Wizball

We are a... green thing!

We're finally approaching the end of my Super Pack adventure and Wizball is one of those magical games I only have to hear and all my Christmas morning memories come flooding back. There's something wonderful and eerie about the audio, be it the cool theme tune or that trippy in-game background "music".

Well, perhaps I played Wizball quite a lot that morning? But you wouldn't guess that if you saw me playing it now!! Nonetheless, it still has a special place in my rapidly-thumping ST heart. Our version was handled by the great Peter Johnson, of Arkanoid fame and I'm confident he did a brilliant job, once again.

Check out these screenshots with its initially confusing dashboard...

My first attempt didn't go well. A weird power-up was collected...

...but then a *red* wiggly worm appears and kills me!

Here we go...

Wizworld was once a colourful place until the evil Zark turned everything grey and rather drab. We play as Wiz and are... well... a ball thingy who must attempt to add a splash of Technicolor back into his bleak world. We do that by collecting power-ups to aid us in shooting Zark's space monsters who will then drop bubbles of red, green or blue. Using these primary colours, we can recolour this drab world to its former glory. Well, in theory!

Wizball is a horizontally scrolling "shoot 'em up" which supports both single and multiplayer - believe it or not. Solo gamers get to be Wiz, with the additional help of Cat thanks to using power-ups. Those with friends can choose their preferred character from the start and even compete in coop - which is pretty cool.

Sadly, I have no friends so must go it alone but here are some screenshots to cheer us up...

Okay, let's restart and try again... Just what are those weird alien things?

Who cares? Erm, just shoot 'em!!

Need help?

Wiz gets around by bouncing across a rather drab-looking landscape. The fire button shoots a weapon and tapping left/right controls direction and speed. This is difficult at first but the controls are light and responsive. However, you won't get far without shooting the aliens that look like something from a chemistry lab.

Once dead, they turn green and are safe to collect for a range of different effects:

• The first comes in two parts helping to give far better control and then preventing gravity from taking its affect. Therefore we stop bouncing! Yes, I like this power-up a lot!!
• The next gives a much-needed boost to our weaponry and in both directions too don't forget.
• Feeling alone? Collect three and you'll be rewarded with a new Cat to help you out.
• Superpowers are awarded for four power-ups!
• Five green blobs enable vertical shooting...
• Smart bomb... I don't think I get so far into the game to need this!
• Finally, seven green blobs gives you a shield. Umm yeah!

Power-ups are key to success so take your time! Why not view a couple more screenshots...

The power-ups disable gravity and also do lots more...

...but then a load of eyeballs turn up to kill you. Great!

Practice makes...

The power-ups are necessary, so waggle the joystick when something takes your fancy. For me, I stop him from bouncing first and foremost. It's then that I make the decision to either make use of the friendly Cat or go for shields/better firepower. The choice is yours but nobody should ignore the option to defy gravity...

Some aliens drop various colours, either for special treats or to recolour your world. They come in a wide and funky variety but are usually tough to kill. Thankfully, this world is pretty big and there are escape tunnels to traverse into different areas. However, I feel these aliens are often too hard to kill so I rarely reached the bonus stages or used the Wiz Lab for permanent power-ups. Which I'm gutted about as you can imagine!!

I hear older disks are bugged and prevent completion. Ahem, I was never able to test that theory but I'm interested to know if this is true. For now, I'll blame my creaky old joystick!

Don't run away and hide like a baby, play it! Hey, here are some more screenshots...

His world might be as colourful as ST High Res...

...but at least the aliens are rather jazzy and very colourful!

Graphics

Wizball is a corker and a great looker for the 80s. I adored it from the first moment I saw the title screen which begins to reveal its colours using several funky methods. Sprites are well-drawn and little Wiz is cute and funny - especially when he opens up in the Wiz Lab. Yeah, it's silly but I really like little touches like that!!

A game like this needs to scroll and wimping out by saying that the ST cannot scroll would have been totally unacceptable (a bad workman and all that). Thankfully, Peter Johnson never wimped out and everything moves fast and smoothly! Which is a relief because the action needed to feel agile and spritely.

A lot of dedication went into making this game visually impressive. Wanna see more proof...

Trivia question: what beautiful megademo has Wiz appeared in? Too easy, right...

Sounds

The audio is both great and bizarre. Don't get me wrong, the theme tune is incredible, something I've loved throughout the decades (have a listen below). Also, the sound effects work well but that strange background "tune" adds a spark of brilliance to the atmosphere. Yep, a lot of effort went into making this game.

Don't believe me? Been too many years, has it? Well, click on this below and listen...

What do you reckon? Funky tune, right? Let me know in the comments below.

The CryptO'pinion?

Wizball is a lot harder than the 8-bit original and ultra-fast reactions are needed. I feel the firing of our weapon should be quicker and more like a Jeff Minter game? Okay, maybe that was a bad example but it's too lethargic. Also, in one-player mode, controlling Cat is awkward and not what you need when aliens are invading.

Having said all that, I really enjoy Wizball. I genuinely wish there were more hours in my day to play it and (maybe) beat this infuriating shooter. I'm going to be returning to it again because I need to know how it looks in colour!! Don't be quick to judge, it's surprisingly entertaining and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

Don't be a sissy - download for either floppy or hard disk and help Wiz restore his world!