Marsport

Gargoyle, 1985

Written by Chris Owen, HTML'd by Arnt Gulbrandsen.

Controls

Keyboard

Aim of the game

The year is 2494. For seventy years, the Earth has been under seige by the insectoid Sept. Since the siege began, the Sept have been kept at bay by a huge Force Sphere which surrounds the Earth and the Moon. However, the Sept are on the verge of discovering how to breach the Sphere unless it can be strengthened according to the formulae contained in the original plans. Unfortunately, these plans are concealed somewhere in the Martian city of Marsport, now Sept-occupied and booby-trapped by the city's M-Central computer. One man, Commander John Marsh, has been sent to retrieve the plans in the belief that a determined man can sometimes achieve more than an army...

Game play

Marsport effectively has 3 distinct objectives:

Locate the M-Central computer. Marsport is a 3-dimensional city, where levels are connected by express tube, which will take you up or down, but probably not both. In addition, many sections of the city cannot be reached until specific problems have been solved.
Gain access to the original Sphere plans, held in M-Central's inner sanctum. This will require re-exploration of Marsport, for having achieved objective 1, you will find that many parts of the city, previously unreachable, will now be open to you.
Leave the city of Marsport with the plans intact, which may prove the hardest task of all...

You will come across many beings, objects and city elements which may help or (more likely) hinder you. These are some of them:

Sept - You will encounter two types, the hopping Warriors which patrol certain areas, and the stationary Warlords blocking certain passages. You can fight them or run away from them but you can't ignore them!
Robots - Controlled by M-Central. Some are harmless information gatherers but some are warden units, now hostile to all intruders - human or Sept...
Supply units - The prime source of objects; they are continuously replenished.
Lockers - Can be used for storing objects.
Refuse units - Can be used to dispose of unwanted objects.
Charge units - Can recharge energy devices (like a laser gun).
Factor units - Will combine two or more objects to manufacture a new object. Note that components are logically linked, so random attempts at manufacture will not work, and any irrelevant objects present in the unit will prevent manufacture!
Key stations - Will require the insertion of a key object to release a nearby wall unit or door. However, not all locked doors and units can be opened in this manner, and some may require a more active or remote solution...
Vidtex units - Provide (possibly) useful information which is displayed on the large video screen in the status area.

Comments

"Another excellent contribution to the arcade adventure genre".

Rating

95% (CRASH #22, November 1985)

Now

A classic, but tough, arcade adventure game.

Keys

Left                    } Alternate keys on
Right                   }  the bottom row
Enter door              - ENTER
Camera left/right       - Alternate keys on second row
Pick up/drop            - Alternate keys on third row
Select object           - 2, 3, 7, 8, 9
Autorun on/off          - 4
Pause/unpause           - 5
Return to options       - 6

Nettverksgruppa, 5/10-94, sinclair@nvg.ntnu.no