the teacher sat by him. Tired of this life with no awards, Nevada decides to take possession of one of the old maps recovered from him, kept in the office of professor, and set off in search of treasures hidden in the depths of the pyramid of Pharaoh. What I'm told is the short preamble which introduces the first episode of the quartet of Pharaon's Tomb : Raiders of the Lost Tomb (Raiders of the Lost Tomb, heading vaguely inspired by the first Indiana Jones Adventure !). Consistent with the distribution strategy Apogee (the famous Apogee Model) This episode was released for free with the option to purchase, mail order, the remaining three (along with the printed manual). The game begins with

Nevada at the foot of the pyramid of Pharaoh ready to enter into his meanderings in search of fabulous treasures. Of course, his epic undertaking will be disturbed by the countless number of guards and artfully placed traps to deter violators ... It's your job to be free to cross winds layers that make up the game until the final reward accumulating wealth, which is located in the den of the sarcophagus.

Nevada began its descent into the depths of the tomb of Pharaoh

Pharaon's Tomb looks like a classic plaftorm old-school , nien scrolling but the levels at fixed screen in which we are to recover the golden key that will grant us access to the following framework (accessible through the door of equal color). To make the crossing, enemies look menacing, deadly devices (sharp points, which slots are lethal projectiles fired, rhythmic spikes that hang from the ceiling, self-propelled platforms, etc.) and any accessory keys (red) needed to reach that golden. Your only weapon of defense weapon that can hurl their javelins against the enemy to halt their advance. The number of spears is not infinite (it can carry a maximum of five) and will recover over the levels in the same way treasures ... then use them sparingly (monsters can easily be skipped most of the time). Realistically, the game does not allow the javelin throw when you are close to the target, paying particular attention to this and then procuring a duel.

The second and third levels of the first episode

As you read and noticed from the pictures, the game is strongly inspired by the classic Brothers Partner, Montezuma's Revenge (1984), of which I propose to you a snapshot .

Montezuma's Revenge in its incarnation for the PC / MS-DOS

Comparing the two images the first thing that catches the eye is the similarity of the graphics in both games, is based on four colors made available by the standard CGA. Methinks I see your face startled intent to wonder: "How is that possible? In 1990 when the VGA was now the mistress of a CGA game?". The question is more than legitimate, and program's response to "justify" such a choice was to ensure the gameplay even on systems not quite in step with the times. My personal opinion is, however, that this title is meant to be first and foremost a tribute by Broussard games that had made him dream (even then there was the phenomenon of retrogaming !!!!). In any case, do not be fooled by the limits graphics and sound (a few croaking products from beeper inside) because Pharaon's Tomb brings with it all the elements that so much we had enjoyed in the titles of the generation sessantaquatrista, from the unique gameplay that requires us to play and replay up to end of the game.


Two levels particolarmenti articulated

The only comment that I would move to the title is that you can get stuck inside the layer in case of error. For example, at the beginning of level three (of which there is a faint image above) mistakenly jump start we will unable to retrieve the key and then have to start the game, returning to the title screen. In contrast to the top of each picture is provided by pressing the S key, the ability to save your progress each time to avoid being forced to start over.

Longevity Title is not greatest, the twenty levels of the first episode ends pretty quickly (although not simple especially the more advanced) but if we consider that there are three other episodes (all released as freeware and freely downloadable from the site of Apogee/3DRealms ), we arrive at a total of 80 levels that are more than enough to ensure a lasting experience.

Finally a few words on the control system selectable joystick and keyboard. If you choose to rely on the latter: the arrow keys to move your character, Spacebar to jump and the F key to hurl the javelin.

Before leaving the inevitable video of me juggling with mixed success on some levels, I propose a couple of interesting facts on the title:

  • Like the protagonist of Montezuma's Revenge , Jo Panama and the Nevada Smith name is inspired by the treasure hunter par excellence, the Indiana Jones Spilberga (Nevada, Panama and North American Indian)
  • the title screen, the programmer has misspelled his name: George Broussad (missing an r)




PS I forgot one important thing, the ' game engine (FAST, Fluid Animation Software Technology ) to facilitate the "work" less advanced processors, the objects considered equal to the width of the rectangle that contains them (the bounding-box ). Therefore it is with this that you will have to face when you get close to various amenities (eg to overcome them with a jump). This technique allows to simplify the management of collisions but makes some gameplay less clear.