A
VIEW TO A KILL
Domark,
£10.99 cass,
joystick
or keys
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James
Bond hardly needs any introduction; the only surprising
thing is that this should be the first game to be based
on Ian Fleming's superhero. A View to a Kill is
a three-part aardvark based on the three main action
sequences from the film of the same name.
The
plot of both film and game is quite straightforward,
involving Bond in battle with a super-baddy who has
delusions of grandeur and seeks world domination. This
time, the evil one is called Max Zorin and plans to
blow up Silicon Valley with a thermonuclear device,
so that he can corner the silicon chip market and put
every other computer company out of business.
The
last two games require a code which is given on the
completion of the prior task. As the code also controls
information about your performance in the game just
completed, the best way to improve your performance
is to play each game until you have done really well,
before moving on to the next section.
View
to a Kill offers either the famous James Bond theme
music or a version of Duran Duran's single. The music
was programmed by Tony Crowther for an undisclosed but
enormous sum of money somewhere over the 10K mark. More
sound effects are provided in the form of speech, phrases
such as 'My name is James Bond' and 'Dammit'.
The
third game: Dear old Rog looks younger
and thinner every year as he dashes around
on his Possible Mission.
In
play the objects, which help make up the adventure element,
are selected or dropped by scrolling them past a pointer
in the window. When an object is selected, it may be
used according to the instructions displayed in the
lower part of the window, which allows for selection
of commands like SEARCH, DROP, USE or GIVE.
Part
One of the game is set in Paris. Bond has been briefed
by 'M' and is having lunch with a fellow agent, when
suddenly his colleague is killed by the ruthless assassin,
May Day. Bond chases her to the top of the Eiffel Tower
and watches in amazement as she leaps off the top (narrowly
avoiding some idiot pop singer who gets in her way),
and parachutes to safety. Commandeering a taxi at the
foot of the tower, Bond attempts to guide it through
the streets of Paris to the spot where May Day will
land.
Using
the controls, you have to guide the taxi to May Day's
dropzone. The main screen provides a 3D view of the
road ahead, while the lower part displays a map of the
immediate area. You have a radio tracker, which gives
an indication of May Day's position. During round the
Paris streets you encounter many hazards, and driving
the wrong way down one-way streets will have the police
on your tail, setting up road blocks or maybe taking
a few pot shots. And watch out for the manic Parisian
drivers -- too many collisions and your car will stop
working.
It
should be almost anywhere, but this is elegant Paris
as you chase the villainess Rally X-style through
the
streets of the city. These street graphics make Paris
look more like Wapping High Street.
San
Francisco provides the setting for Section Two, the
City Hall to be exact. Bond and his girl, Stacey, have
found Max but he has turned the tables on them by trapping
them in the lift and, because he's a nice sort of guy,
setting fire to it. Bond has escaped from the lift,
but now you must guide him. He must rescue Stacey and
escape from the burning building.
As
before, you must collect objects to help you with the
task in hand. The fire is now taking hold and time is
of the essence. Your progress and that of the fire is
shown on a front elevation of City Hall displayed at
the base of the screen. A thermometer on the right of
the screen lets you know when things are getting too
hot.
To
complete the final section of the trilogy, set in a
mine, Bond must enlist May Day to help him get to the
nuclear device by convincing her of the error of her
ways (he's always doing this of course). The geiger
counter (which you might have had the foresight to collect
on the previous game although it seemed useless at the
time) shown at the top right of the screen will help
you locate the bomb, and while there's a great deal
of jumping to do, you must again be on the look out
for useful objects.
The
mine is a huge maze but you can examine the area immediately
around Bond and so avoid jumping off a level into oblivion.
When the bomb is located, it's advisable to get it defused
as fast as possible so that you can make it off with
May Day into the sunset.
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