Venus The Flytrap

Gremlin's 30+ year-old prediction!

Planet Earth is dying because mankind breeds like bacteria and rapes its natural resources to serve our gluttony. Well, some rubbish like that... But, for this game, the over-use of pesticides has finally killed off all the bugs and left Mother Nature unbalanced but we have created cybernetic bugs to compensate for our stupidity. Of course, it wasn't long before they went postal so we must eliminate them all before it's too late!

This is a run-and-kill 'em platformer spread over fifty levels ranging from the green forests to Death Valley. You're a mechanical bug with a cannon to fight off the foes - that can be upgraded using the power-ups left behind by the crazy insects. These consist of a wide range of improvements like better firepower, silly reversible controls, and even antigrav upside-down walking being possible - which serves to give me brain ache! Bonus rounds appear each way through a level and flip the game into an exciting shoot 'em up for extra points.

Controls are bang-on perfect with a style that is clean & responsive. The graphics are darn beautiful with smooth scrolling and nicely animated sprites plus it's worth noting all those many extra colours which spruce up what would normally have been a boring background. The music is perfect, something I can listen to all day.

Venus The Flytrap is extremely enjoyable and highly recommended. A great game!

• I also recorded a midi version of the game's excellent theme tune.
• An awesome remastered tune by ACC:Xess which completely blows you away!
• Okay, here is a hard drive installable copy of Venus by the mighty D-Bug to download.
• Those who require a floppy disk image should check out Old Games Finder.
• Fancy some level codes? Of course, you do! Simply press the SPACEBAR on the menu screen and then ignore using that handy keyboard because they decided that the joystick would be far better for entering these codes:

     -> The Forbidden Forest...starting level
     -> The Frozen Wastes......MANTIDS
     -> The Dead City..........CICADAS
     -> Wood World.............PSYLLIDS
     -> The Kaverns............PIERIDS
     -> Death Valley...........SATYRID
     -> The Creeping Swamp.....LYCAENID
     -> Tech World.............PYRALID
     -> Translucent Plain......NOCTUID

     -> The Stygian Creek......?

• I believe these cheat codes work fine, however, I have never tried them so YMMV... enjoy:

     -> extra time.............JUPITER
     -> extra ammo.............PLUTO
     -> weapons galore.........MARS
     -> fly like superman......MERCURY

     -> unknown................SATURN

Elvira - Mistress of the Dark

Greatest box art ever?

"Can somebody help me find my chest?". Yes, I was hooked from the moment I saw this cover and then read that line! This game has the best box art I have ever seen!! I have nothing more to add to this fine subject matter. I don't wish to get into trouble. Try not to stare at it for too long. Fantastic box artwork, right.

A hard disk version is available from D-Bug. (highly recommended)

Old Games Finder has floppy images for those who enjoy disk-swapping.

A little surfing revealed this walk-through.

(untested by me... but now I am tempted to test that)

Car-Vup

Paint by Wheels

CarVup is a scrolling driving/platformer released in 1990 by Core Designs. We play the part of a cheerful car that appears to love painting the road by simply driving. Yes, it's a fairly familiar idea, but one that will certainly appeal to the more mature gamer (just like me!) who remembers Painter. #AncientGamer

Each screen has many platforms in need of a new coat of paint, and this easy task soon becomes tricky because of the numerous baddies that populate the playing field. Don't think about shooting your way through because there are no weapons (without collecting optional power-ups), so baddies must be avoided.

This will be troublesome as your car has no brakes and loves driving constantly in a kamikaze fashion! So these unreal mechanics force you to constantly flip direction to find an alternative route whilst frantically searching for that last tile that needs a dollop of paint. It's fun, it's frantic, it's pointless - it's Painter!

So, it's time for the first screenshot, which contains a bunch of handy information...

Follow the instructions and learn the different jumps; otherwise, it's Game Over, buddy boy.

Input & Output

This is a game that would sink like a lead balloon if it had anything less than perfect controls. So I'm grateful they are indeed responsive and well thought out. Many platforms are difficult to reach, so precise timing is required, which becomes even more challenging when the enemy is blocking your path. CarVup always requires quick reactions to avoid losing a life because you never know what might appear.

Each level looks superb with lots of colours and a cartoony design. Personally, I think Core did a great job throughout with this appearance, and its smooth scrolling and cute sprites. The sound effects are nice and do their expected job well, but it's the chiptunes, which are all foot-tappingly superb. (key 'M' to toggle).

It's time for another screenshot, and this one is from the game, you will be happy to know...

Always be on the lookout for dangerous items, strange obstacles, or even dodgy enemies!

The CryptO'pinion?

CarVup may not appeal to everyone, especially those old enough to remember how boring Painter was! However, I think they've taken that old format and jazzed it up nicely. As an ancient gamer, I found myself enjoying its "just one more go" appeal. And that's about it, a fun spin on Painter. I really enjoyed playing CarVup!

Floppy disks are available at Atari Legend with a hard disk by 8BitChip.

The One magazine released a demo containing levels NOT in the commercial release!

Note: If you press the 'Z' key during gameplay, it stops the car!

Enter these codes into the high-score table :

infinite lives - R.J.TOONE

infinite bumpers - BUMPER

9 lives - PUSSYCAT

faster turn speed - WOOAARRGGHH

level skip - WHOOPSIE

extra points - ARNIECAR

more points - BARMY CAR