MegaZeux and ZZT Game Reviews-June 1996 By Luke Drelick of Duky Inc. E-Mail me at duky@worldnet.att.net Notes- If you want to send me your game, E-mail me at duky@worldnet.att.net. I LOVE receiving games for ZZT and MegaZeux. If you don't want me to review your game, tell me when you right the message. Also, E-mail me with your Internet address, and I'll put you on my mailing list. If you have a game you're creating, tell me, and I'll add it to the Upcoming Titles list. I give my honest opinion to all the games I review, so don't get all upset and threaten me with death if I think your game sucks. This magazine is just used to help you decide which games to download, help you find secrets to your games etc... I NEVER compare a ZZT game's graphics and music to a MZX game! I compare all ZZT games to each other, and the ones with the best graphics get the higher graphics. If a MegaZeux game gets a lower score for graphics than a ZZT game, it doesn't mean that the ZZT game's graphic quality is any better. Scale- 10-Classic! 9-Excellent 8-High-Quality 7-Very Good 6-Alright 5-Average 4-Poor Quality 3-Bad 2-Terrible! 1-DON'T PLAY THIS GAME UNLESS YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!!! Table of Contents- 1.Game Reviews 2.Upcoming Titles 3.Special Hints 4.Top Five Lists 5.Next Issue Section 1-Game Reviews ZZT: Mario Bros. Sivion Flik Mission:Enigma Code Red Final Fantasy 2 MZX: Freakish Town Weirdness The Jumper Side Scroll Engine ZZT: Mario Bros.-By Bill Meeks Mario Bros. is a game based on the famous Mario Bros. series by Nintendo. Characters from the NES games make appearances here-Yoshi, Iggy Koopa, Bowser, etc. Although short, I found that this game kept me amused. Graphics-Mario Bros. uses the S-Tool-K by SV very nicely, with a picture of Mario's face to greet you on the Title Screen. Rating-7 Sound-Aside from the original title screen music, I heard all the music before. It was stolen from the hit Code Red game. Rating-5 Challenge-The game is rather short and simple, and most veteran ZZT'ers will spend 15 minutes at most on this game. Rating-4 Enjoyment-I found that I really liked this game, even though it was very short. Rating-8 Overall-Download it! Rating-6 Sivion-By Clint Nielson A classic RPG adventure, Sivion is an extremely long and fun title with excellent Ansi graphics, a lot of interaction between Objects, and a great storyline. It tells the tale of Rook, a knight, who escaped from his homeland to settle in the Village of Bespin. Along the way, he meets Dulcis, and the two become great friends. Later, Rook will discover that the Aphritia Leader is planning to conquer Bespin Castle, and it is up to Rook to stop him. Graphics-Beautiful shading effects for each of the buildings, spectacular animation, and great amounts of objects are used to create the best looking ZZT title I've ever seen! Rating-10 Sound-Has alot of sound effects, but I wish for more full song compositions. The Tavern theme and Graveyard theme are wonderful. Rating-8 Challenge-Although Sivion doesn't have alot of fighting in it, there are plenty of puzzles for you to solve, and some unique strategies you need to use, like killing a spider and dipping a needle in its blood to give to the Good Troll. Rating-9 Enjoyment-I loved it! It took what seemed like forever to beat, but it was worth it. Sivion will keep even the most die-hard RPG fan occupied for at least a month. Rating-10 Overall-Get it right now! Rating-9.25 Flik-By Evan Furchgott This is a horrible game which involves you escaping from a space ship. The reason it is so horrible is because the game has you solving riddles with no description to them, and hope you get the riddles right. It would be a decent game if there were no riddles. Graphics-The game has decent shading effects and graphics. The graphics are the only thing enjoyable about this game. Rating-7 Sound-What sound?! Rating-2 Challenge-The only challenge you'll get out of this game is hitting all of the choices until you find the correct one. A tedious task, indeed. Rating-3 Enjoyment-4 Levels?! If you get beyond the first board, consider yourself a great player. (Or at least a very patient one...) Rating-3 Overall-Downloading is a