Adventures in old-school
For another strangely exciting venture into the bizarre old-school world of text only style games, like Super ZZT and Hack, this curious little platformer is well worth a look. The player is thrust into the shoes of bold space adventurer ANSI Dude, who must escape from a multi-level dungeon on a bizarre world. The dungeon takes the form of 24 single screen levels, viewed from above, each of which is filled with enemies, traps, doors, conveyor belts and the like. You can destroy or move blocks to allow you access, while locked doors require key cards to open, but the real challenge is solving the puzzles which allow you to reach the exit. You have four unique items to help in the process, the suction cup, the sonic pickaxe, the plasma rifle and the force field, which allow you to such blocks out of unreachable places, destroy unbreakable walls, set trees on fire and protect yourself from enemies. These items also use up precious energy, requiring careful consideration of resources and cunning strategy if you are to survive. The whole thing effectively plays out in turn-based fashion but with an element of real time, as the game will still continue around you even if you do nothing, which brings an interesting element to proceedings. Despite its crude appearance, ANSI Dude is a highly clever and inventive game which really stretches the player to think on their feet. The levels are well designed and challenging to complete and are rarely less than enjoyable to play, so if you're on the lookout for something a little unusual, this makes for a good time.
