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This must he the first game to be based around the music
of a film. Apparently the rights to the actual Blade
Runner film are so complex that the only way CRL
could get the name of the film on their package was
to licence the Vangelis soundtrack! So now you know.
The
game is set in the not-too-distant future -- twenty
four replidroids, genetically produced human robots,
have landed an Earth and are trying to destroy their
creator and so end the slavery imposed upon them.
You
take the role of a Blade Runner -- a person employed
by the police force to track down and kill any replidroids
which land on Earth. There are six types of replidroids;
a replidroid one is slow and pretty stupid and a replidmid
six is superior to a human in its physical abilities
and just as intelligent.
The
replicants have reached your city and you've been assigned
to kill them before they kill their maker. You start
the game in a skimmer -- a flying police car that allows
you to travel through the city at high speed. In the
skimmer the screen shows three displays, which all have
to he used whilst playing the game. The main display
is a short-range detailed radar map of the local area,
allowing you to navigate the maze of streets. It also
shows if there are any replidroids in the locality.
A second, smaller screen is another radar map, although
this one shows the whole city and your position in relation
to the replidroids'. The final screen is a text readout
giving information on the number and type of replidroids
within the locality.
[This screenshot was not in the original review]
On
the main screen your skimmer is represented as a cursor
that can be moved about the streets. If you locate a
replidroid, then move your skimmer over it and press
fire. You automatically land and are put into chase
mode.
The
screen switches to an Entombed-type display of
a crowded street. The skimmer lands, you get out and
the chase begins. You have to run after the replidroid
and shoot it. Not an easy task since the streets are
packed with people who must be dodged; if you bump into
one then your game ends. You can run along the road
if it's clear, but oncoming vehicles do pose a problem.
[This screenshot was not in the original review]
At
the bottom of the screen lies a scanner showing how
far ahead the replidroid is and whether any vehicles
are approaching. If you let the replidroid outrun you
it disappears off the scanner and your skimmer drops
down, picks you up and the game switches back to skimmer
mode.
When
you land you're given a bounty based upon the replidroid
you're trying to catch --1,000 for a replidroid one
through to 6,000 for a six. Also, as you chase your
quarry, a second bounty ticks down until you catch it.
When you do, the bounty remaining is turned into points.
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