waste of your time. Rating-3.75 Mission:Enigma-By Gregory Janson Mission:Enigma is an enjoyable game, with a ton of challenging puzzles. The story involves you, as a member of D.O.V.E, infiltrating a fortress, and stopping the mad scientist, Dr. Kris. On the way, you will meet two wizards, Maleen and Karen, from an alternate dimension. Dr. Kris found out a way to create dimensional portals, and he conjured Maleen and Karen up from a portal. As if the plot weren't enough, Greg J. created a spectacular title screen that is even more entertaining than the game! Graphics-Superb graphics, including a beautifully constructed fortress, a race against a flood, and a Supercomputer. Rating-9 Sound-Although the game doesn't have alot of music, the music included is rather well done. Rating-7 Challenge-You will need to interact with bundles of objects, each having something to do with solving the game. Most of the solutions are things that you wouldn't expect to do. Thinking is the emphasis of this game, being the most challenging ZZT game to date. Rating-10 Entertainment-The main problem with Mission:Enigma is that the game is way too challenging, and it seems that there is an almost infinite number of ways for you to die. Rating-6 Overall-If you're a fan of Sierra-Type games, the challenge of Mission:Enigma is perfect for you. Rating-8 Code Red-By Gregory Janson Code Red is the best ZZT game ever! The story starts out in a house in Southern California, where Kyle Lipshitz (you) wake up very early on Saturday morning. When you go downstairs to watch T.V., you discover that the government is depositing toxic waste near your homeland. Your mom gets all upset about the toxic waste, and asks you to mail a letter from her. This starts you on the largest ZZT game ever, which spans 3 ZZT games, Code Red 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and comes complete with 8 Endings. Graphics-The graphics aren't that bad, but I've seen better. Greg creates some wonderful scenes with his object programming, like a Rube Trap (whatever that means) board, and stars moving across the screen to create the illusion that you're actually in a flying spaceship. Rating-7 Sound-Beautiful. Over 32 songs have been composed for Code Red, each with their own beauty. A slew of sound effects are also thrown in here, to liven up things. Rating-10 Challenge-Although not as challenging as Enigma, Code Red has some spectacular puzzles in it, including my favorite-the Sewer Puzzle. Like Enigma, you need to search everything that comes in your way, and when you kill the gaurds, you need to search their bodies thoroughly for items. Rating-9 Entertainment-It seems that every time I play Code Red, I uncover something new. This is one of the most creative and exciting ZZT games to date. If only a sequel was made for MegaZeux... Rating-10 Overall-This game is the reason to download ZZT! Rating-9 Final Fantasy 2-By Stussy 1105 I'm not sure if this game is based on FF2 for the Super NES, but all I can say is that it SUCKS! It involves Cecil, and the Village of Mysidia, like in the SNES version, but it has a number of things not in the SNES game, most of which doesn't make sense. Graphics-Yellow Normal borders, 'nuff said. Rating-1 Sound-Apparently, the programmer did not know the #PLAY command. Rating-1 Challenge-The only challenge this game has is a big Centipede blocking your path, and you have to kill it. Most players will think of it as a challenge just to make it through this lame game. Rating-1 Entertainment-This is PATHETIC! My little brother could create a game 100,000 times better than this! (And he has...) Rating-1 Overall-I still cannot get over how Stussy 1105 could take the best video game in the world, and turn it into this pile of crap. If you want a REAL game that simulates FF2, download my Engine game. Forget this atrocricy to all FF2 Fans! Rating-1 MZX: Freakish Town-By ZZTurbo This is ZZTurbo's premier MZX game, and it isn't a bad one, either. The game's objective involves you, a guy who resembles an octopus, searching for a magical Gem of some sorts. It is EXTREMELY short, and the average player will complete it in about a day. Graphics-The MZX graphic ability shows