Get 'Em DX
collect'em up game for Commodore 64, 2012
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NTRODUCTION
Poor Getty and Emma may well have been captured by the grumpy old troll King
and locked away in the Nyarlu dungeons of infinity, but they weren't overly
concerned. Regardless of their plight, the two happy critters cheerily
snapped the neck of their prison guard while he slept and prepared for
another daring escape. This wasn't the first time they'd thwarted the King's
efforts - and it certainly wouldn't be the last...
...Having said that though, these dungeons were unlike any hell-hole the King
had cast the duo into previously. Every floor of the neon-walled
catacombs was radically different in layout, and what were these odd
pulsating crosses lining the corridor floors? Whatever they were for, they
certainly tasted nice! And wasn't it convenient that after scoffing them
all a key and exit would appear leading to another dungeon? Wizard!
Grabbing a crossbow each from a fallen troll, Getty and Emma skipped happily
down the halls, filling their tummies with crosses and chirruping merrily as
they let forth salvo after salvo of deadly bolts into the thick hides of
their captors. Full of the spirit of adventure, the two friends felt
super-positive about their chances - and even if they didn't make it out,
nothing would stop them from having fun trying!
PLAYING GET 'EM DX
Get 'Em DX is a one or two player (co-operative) maze-based arcade game It's a
bit like Pac-Man, but with procedurally generated levels and more guns.
The goal on each level is to eat all the crosses, then grab the key that
appears and head for the exit door. However, there's also a motley bunch of
nasty characters who'll try their best to kill you, block your path and
otherwise hinder your progress. In fact, they'll even run off with the exit
key if you don't collect it first!
Thankfully, you have a rapid fire crossbow and an infinite supply of ammo to
assist you in your adventure. In addition to this, most of the enemies drop
power-ups when they die - although you'll need to collect a full set of nine
in order to benefit from the effect. They also award points when collected:
EXTRA TIME (5 Points) - Adds 5 units to the timer. SHOT RATE UP (10 Points) -
Increases fire rate. SMART BOMB (15 Points) - Destroys all active enemies.
INVINCIBILITY (20 Points) - Temporarily makes your character invincible.
SLOWDOWN (25 Points) - Temporarily slows you down. SHOT POWER UP(30 Points) -
Increases fire power. SPEEDUP (40 Points) - Increases the speed of your
character. EXTRA LIFE (50 Points) - Additional life (a maximum of 9 can be
held).
Enemies will start to warp into the maze as soon as the level starts. The
first two enemies will always be Green Trolls (the dumbest of the King's
minions), but after that new monsters will appear - each second warp
resulting in a Bombor. The maximum number of active critters, their
toughness and the speed at which more difficult monsters occur depends on the
difficulty selected on the title screen:
EASY - Slow game speed, maximum of 5 enemies. NORMAL - Normal game speed,
enemy HP increased by 2, maximum of 6 enemies. HARD - Fast game speed, enemy
HP increased by 4, maximum of 7 enemies.
Each of the enemies differ in their behaviour and award a different number of
points when exterminated. All of them can steal the key - they'll flash if
they are carrying it and you'll need to shoot them to get it back!
GREEN TROLL (10 Points) - Stupid and easily avoided, Green Trolls are the
grunts of the evil King's army. Drops power up icons when killed. RED TROLL
(50 Points) - As tough as the Green Troll but a *lot* smarter, these fiends
will attempt to home in on you. Drops power up icons when killed.
CATERPILLAR (100 Points) - This monstrous bug fills the corridors of the
dungeon with his long tail, eating power-ups and trapping monsters. You can
hack your way through his body, but you'll need to shoot the head to kill it!
Drops power up icons when killed. BOMBOR (250 Points) - These volatile
monsters explode when shot, destroying the surrounding walls and bonuses
adjacent to them as well as any other monsters or spawn points they are
touching. Be careful, if you shoot a Bombor at close range they'll take you
with them - even if you are shielded! MAD BAT (500 Points) - The most
dangerous monster of all, these bats zip around the maze at an insane speed,
eating up any bonus items they pass over. Be warned - if you don't eat any
crosses for a while then the chance of a Mad Bat appearing is increased.
SKELLY (1000 Points) - The Skelly has a bone to pick with you! This sneaky
beast will stealthily track your movements, dashing at you when you fall in
his line of sight. Drops power up icons when killed.
As if your escape wasn't impossible enough, the levels are timed. To begin
with, the first three stages have a fixed timer length - on later levels the
time awarded depends on the size of the maze. Be warned - if you let the
timer run out, you'll be ambushed by a swarm of Mad Bats!
Every time you complete a level, the time remaining on the timer is converted
into points (100 per unit). As you progress further into the game, tougher
critters will be called into play and all enemies become faster and harder to
kill. Eventually you *will* die - but don't worry, maybe you'll achieve a
higher score next time?
CONTROLLING GETTY & EMMA
Player 1 (Getty) is controlled by a joystick plugged into port 2. Player 2
(Emma) unsurprisingly uses a joystick plugged into port 1. There are no
keyboard controls. Two player mode is selected by pushing player one's
joystick left or right at the title screen. Difficulty is selected by
pushing up or down.
To move your character during the game use the directions up, down, left and
right. Similar to Pac-Man, when you start moving you won't stop unless you
change direction or hit a wall.
Whilst moving, if you press fire you will shoot in the direction you are
walking in. Holding down the fire button will lock direction so you can
strafe and walk backwards whilst still shooting in the same direction.
ADDITIONAL NOTES REGARDING TWO PLAYER MODE
In two player mode both players work together to build up the same score and
share the pool of lives - in this respect the game is truly cooperative.
Both players can collect the bonus items, but whoever completes a set of nine
will receive the associated power-up.
If your lives have run out and only one player is left, you still have a
chance of bringing back your friend from the dead. This is achieved by
completing the level with the surviving player, after which the dead player
is resurrected to fight again in the next maze.
PRO-TIPS
Although a lot of points can be obtained by killing Mad Bats and Skellies, you
may find that a higher score can be obtained by completing a smaller level
quickly - the timer units left on the clock are worth 100 points each.
Analyse each level quickly and adapt your playing style!
Getty and Emma fire their weapons every time they pass an 8x8 pixel character
square - if you back up against a wall and stop you'll notice that your
firing rate will increase. Use this to your advantage!
When you've eaten the last cross, no more enemies will warp into the maze. You
may find it beneficial to clean the area of bonus carrying enemies to max out
your character before progressing to the next level. Get 'em and power-up!
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Some useful keyboard shortcuts
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[PAUSE] - stop/continue game
[F9] - quick load game state
[F12] - quick save game state (still stored after leaving the site)
[F10] - toggle performance meter
[F11] - toggle fullscreen mode
[ScrollLock] - quick switch control ports
[PageDown] - make a screenshot (320x200)