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William Wobbler
/ Wizard Development
1985
Screenshots: « play/stop »
With a name like William Wobbler, you'd think it was another Anthony Crowther production. And you'd be right!
This game is infamous for making people almost throw their C64s out the window in frustration. Most people didn't even know what they were supposed to be doing! The instructions didn't give much away, and most people just threw their joysticks down in disgust after losing life and life – and you only get one life per game!
The main idea of the game is to pick up ten clues, which are strewn around a vast cavern network.
You start off on the ground-level, where you can run along and jump over craters, or drop down a crater to get to a sub level.
Getting a clue is a simple matter of picking it up, but getting to some of the clues is a lot more difficult! There are also other objects placed in certain places, which will aid you in moving other objects that are in the way, or killing meanies that hinder your progress.
Items you have picked up remain with you for the rest of the game, and a nice added touch is that you don't have to think which object is used for which purpose – William automatically holds the correct item in his hands – which is a clue in itself that you have the right item. If you can't seem to fathom out how to get by an obstacle, chances are you haven't found a connecting clue or object yet. You can always bring up an inventory by pressing I on the keyboard.
There are also the usual suspects of nasties that fly around and try to kill you. Flying frogs, for instance, are at head height. A well-timed duck of the head (by pushing down on the joystick) sorts them out, and you can also jump over ground-based nasties, like snakes.
Graphics are typically Crowther-esque: big, chunky and cuddly, although lacking in colours a little. They work quite well though, and William's bobbing head can be quite hypnotic sometimes. Music is by Ben Daglish, and is an excellent bouncy tune to go with the overall William design. There are no other sounds, but the music on its own keeps you going.
There is a disk on the second sub-level on the right-hand side, and this was to save the game once you completed it. The idea was that the first person to complete the game, and send off a disk with the saved status, would received a prize, thought to have been around the £1,000 mark.
Although frustrating at the start, William Wobbler can start to get quite playable, and anyone who likes combined puzzles with platform action would find it appealing. However, the game can become a little repetitive, and having to retrace your steps a lot of the time can also be annoying. But, if you never understood what William Wobbler was originally about, it's worth another look!
Reviewed by
Boz.
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