off here. There are plenty colors which have been used, although the author decided not to include any extra Palette or Character files. Rating-6 Sound-There is only one MOD file, but the MOD is well done. Rating-7 Challenge-Not alot of challenge here. Most of the game requires you to kill pre-programmed enemies. Rating-6 Entertainment-The game kept me occupied for about 15 minutes. Would be MUCH better if there were some puzzles and places to go outside of the Freakish Town. Rating-4 Overall-This, being one of the very few MZX games out there, really grabbed my attention. If you don't already have it, you should get the game. Rating-5.75 Weirdness-By Gregory Janson Another wonderful Software Visions game, Weirdness has wonderful graphics, challenging puzzles, and a great soundtrack. Although I'm not sure what the story is, (I think it has something to do with a comet falling down next to your house) the game is wonderful. Graphics-There is a 3-D maze! The graphics are fabulous, with some amazing special effects like a rotating globe, a flying spaceship, and an amazing comet. Rating-10 Sound-The MOD files, composed by Gregory Janson, are excellent. If any of you out there own a Genesis, you might recognize one of the MOD's as the Sonic 1 Star Light Zone theme music. Rating-9 Challenge-Weirdness, like Mission:Enigma, is focused on challenging puzzles. Personally, the 686 Puzzle is one of the hardest puzzles he has ever created. Weirdness uses an Inventory-based system, which opens up the challenge even further. Rating-10 Entertainment-After playing this one a few times, I got bored of it because no real fighting is going on. The puzzles are too hard to play through again, and there is one part where you need to call the Police on a phone, using a certain number not found in the game. Rating-5 Overall-Download it. This game clearly demonstrates the power of Megazeux. Rating-8.50 The Jumper Side Scroll Engine-By XR3 This isn't really a game, just a tool used if you want to create your own side scrolling game. It's released into Public Domain, so feel free to use it in your MZX world. I can't rate it because it is more of a tool than a game, but you SHOULD download The Jumper if you want to make a side scrolling game. Section 2-Upcoming Titles Duky Inc. Engine-Available now Zelda-Available Mid-Summer Seiken Densetsu 4-Available End of Summer Phoenix Tech World of Darkness-Available now Zelda-Available Mid-Summer Dragon Slayer-Available Mid-Summer Software Visions MZX Encyclopedia-Available now Quest for the Key-No release date Section 3-Special Hints In case you don't have the Cheat codes for ZZT, here they are- Press the [?] key, then type in the following- health Will give you 50 Health ammo Will give you 05 Ammo torches Will give you 05 Torches gems Will give you 05 Gems -dark Eliminates darkness in dark rooms +dark Makes the room dark -debug Turns Debug Mode off +debug Turns Debug Mode on zap Clears the path in all 4 directions Also, you can save yourself from the dreaded "Game Over" message if you QUICKLY do the following- When you die, use the Health code. You'll get 50 Health, but the game will play very fast and without any PC Speaker sounds. Then, Save your game, end the game, and restore your saved game. The game will play as normal, and you won't die! Special thanks to my brother for figuring this code out. Section 4-Top Five Lists Top 5 Best ZZT games 1.Code Red-By Gregory Janson 2.Sivion-By Clint Nielson 3.Robots of Gemrule-By Gregory Janson 4.Link Trilogy-By Mariocom 5.Escape From Planet Red-By Barney9651 Top 5 Best MegaZeux Games 1.Weirdness-By Gregory Janson 2.KM's Univers!-By KM 3.Freakish Town-By ZZTurbo 4.Slimed-By Evan Furchgott 5.The Caverns of Zeux-By Gregory Janson Top 5 Best MOD Files 1.Enter Sandman-Author Unknown 2.Weird9-By Gregory Janson (Star Light Zone from Sonic 1) 3.Ocean-Author Unknown 4.Sundance-By Purple Motion 5.2-3-By KM Section 5-Next Issue of the MegaZeux and ZZT Mag.-July '96 Reviews of the following games- ZZT: Booplop Escape from Planet Red Beast Psycho Sewer The Casino Majik Trilogy Fred! Yapok Sundria Aceland MZX: MZX Tron KM's Univers! Encyclopedia of MZX Flik-MZX Edition SEE YOU NEXT ISSUE!!! -Luke Drelick