¢SOFTWARE SCENE - Jan/Feb 1993¢by S.J.Murray, NOSAUG.¢¢¢Hypnotic Land - Lindasoft¢ROM - ✓12.95 (from Page 6)¢¢ The Atari 8-Bit now has two versions of Klax. First, there was Glaggs It! and now there is... HYPNOTIC LAND from Italian software company, Lindasoft.¢¢ The first thing you notice after opening the packaging is the obscure shape of the Hypnotic Land cartridge. It is shaped like a tiny gravestone with a little tree stuck on the front. There is no box supplied - the cartridge is placed within a horrible transparent plastic pouch with a small piece of paper enclosed as the front cover. The graphics on the paper are well drawn (I like the lady-bug within the Lindasoft logo!). Instructions for Hypnotic Land are limited to one paragraph written on the paper cover.¢¢ As soon as Hypnotic Land is booted you are hit with a 'bouncy' tune and what can only be described as one of the worst title screens I've seen on a commercially released program. It really is awful! A single-colour background with Graphics 2 text. I know that title screens have nothing to do with gameplay but they do give a first impression of what is to follow.¢¢ A quick press of the joystick button and your away. You find yourself looking up a coloured ramp with mountains on both sides and four tubes at the bottom - one of which has a coloured cup. A cursor can be seen in the centre of the screen. By using the joystick you can move the cursor all over the screen.¢¢ You can place direction arrows on three red lines of the ramp. To do this you move the cursor over a red square and press the joystick button - an arrow pointing right appears. Press the button again and the arrow will point left. Press it again and it disappears. Only one arrow is allowed on each of the three lines.¢¢ As coloured balls move down the ramp you must direct them into their corresponding coloured cup. You must also stop balls falling into the wrong cup. To accomplish this takes a bit of practice.¢¢ Two display panels at the bottom of the screen show the current level as well as the amount of errors occured and the amount of shots remaining. On the fifth error the game is terminated.¢¢ Once I'd figured out how to switch off the music (press Option) I began to work my way through the levels. The system of arrow right, arrow left seemed strange at first but I soon got used to it. You can move balls from one side of the ramp to the other by directing them off the ramp. If you feel like a break from the action you can pause the game by pressing Select. Press Select again to resume.¢¢ On later levels a mutuant Octopus attempts to steal the occasional coloured ball and a Spaceship drops arrows from a far height. The Octopus is easy enough to deal with but the Spaceship can quite often catch you out when it drops an arrow on the bottom line - beware! To shoot the Octopus you must move the cursor over it whilst pressing the joystick button.¢¢ The system for advancing levels involves a line of energy across the top of the screen. As you drop the coloured balls into their cups this line moves from left to right. When it reaches the right-hand side of the screen you progress to the next level. The special shining balls give you double energy. On level 1 a correctly deposited ball gains you five energy marks. This decreases as the levels increase - you only get one energy mark for each ball from level 7 onwards. A lot of work is required to reach the right-hand side on advanced levels.¢¢ I found Hypnotic Land to be a good implementation of Klax on the 8-Bit Atari. The music becomes annoying after a while but at least you can switch it off. However, a high-pitched tone sounds at the start of the next level and you must switch the music back on and then off again to return to music-free action. Another minor gripe involves the 'shots' display. It doesn't count down with your shots. You can get anything from 1-4 shots before one is subtracted from the total. Also, the blue balls are sometimes difficult to see at the top of the ramp. Before you know it they are halfway down the ramp.¢¢ On the positive side, the actual gameplay is very addictive. You are introduced to the action stage by stage with the Octopus appearing on level 2 and the Spaceship on level 4. You don't have to cope with three cups until level 5. This gradual increase in difficulty is perfectly implemented and allows you to enjoy the game right from the first shot. The Spaceship adds real spice on advanced levels.¢¢ Hypnotic Land is a good example of an 8-Bit game - great fun, simple to learn and challenging on advanced levels. The price of ✓12.95 is about right considering this is a brand new cartridge. A wolf in sheeps clothing!¢¢FUTURA RATING:¢¢Graphics 76%¢Sound 31%¢Gameplay 83%¢Value For Money 74%¢¢Hypnotic Land is available from: Page 6, P.O.Box 54, Stafford ST16 1DR, England.¢
