Game Review: Chiller (ZX Spectrum, Mastertronic)

The Plot

The aim of the game is to collect the flashes crosses scattered around 5 different screens and save your girlfriend who is trapped at the haunted mansion.  Once you have done this, you then have to work your way back through the screens in reverse order back to your car which had ran out of gas.

Give Me Strength!

For a game made in 1985, it was a fairly to have an energy strength bar rather than death on collision with an enemy.  It’s clear when you play it, that an energy meter had to be the only way based on how the games playability acts.

In Chiller, there are two types of mushrooms that are visible on the screen.  The cyan ones give you energy back and the magenta ones deplete your energy level.  A bit of strategy can be used as its pointless collecting a cyan mushroom if you already have full strength.

What makes the game tough to beat is that you do only have one life and getting through all five screens is a tough ask and therefore provides a hard challenge.  Its certainly not a game that you’ll finish in a few minutes and could take many hours to get it right, only to then do them again in reverse order.

The Controls

Chiller has a few controller options for both keyboard, cursor and joystick.  Being someone who prefers to use the keyboard for games, for Chiller, the joystick option is far better.

The reason I say this is because, the keys aren’t redefinable.  In Chiller, the keys Q to T move left, Y to P move right and H to Enter to jump.  Although cursor keys can be selected from the menu with 5 being left, 8 being right and 7 for jump, that in someway seemed a bit easier!  Why, may you ask?  I automatically found myself gravitating towards the O and P keys (usually for left and right) but this obviously meant moving right and having to get used to using the keyboard differently.  A re-definable option would have been much better.

Difficulty Level

At first, the game is rather difficult to play but if you persevere with it, you will eventually get the hang of it.  Jumping up the ropes is by far the most difficult thing to do and really does need rather accurate precision.  It can be a case of so-near yet so-far when you miss by a pixel and fall vertically downwards hitting either an alien or losing energy by falling from a height.

Graphics and Animation

The loading screen is pretty good and some of the backgrounds in the game are well drawn out and colourful.

The descriptions of each of the five screens, namely The Forest, The Cinema, The Ghetto, The Graveyard and The Haunted House (note not described as a mansion) match the graphics that you see on the screen.

Animation I felt was average at best, so the background graphics do help.

Sound Effects Only

There is no music at all in this game, so it is purely sound effects only.  Oddly, sound effects are still heard whether turned off (which is the default).  The only difference is that when the sound is switched on, you hear a constant noise when walking so actually turning it off is the better option.

Sound is limited to a ping when collecting a cross and slightly longer noise when colliding with an enemy and a quick few sound effects when you complete a screen.

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