Circuitry(2017) By:John Blythe / Rucksack Games Genre:Platform Players:1 Difficulty:Medium Featured Version:ZX Spectrum First Day Score: 368k
Splendid loading screens always make a game better...
When I first started this feature a few months back I thought I was pretty lucky to find a single-screen platformer to start it off - they are one of my favourite types of game after all - so imagine how happy I was to find another such example just recently! This one was made by John Blythe, a.k.a. Rucksack Games, using Jonathan Cauldwell's Arcade Game Designer and casts you as Nan'O'Bot, a tiny robotic AI which you must use to infiltrate the mainframe of Revanox, the R&D branch of military contractor SecuriCorp, and save as much of their data as possible from a rogue AI activated by a heinous hacker before Revanox cut their losses and pull the plug. This is done by hopping around twenty appropriately-themed single screen stages, each of which features two 'data packets' which come in the form of floppy discs (both 3.25" and 5.25" varieties) or cassettes. Hopefully these are just symbolic though - I'd hate to think of an R&D dept using such outdated storage media nowadays!
All you need to do, then, is collect these antiquated discs and tapes and get to the exit before doing the same again. Naturally though, even divided into twenty screen-sized chunks, this mainframe isn't the easiest place to get around. The stages, which are made up of circuits, chips, resistors, and all manner of other electrical bits and pieces, are craftily designed, with most forcing poor old Nan'O'Bot to clamber around every part of them to achieve his goal. Surprisingly, given the somewhat time-sensitive nature of the task at hand, there is no time limit either, so you can take things at your own pace - particularly handy when you're faced with one of the numerous enemies that are also found prowling back and forth on each screen. These life-sapping miscreants include malicious blocks of binary code, scary sparky electrical things, and even Space Invaders, Pac-Men, and best of all - Horace!
Much like the games from which it takes its inspiration such as Manic Miner and Monty Mole, the star of Circuitry has no offensive abilities and must instead rely on our skill and timing. Thankfully, control of him is quick and responsive and the collision-detection is accurate. The stages are great too - good fun but challenging as well. The difficulty seems a little unbalanced now and then and some sections require a little trial-and-error but overall it's fine. Happily, rounding off the package is some really nice presentation. The same graphical theme is unsurprisingly used throughout but it does look great - there's a lovely loading screen, the sprites and colourful level graphics are superb including lots of nice touches, and the design is creative and suits the style well. Extra detail is available with the 128k version too, which also includes some splendid in-game music. It really is a lovely little game. I'm confident it would have been well received as a full release back in the day but even all these years later it proves an enjoyable, addictive, and charming platformer, and it's free too!
RKS Score: 8/10
Check out John Blythe's clip of Circuitry below. If you like the look of it, download it for free here.
Looks very nice. I agree it would have been well received by Your Sinclair etc. Gameplay looks well balanced and I love the circuit board theme with also some references to the ZX Spectrum itself and featuring Hungary Horace I noted. I'll try it out on an emulator but would much prefer to play it on the original Spectrum (which I still have somewhere). But not sure how I can load it..?
Hi John, thanks for dropping by again :) I believe you can order a tape version from the John Blythe, the designer/programmer/etc. It would certainly be cool to have a physical version of this splendid game. He's about to release his next game too - I'll review it if I get the chance :)
Thanks for your continued Spectrum posts! Last Christmas I managed to find my Spectrum +3 in my parent's loft. But I couldn't find the cables etc so need to stick with emulators for the time being. Which emulator did you use btw? There's loads of them, but of varying quality. Some are still online but seem to have been abandoned.
I generally use ZXSpin to get screenshots but I still have my old +3 too. The FDD needs a new drive belt - I keep meaning to get that sorted - but apart from that it's still running fine :)
Glad you like the Speccy posts - I have tons more in mind, and another review is already underway :)
No, not this one - I only have a rom file, but I often do play stuff on my +3 :) I actually looked into buying all the old stuff I used to have on disc but then I saw how much they cost now...
Yeah, I used ZXSpin. It works well enough for me, it's pretty much the only Speccy emulator I've ever used. You can simulate the loading sequence (wibbly lines, squawky sounds, etc) or you just load the game straight away. Joystick use can be a bit tricky but I usually find out what the keys are and they use Joy2Key so I can use my Xbox pad :)
Looks very nice. I agree it would have been well received by Your Sinclair etc. Gameplay looks well balanced and I love the circuit board theme with also some references to the ZX Spectrum itself and featuring Hungary Horace I noted. I'll try it out on an emulator but would much prefer to play it on the original Spectrum (which I still have somewhere). But not sure how I can load it..?
ReplyDeleteHi John, thanks for dropping by again :) I believe you can order a tape version from the John Blythe, the designer/programmer/etc. It would certainly be cool to have a physical version of this splendid game. He's about to release his next game too - I'll review it if I get the chance :)
DeleteThanks for your continued Spectrum posts! Last Christmas I managed to find my Spectrum +3 in my parent's loft. But I couldn't find the cables etc so need to stick with emulators for the time being. Which emulator did you use btw? There's loads of them, but of varying quality. Some are still online but seem to have been abandoned.
ReplyDeleteI generally use ZXSpin to get screenshots but I still have my old +3 too. The FDD needs a new drive belt - I keep meaning to get that sorted - but apart from that it's still running fine :)
DeleteGlad you like the Speccy posts - I have tons more in mind, and another review is already underway :)
So did you actually play Circuitry on the physical +3?
ReplyDeleteNo, not this one - I only have a rom file, but I often do play stuff on my +3 :) I actually looked into buying all the old stuff I used to have on disc but then I saw how much they cost now...
DeleteSo I guess you played this game on ZXSpin. Does that work well? (baffled by the large number of emulators!)
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the Speccy blogs, very much appreciated. And I will keep a look out for the new ones!
Yeah, I used ZXSpin. It works well enough for me, it's pretty much the only Speccy emulator I've ever used. You can simulate the loading sequence (wibbly lines, squawky sounds, etc) or you just load the game straight away. Joystick use can be a bit tricky but I usually find out what the keys are and they use Joy2Key so I can use my Xbox pad :)
Delete