Reviews

1984 Supersavers Software (UK)
by Rob Povey

The games idea was already explored tons of times, but it has a slightly different approach, you don't jump, you transport yourself. This makes the game very strategic, calculating the exact position where to land.
The graphics are poor but do their job, the controls work fine and it will appeal to everyone you loves this sort of games.

Shuttle Shock is an interesting concept that doesn't quite deliver as well as it could or should.

It's a Manic Miner clone with a twist, instead of a jump you have a teleport, although it's more like a translocation device as it only transports you short distances. There's no items to collect a la most single screen platformers, all you have to do is make it to the exit. Sounds simple, but it's quite tricky. Your teleport only moves diagonally up in front of you so you use this to navigate the platforms. Enemies must simply be avoided by use of good timing as you can't jump over them directly, teleporting anywhere but a platform will kill you even if you only fall about 3 pixels, which is ridiculous, but that's just how it is. The graphic for your sprite falling is absolutely atrocious and looks nothing like your sprite while he's walking. It kind of reminds me of a really crap starfish.

The screen graphics are a little bland, the enemy sprites are OK and you can for the most part tell what they're supposed to be. The game has some visible bugs like leaving bits of your sprite behind at the last location you teleported from, some ropey collision detection, and occasionally the moving platforms hanging up for no reason trapping you. These problems aside the game is OK to play and a bit of a variation on a rather tried and tested formula.

Can't really give it more than a 3 as it's not particularly amazing, but there is some short lived amusement to be gleaned from this not so well known title.

Another genuinely original variation on the platform/manic minerish lode.
You don't jump, and every fall even from the lowest height; in fact, in a dramatic twist, your astronaut turns into an open banana skirt while heading to his death toward the underneath platform. Althugh I don't think it was meant to resemble a banana skirt. Anyway, as I was writing, you can't jump: you move using a sort of limited teleportation, that works more like Spider-Man's shots of webcob lianes - an oblique line appears, going upward, it bounces once against a platform, and you appear under it. Which means that you can appear in the middle of nothing, and fall. So you must calculate the trajectory properly. The aim is to escape from the screen, but there aren't objects to be taken - you just have to avoid the nasties, different in each in screen. There are also little platforms which move horizontally or vertically once you step on them, to help you move around the screen - which is also a pleasant idea. The game is nothing exciting, but not bad either, and a little different from your usual one screen platform. 3/5