Flood

"FLOOD" BY ELECTRONIC ARTS - SOFTWARE REVIEW
by Richard Karsmakers

Cronos stood slightly aghast as he looked at the water creeping
up higher and higher in the hole in the ground he had to enter.
He had never taken physics seriously at school, and he wondered
whether he would be able to stop the water level from increasing
at such a rather alarming rate if he had. He wondered this only
for a bit more than a picosecond, of course, as he was trained to
fight and not to think (let alone do serious things like
wondering).
He checked his gear, and was somewhat annoyed by the lack of any
of it.
He checked his gear again.
There still wasn't much not to be annoyed with.

He decided to follow what he used to refer to as his instincts,
but which was commonly regarded as pure stupidity.
He plunged in regardless.

Now what had his new employer said?
Something like "collecting things".
He seemed to remember something like "beware of monsters" as
well.
And, which suddenly sprang to mind, something about "don't
forget your scubagear".
Since he had, however, he decided to take a deep breath.

*****

Expectations were high for "Flood", which happened to be the
first release of the infamous Bullfrog team after their highly
acclaimed "Populous".
I would be an exaggerating piece of turd if I were to say that
these expectation haven't been met - but I would be quite a naff
person if I were to say that the Bullfrog guys have once again
succeeded in producing an absolute awardsucking piece of
software.
Let's be frank. They haven't.
But, then again, "Bubble Bobble", the best ever platform game
except possibly for the 8-bit version of "Lode Runner", didn't
win any awards either.
"Flood", however, is a game combining the universal concept of a
platform game with a few rather original bits and bobs
everywhere. That's what the Bullfrog guys are good at, I guess;
even when going to the toilet I suppose they will probably create
unheard-of shapes of faeces before flushing.
But no more about that.
"Flood" is actually a very playable and even rather addictive
game, with some quite good sound effects and, as I said, a couple
of things that make it stand out in originality among most other
platform jobbies.

The principle of "Flood" is that you have to collect all items
present on each level (these vary from things that look like Coca
Cola cans to weapons, bottles, and various other things). You
will also need to collect icons that supply you with alternative
weapons (such as a hand grenade or a time bomb).
The reason for the name is the fact that the levels generally
flood, i.e. water starts appearing from the lower bits and will
eventually fill all corridors if you linger around looking at the
scenery too much. You can swim under water and even walk on the
ceiling (like in Gremlin's "Venus"), but don't worry about the
under water bit, as you have a supply of air that will keep you
alive for a while - though not too long a while, of course.

Technically, the game is average. Although the writer (ST
version by Glenn Corpes, who also did the ST versions of "Fusion"
and "Populous") seems to know his bit about the ST, which is
evident by the neat plane-trick he does to make the water appear,
I think the whole thing could have been done a bit smoother. Now,
the game is a bit blocky at times, especially when moving a bit
faster. The scrolling may be blocky, but is not particularly
irritating in this case.
The sound effects, which are (nearly?) all digitised, are pretty
good - though the water flood does sound like a loo being flushed
now and again.

All in all, "Flood" is a platform game that has succeeded in
thrusting its head, shoulders, and part of its torso above the
competition. Add to this the fact that it is well designed
(including nice intro with digi music) and that it all fits on
ONE disk, I think it may even be regarded as a pretty amazing
piece of software.
To hell with the awards. Go and have a look at it. Chances are
substantial that you'll decide to buy it.
Well done, Bullfrog. Nice discovery, Electronic Arts!

Game rating:

Name: Flood
Company: Electronic Arts
Graphics: 8-
Music: 8-
Playability: 8
Hookability: 8-
Value for money: 8-
Overall rating: 8
Price: £24.95
Hardware: Colour monitor required
Remark: A job well done.

Thanks need to go to Lesley Mansford and Sara Shrapnell that
reside in that flashy offices of Electronic Arts, who took care I
actually received the game. Let's have a triple cheer for these
ladies!
(Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!)
(That's enough, ED.)