Developed by X-Ample and published by CP Verlag in 1991.

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Time Codes:

00:00:00 Title screen & music
00:02:20 Mission 1
00:29:35 Mission 2
01:10:02 Mission 3
01:42:28 Mission 4
02:20:42 Ending

Firstly, viewers watching this video expecting an 8-bit version of the game by Delphine Software will no doubt be disappointed; the game simply shares the name and nothing more.

The game is set in 2016 following a massive earthquake that has destroyed much of civilisation. In the turmoil, the destruction of nuclear power-plants resulted in clouds of nuclear material being blown into the atmosphere, the ensuing nuclear winter rendering the surface of the planet uninhabitable by humans.

Scientists had been developing a new form of transportation using teleporters. The teleportation devices require crystals to function, but the only remaining supply of crystals is on the surface. The scientists only hope is to send a cyborg above ground in an attempt to reclaim the crystals, proving a power source that would allow mankind to transport themselves to inhabitable lands.

Another World for the C64 is, for want of a better term, a Hawkeye clone. However, despite the core gameplay requiring the player to collect items across a horizontal scrolling playfield, there are a number of additional and, for the time, innovative game mechanics.

The objective of the game is to recover three blue crystals and to return them to the transporter located at the first terminal in San Francisco. This is easier said than done however, as the crystals are spread across multiple geographical areas; the only way to use the crystals is to collect various crystals to teleport to different locations.

Each zone contains two teleport stations, one at either end of the zone. Each teleporters contains a left bank and right bank in which crystals can be inserted.

There are three types of crystal to collect:

* Green crystals: inserted into the left bank in a teleporter. This allows the player to travel to the teleporter at the opposite end of the zone.

* Red crystals: inserted into the right bank, these crystals are used to teleport to a different town.

* Blue crystals: inserted into the right bank of the San Francisco terminus, these allow transport to a different continent, thus completing the game.

Three crystals of the same value and phase (positive/negative) must be inserted into a teleporter bank, whilst another three crystals of same colour/value but opposite phase must be inserted into the bank of the receiving teleporter. Trying to use a teleporter with crystals using the wrong phase will result in destruction of the teleporter and the game ending immediately.

The game is divided into four missions, each more difficult than the last. Crystals become more difficult to collect and, annoyingly, teleporters may have broken crystal banks, which make progression much tougher.

The graphics in the game are sumptuous and easily some of the best on the C64.

The sound, too, is good, but it's a shame there is no in-game music. The music at the title and ending screens is great and the sound effects are well done; the industrial hum and throb of the teleporter terminus stations is particularly atmospheric.

Overall, the game is high quality and fun to play, but there are numerous irritations that prevent it from being great.

Firstly, certain platforms, especially in the Alaska stage, stop short of the actual graphic. This means that falling off the platform or misjudging a jump is an often occurrence. What makes matters worse is the fact that the player sprite will insist on cycling through a full run animation before coming to a stop, despite having taken my hands off the controls. Because of this, I found myself running off platforms on a regular basis, much to my annoyance.

Secondly, it becomes possible to end up trapped in certain zones in the later missions with no way out except resetting the game. On mission four, I teleported to Alaska and found that both teleporters were broken (a proper game mechanic), which meant I was trapped forever and had to restart; whether this was by design or simply an error on the part of the developers it's hard to say. Either way, it's extremely frustrating to end up in this situation, especially without any kind of warning.

It's a real shame that these niggles mar an otherwise decent game. It's definitely worth playing, but be warned that it will have adverse effects on your blood pressure on a regular basis.
#retrogaming