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You play the part of a maintenance robot aboard an automated ship. Your job is to ensure that the cargo is transported safely from one port to another. Despite obviously being a particularly high-tech vessel, its builders were obviously a little slap-dash, because the moment it sets sail, it begins to sink. Now it's a case of both hands to the pump as you race about the ship, locating and fixing leaks, shutting hatches and pumping out water from flooded rooms. All the while you need to ensure that your robot's batteries do not run out, or that he doesn't short-circuit from working in too much water. Thoroughly original and extremely challenging.

Before the flood

IN THE LATEST hit from Silversoft, Worse Things Happen at Sea, you are a ship's android, with sole responsibility for the safety of the ship as it ferries its cargo between two ports. Unfortunately the vessel is not merely leaky, it is a positive sieve. There are two decks and you must travel backwards and forwards patching up the holes and pumping out water.

The screen shows a crisp picture of the compartment you are in, and gives information concerning the status of your engines, whether you are off course, and an overall plan of the ship.

As the game progresses the hull springs leaks, with cartoon-like fountains bursting out of the floor. Those can be capped with a limited supply of plates, and there are also pumps which you can operate to remove water. You will find yourself rushing madly around the ship trying to stem the encroaching seawater; be careful opening doors between compartments as you may simply spread the water around.

The main criticism is the lack of provision for joysticks, although you can choose from a set of six key configurations, which should work with most joysticks as long as you know which keys your joystick uses.

Worse Things Happen at Sea is exciting to play, difficult to beat, and unusual in concept. Despite the joystick quibble, worse things have happened in computer games, too.



Chris Bourne


WORSE THINGS HAPPEN AT SEA Memory: 48K Price: £5.95 Gilbert Factor: 7

The title's quite right, they do. The ship's sprung a leak and the sailor-robot needs to stop it - at the same time keeping the vessel on course, pumping out the water and oiling the engine. Remember to keep the hatches closed, or you'll perish sooner rather than later.

Alex: The ship is drawn very well, with clear and entertaining graphics. Judging by the number of screens that appear as you travel round, the size of the ship must be enormous. It's certainly quite a headache trying to stop the flood, but it gets a bit easier with practice. Overall, a program that'll keep you glued to the screen for ages.

Alan G: Not only is the idea behind the game very original, there's lots of things to do to keep you interested as well as busy. The graphics are highly detailed and the sailor-robot moves very smoothly. Most of the time it feels like you're fighting a losing battle, with the water flooding in.

Alan H: The superb graphics are unaffected by the excitingly high speed of the game - which is just about right - and the colourful display is also enjoyable, while still being reasonably realistic. But it's the idea which makes this program something special; there's really nothing like it available anywhere else. There's just one disturbing 'fault' (if that's what it is) which allows the boat to successfully make its first crossing without the player actually doing anything. Messing around in boats is great fun.

Alex Entwhistle, Alan Grier, Alan Hunter

Producer: Silversoft
Memory required: 48K
Retail price: £5.95
Language: machine code
Author: Mindseye

We went to sea to see the world, but what did we see?...

It's hard to believe, looking at this latest Silversoft game, that worse things could possibly happen at sea, but perhaps the author was referring to R & R's Titanic when he thought up the title, or perhaps he was thinking about White Star's Titanic - that wasn't a game!

Here you are called upon to safely take a cargo ship from port to port. A diagram at the top of the screen shows the ports and your ship with a navigable distance that would take a few moments freestyle to complete for the poorest of swimmers. Judging the difficulties you are about to face from this innocent little diagrammatic representation would be foolish in the extreme!

You play the part of a robot (it's an automated ship this one), and one can only suppose that the authorities allow the ship to leave port with its seaworthiness certificate signed because it only carries a crew of one, and a robot to boot. Boots, however, are of little use - throat length waders would be more appropriate, because this ship starts sinking the second it leaves port!

The ship consists of 11 areas, six on the top deck and five below. Each area is sealed off from the next by hatches, and hatches in the floor of the top deck access to lifts to take you down below. The top right-hand area contains a materialisation machine, from which your robot starts life, and next to it, a recharge chamber for restoring the robot's power which is drained by work. The other rooms contain nefarious bits of equipment, but it is the pipe and pumping handles that are important. A patch is also supplied in each area, but only six pump handles for the 11 pumps.

The sad state of the ship can be immediately seen on the lower deck where numerous leaks are letting the sea gush in. The rising level of water is shown by the normally white background turning black. The robot has several tasks which include opening and shutting hatches (green or red lights show above the hatch on either side, indicating whether it is open or closed), picking up patches and placing them over leaks and then pumping out the water in the particular room. Of course, you can only carry one thing at a time. Hatches should be left closed as this slows down the rate of flooding between sections, and indeed, it isn't possible to pump out a section if all the doors are open, as the water flows in too fast for the pump to cope.

The screen display is very busy. About two-thirds is taken up with the depiction of a room. Moving through a hatch results in the display scrolling across to be replaced by the next room entered. Above this is the score and hi-score (shown in £), a diagram of the 11 rooms with the one you are in flashing (also the effect of rising water), a yellow square which indicates what object you are carrying, a bar code showing robot energy, a course indicator (the robot has to keep the boat on course as well!) and gauges for temperature, water level and cargo value. As the water rises, so the cargo value sinks.

Docking successfully at port results in your cargo remaining being evaluated for points. Lives are lost by running out of power, although to help a rapid return to the recharge chamber you can hyperspace, but this might take more energy than is left. Also, the robot short circuits if he's operating under water, and this drains power faster. Should the ship sink, you at least have the satisfaction of watching the event on the screen at the very top.




...We saw the sea - coming in!

CRITICISM
This is a super-original game from Silversoft. The graphics and detail are very good and the game is very playable and addictive. I really enjoyed it and I'm sure this game will be a huge success. It's probably one of the most original games of 84 so far. There are many features in the game to make it varied enough to give it lasting appeal - excellent!

I am amazed that such a simple idea - using a trusty robot to plug holes in a leaky old ship and keep it afloat - should prove to be so much fun to play. The side view of the ship is extremely pleasing graphically and well detailed and coloured. I found that after completing a few successful crossings that worse things began to happen at sea. For instance the ship kept going off course, the engine overheated due to lack of oil, and more holes appeared in different places. Several great tunes are played, and the sound during the game is good. Silversoft have produced an incredibly addictive, playable and attractive game.

There are some games you come across that, based on a simple idea, are nevertheless completely compelling - this is one. Worse Things Happen at Sea is a nightmare of activity. At first it all seems fruitless, as though you can never keep the ship afloat, but as you get better it seems easier. Unfortunately, the game has been programmed to grow with you! Oiling engines and steering wheels are added to the already Herculean tasks of pumping and patching. The graphics are really very good, crisp drawing and good colouring. A massive choice of keys is offered and the keyboard is very responsive too. All in all an excellent, original game. Great instructions on screen too.

COMMENTS
Control keys: O/W left/right, E/R up/down, T = door/take X = pump/power. There are five other combinations offered including cursors and Sinclair
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor types, ZX 2
Keyboard play: excellent responses
Use of colour: very good
Graphics: very good, plenty of detail and nice touches
Sound: great tunes, very good throughout
Skill levels: progressive difficulty
Lives: 3
Screens: 11
Originality: very high based on concept and playability
General rating: addictive, playable, generally excellent.

Use of computer 88%
Graphics 89%
Playability 92%
Getting started 86%
Addictive qualities 94%
Originality 95%
Value for money 93%
Overall 91%