Game Review: Frenesis (Commodore 16 and Plus/4, Mastertronic)

Tony Takoushi was a writer for games magazines including Computer and Video Games, and had previously programmed several games including Hyperforce for the Commodore 16 and Plus/4.  That game may have given you a clue to the source of inspiration for Frenesis and style that was very present, and certainly when seeing the screen shots on the back and reading the inlay, the plot appears to be set, and there is not that much of it.

In effect, you need to ensure that the aliens avoid contact with the cross, which appears on screen with four areas where aliens can roam for the cross to be hit.  Your weapon is called the Statron, which you can move up and down or left and right which sweeps along the screen.  To destroy an alien, the Statron’s arrows must be facing the alien.  So, if your arrows are pointing right, the aliens coming left will collide and you will kill them, unless they are one type of alien, the 30s, who want to come back for more.  You can switch axis easily by changing direction, so if sweeping right using the horizontal axis, pressing up or down will use the vertical axis instead.

Tee Total

Crucially, the status display in the top middle of the screen shows two numbers.  The first is how many aliens you have removed, and the second is the target that you need to reach to complete the level.   If the aliens reach the cross though, this number will increase accordingly, making the target higher.  There is a time limit too, displayed by a decreasing bar of time to the top right, and if you run out of time before you eliminate the required number of aliens, then the Statron explodes and that is one of your lives lost accordingly.

Colourful Code

The many colours of the Commodore 16 and Plus/4 really do mean that parts of this game are a colourful experience.  Once the get ready screen has zoomed around with the wipe of the screen by its bars, each alien shows as a square with triangles (and thereby pointing its direction it came from) along with the main cross being awash with colour, and the various shades being used well for that and the Statron.  The aliens also all appear in multiple colours with different shades of the colour being used to good effect.  Certainly, playing this at night with the lights off really does feel like a light show to a degree.

Fast and Furious

As you progress through the levels, different types of aliens and movements appear on screen.  Level four introduces a different type of alien, the killer plungers, which move across the screen in steps of three and can only be destroyed on the last step.  Often, these do reach the cross and increase the number of aliens you need to destroy, which does make the level more difficult.  However, help can be at hand with the mega annihilating smart bomb.  You can press fire to activate this – with some levels only allowing this once, which clears the aliens on screen but you do not score anything for those destroyed.  This can prove useful in later levels to give you more time and breathing space.

Land of Confusion

As frenetic as the game promises to be, the difficulty is that when you are in the heat of the action, trying to remember the direction that the arrow of your Statron is facing just means that you end up just pressing left or right and then swapping with up and down as you need.  Surprisingly this proves quite effective, and the instructions do mention that swapping direction can be key at times.  However, it felt on some levels that it was more luck than skill that you would eliminate the aliens and progress, and if that target number increases too much, it becomes tedious knowing you have little to no chance of completing the level within the time frame.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Frenesis are bright and colourful, with the palette used to good effect.  The level complete and get ready screens are also awash with colour as well as the in-game play, and that adds a nice attract mode to the polish and presentation the game does have.  The graphics also move at a good pace, and the use of the mega annihilating smart bomb does have a nice visual effect too.  There are some sound effects both for the introduction to the game as well as when using the Statron during play, and these are loud and proud and do at least add to the action.

Final Thoughts

Although the idea of Frenesis does come across as something original and different, and using the Statron to protect the cross and sweep across the aliens to remove them, the execution is the main let down here.  This unfortunately means that you will end up being confused as to which way you are facing to eliminate the aliens, and at times it can just become a more randomised test of luck instead of skill.  That detracts from the gameplay somewhat despite its bright colourful appearance, and as a result, means that you soon get bored quickly and more frustrated with the game.  It is as if the idea all looked good and would be a rolling technology demo, but somewhere along the way the gameplay elements were lacking.  You can tell that the inspiration is Jeff Minter, but it tries too hard and does not make the grade.

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