The aim of the Game
Foreman Fred has a problem. The pipes must be kept open and the barrels filled,
or Sheikh Aleg, the owner of the plant will have bits of his anatomy removed in
ways too unpleasant to think about. Trouble is the workshop has gone berserk overnight
and untold hordes of maniac drills, hammers and assorted sharp things are wandering
along the pipes, trying to pierce holes in them. This must be stopped.
Holes in pipes means holes in Foreman Fred and our hero is understandably reluctant
to undergo such radical changes to his plumbing arrangements. To beat off the
attacks Fred has a gun and an unlimited supply of willing but dense assistants
(all called Will by the way). If the tools break through a pipe Will can fix it
if you can keep him unmolested at the site of the leak long enough to do his bit
with the trusty Irish Screwdriver (hammer). One small complication is that a rival
engineer has tipped the entire contents of His Royal Personages' insect collection
– most of which are very nasty, 8 legged pieces of work – onto the
pipes. As you are now about to assume the role of Fred it is probably only fair
to warn you about the scorpions.
Get the barrels filled! The tank at the top of the screen only holds so much and
you must keep the pipes intact to ensure that enough gets through to fill up the
required number of containers. As you progress up the levels, more barrels will
await you at the bottom of the screen. You must ensure that they all get filled.
Naturally, the task gets harder and the better you get, the more determined become
the deranged drillers trying to stop you.
To repair a leak you must lead a Will to the spot where the pipe is broken. To
get control of the workman, simply walk over him! He will then follow you anywhere!
Tools can be shot off the pipes if you line up the gun with the target by positioning
Fred correctly. Once the level in the tank gets low your score will start to decrease
rapidly, and if it empties out – forget it!
Strategy
You can afford to lose countless Wills without loss of points, so long as Fred
remains intact and on the job. Contact with any of the invading machinery will
knock Fred or Will off the pipes, with disastrous effects. Use the workmen as
shields if you have to, they're expendable and there will be another one along
in a minute! Just keep those barrels filling. Don't move around the pipes unnecessarily,
especially in the early levels, since it becomes more difficult to defend Fred
once you move away from a spot where he has a clear line of fire along the route
the nasties must take to get at him.
It's also worth remembering that if you're nearly finished a screen and the pipes
get busted open there could be enough left in the pipeline to fill up the barrel
without you having to repair it any more. Defend Fred instead. Watch out for the
scorpions, they don't die easily and will hunt Fred down around the pipeline.
It takes planning to keep ahead of the claws!
Controls
Joystick in port 2 or keys:
Up:
Run/Stop
Down:
C=
Left:
L
Right:
:
Fire:
Space
Â
Â
Pause:
F1
Number of players:
F3
Number of lives:
F5
Instructions
F7
Loading Instructions
Hold down Shift and press Run/Stop.
Product information and credits
The program code, graphic representation and artwork are the copyright of Mastertronic
and may not be reproduced, stored, hired or broadcast in any form whatsoever without
the written permission of Mastertronic. All rights reserved.
Written by Andy Walker and Tony Gibson of Taskset.
Design and artwork: Words & Pictures Ltd., London.
