Collapse Demo
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Last modified 2012-04-22 03:49:19
The Collapse Demo was the lone solo offering to the community by controversial MZXer E_Megas, whose backstory I choose not to delve into here. I remember this game being advertised as a shmup-type game upon its release, but here, the shmup element of the game only takes up one short board in the very beginning (in the full game, there probably would've been much more of this). In actuality, the bulk of this demo is a rather lengthy MZX shooter/puzzler, making use of built-ins to create the challenges within.
The graphics are quite nice. The title screen, menus, and character edits look great, and the in-game environment graphics serve the purpose at the very least, though there is one board with a static overlay that I didn't care much for. The music and sound, with the exception of the default PC speaker bleeps, is non-existent in this demo, though they were going to be included in future versions, as Megas mentions many times in the documentation (and you can see MODs assigned to several boards in the games).
Sadly, the gameplay itself isn't very engaging. The short shmup portion is very primitive, done merely by moving the character and view eastwards, while you shoot with space and the arrow keys like any normal MZX game. Still, it's okay considering this was made in 1998, and it's at least playable. The shooter/puzzler portion, on the other hand, is much more frustrating, and I guarantee you will be saving a LOT while playing through it. The clues given for the puzzles are pretty vague, and many of them rely on trial and error, and/or peeking into the game with the editor to figure out what exactly you're supposed to do. As far as the action half is concerned, most of the enemies you encounter will suddenly spawn around you, in groups, as you proceed through the labyrinthine space station, and will mow down quite a bit of your health if you're caught off guard... health that you will definitely need for the true boss of the area.
Still, for all its faults, I guess this was an okay game, and it shows that E_Megas put a lot of effort into making it. It's worth giving a try at the very least.
The graphics are quite nice. The title screen, menus, and character edits look great, and the in-game environment graphics serve the purpose at the very least, though there is one board with a static overlay that I didn't care much for. The music and sound, with the exception of the default PC speaker bleeps, is non-existent in this demo, though they were going to be included in future versions, as Megas mentions many times in the documentation (and you can see MODs assigned to several boards in the games).
Sadly, the gameplay itself isn't very engaging. The short shmup portion is very primitive, done merely by moving the character and view eastwards, while you shoot with space and the arrow keys like any normal MZX game. Still, it's okay considering this was made in 1998, and it's at least playable. The shooter/puzzler portion, on the other hand, is much more frustrating, and I guarantee you will be saving a LOT while playing through it. The clues given for the puzzles are pretty vague, and many of them rely on trial and error, and/or peeking into the game with the editor to figure out what exactly you're supposed to do. As far as the action half is concerned, most of the enemies you encounter will suddenly spawn around you, in groups, as you proceed through the labyrinthine space station, and will mow down quite a bit of your health if you're caught off guard... health that you will definitely need for the true boss of the area.
Still, for all its faults, I guess this was an okay game, and it shows that E_Megas put a lot of effort into making it. It's worth giving a try at the very least.