The 80's Doctor Who games Part 1
1983 - 1984
| Year: March 1983 (Cover date) Price: 75p (cover price) Machine: Atari 400/800 |
Story: You are stranded in a pyramid on Strardos IV. You as the Doctor must kill the Master and retrieve the time drive for your Tardis. If you don't the Master will destroy you and the planet.
Background: The first Doctor Who game came in the form of a programme which you had to manually type into your computer. The article was printed in Computer and Video Games magazine and featured the Doctor prominately on the front cover. It was published a few months before The First Adventure hit the shops.
Game play: A simple game involving the Doctor, the Master and a Pryamid. The Doctor has to actually kill the Master to win. From the outset Doctor Who and computer games would differ on one aspect of the Doctor's character. This would continue through all his pixel incarnations.
The title page gives a taste of how the game looks. The basic element is everything in the game is deadly.
| Doctor Who - The Fist Adventure
|
Story: The game is divided into four episodes, each bearing a different scenerio and set up.
Episode 1 - The Labyrinth Of Death - The Labyrinth is a maze of underground tunnels in which you must find the three segments of the Key to Time. The only problem is that the Labyrinth is also inhabited by poisonous worms whose odor is deadly if you get too close to them. You travel around the tunnels in an old mining buggy.
Episode 2 - The Prison - The Doctor must carry explosives across three defenses (a highway, a moat and a forecourt) to blow up the wall of the prison where his companion is being held.
Episode 3 - The Pterodactyls (spelt Terrordactyls in the booklet) - The Doctor must use a spaceship to fly through swarms of Pterodactyls to reach the TARDIS. You can fire missiles at the Pterodactyls
Episode 4 - The Box of Tantalus, the Doctor must detect and destroy four patrols of invisible aliens in a 3x3x3 grid of space. Using grid square coordinates (X,Y,Z) He must detect them by bounce laser beams off them, then use rockets to destroy them.
Game Play: Four simple and addictive games given a Doctor Who story twist and released for fans to enjoy. The games themselves are cleverly disguised versions of arcade games which had been out for along time. Episode 1 is lightly based on the Pac-man principle of wandering around a maze avoiding enemies and collecting items. Episode 2 is a Frogger variation, crossing from one side of the screen to the other. Episode 3 is Space Invaders and episode 4 uses the Battleships idea of locating and destroying your opponent using grid co-ordinates.
The books description of the first game does not inspire confidence - "The Labyrinth of Death - The buggy is signified by four dots arranged in a diamond shape. The "phut -phut" noise of its engine can be heard whenever it is moving. The segments of the Key to Time are represented by flashing crosses. The four worms are represented by wriggling white lines."
While the game play and story had impoved, it would take a while before the graphics moved on !
The keys are (for emulator users -
Z - left
X - right
@’ key - up
?/ key - down
Return - fire
Background notes: The game features the fifth Doctor (well in name anyway, you can’t tell a thing from the graphics). The manual is very wordy and is quiet complex for four fairly basic games. The game has a good story line, it’s just let down by its graphics and game play. Reviewers also noticed these points and so were less then kind when reviewing it.
The plot pits you against the Evil Black Guardian. The games release in 1983 was just around the time that the Black Guardian was reintroduced into the TV series in "Mawdryn Undead". The game also uses elements from his earlier appearance in the Key to Time season (indeed Graham Williams producer of that season is given a credit in the manual).
The front cover features an illustration of Peter Davidson as the fifth Doctor, drawn by Martin Brownfield. Considering that Peter is not the easiest person to draw, the cover comes over very effectively (accept his coat appears to be pink)
Publicity: The Radio Times released a 20th anniversary special magazine with features on the (then) 20 years of Doctor Who. One of the features was on the merchandise, and after only just being released the game gained a whole page feature.
The game was even advertised after episodes of Doctor Who on TV.
|
Cybermen
Year: 1983 Author: J. Morrison (Micros) Price: Unknown Machine: Commodore 64 (cassette) |
Story:(From the cover) Our hero, though weary from his battle with the "meanies", now prepares to remove the platinum ingots from the Cosmic space station which is inhabited by the Cybermen. Programmed to destroy all intruders their duty is to protect the precious metal.
Gameplay: You control a man in a hat who is chased around various rooms by Cybermen (green and orange robots with white faces) trying to collect the precious metals. Also to terrify you is the Overseer (the little dark UFO) which can fly through walls and is indestructible. Plus bumping into the walls isn't good for your health either.
Background notes: Is this a Doctor Who game ? Well from the title and the illustration on the front cover it could almost be. However, the in-game graphics are so undetailed it's hard to tell. Apparantly it follows on from J. Morrison's other game BONKA (!) which follows the hatted man's adventures to stop bugs by climbing ladders and breaking holes to trap the bugs.
Doctor Who
Year: August/September 1984
Author: Ranjan Bhattacnarya
Price: 95p
Machine: BBC B
Story: (From the magazine) Stranded on the planet of the Daleks, Doctor Who is trying to reach the Tardis before his oxygen runs out. However, the Tardis is out of order and keeps jumping about the screen. Can the Doctor reach the reach and avoid the Daleks.
Notes: Another magazine program you could have a go at typing in yourself. The article features an illustration of the Fourth Doctor avoiding three Daleks while heading for the Tardis. Not much more I can tell you about this game until I manage to type up the code.
On to Part 2 of the 1980's games
Back to the introduction
Back to the the list