¢SOFTWARE SCENE¢¢¢TUBE BADDIES¢Publisher: Richard Gore¢Supplier: Richard Gore,¢ 79 Sprotbrough Road,¢ Sprotbrough,¢ Doncaster DN5 8BW.¢Price: 4.95 pounds¢¢Reviewed by Kevin Cooke.¢¢¢ I am told that this game was originally intended for released by Atari but was shelved when they gave up 8-bit support (about a day after the first 8-bit was released?!!). Luckily, Atari's copyright finally expired and the game was handed back to the authors and, in turn, has now been released by Richard Gore.¢¢ The amusing story concerns the Tubular Underworld and the fact that it is soon to be inspected by the "Big Inspector". Unfortunately, the tubes have been invaded by a number of Tube Baddies who have damaged the pipework. It is the player's job as Bip (and Bop in a two player game) to eject the baddies from the system.¢¢ The game kicks off with a very colourful title screen sporting large letters and a smooth scrolling message at the bottom of the screen. A press of the fire button brings the main game screen into view. Here, the graphics are of an equally high standard with excellent use being made of the available colours. At the bottom of the screen, in the middle of eight pieces of pipe is a large and well defined bucket called Barney. Barney features moving eyes and really gives a cartoon feel to the game. On the main play area are long stretches of pipe containing varying number of holes. By moving your character over these holes and pressing the fire button, a cartoon-style plaster is placed over it, preventing more baddies from coming out of the pipework and onto the main game screen.¢¢ To get rid of the baddies, the player must shoot them into either the pipes at the bottom of the screen or into Barney the Bucket. Needless to say, extra points are gained if the baddies are shot into Barney. Various obstacles and handy bonuses appear as the game progresses onto higher levels.¢¢ At this point I must mention the "in-between level" screen which is of excellent design and shows both your character and the tube baddies moving across the screen in cartoon-style cars. Very amusing!¢¢ Overall, Tube Baddies is an excellent game. The graphics are impressive in the cartoon style whilst the music is also very lively. The added option of a simultaneous two-player mode and the increasing difficulty level gives a real incentive to have "just another go"! At this price it's got to be the bargain of the year!¢
