THE SPECTRUM GAME DATABASE

PLEXAR

PUBLISHER
M.A.D.

AUTHOR
Paul Hargreaves

YEAR
1987

DESCRIPTION
Trailblazer clone (mostly). It's actually divided into different
sections, including a straight Trailblazer section, a more puzzly
variation, and a top-down 2D maze.

CONTROLS
Kempston/Sinclair joystick/Keys
Q-Up
A-Down
O-Left
P-Right
M-Fire
T+Y-Abort

ORIGINAL INLAY CARD TEXT
You have been selected to make the arduous journey along the
crystal roads of Plexar. Many travel the roads, but few
return, and those who do will never speak of what they
encountered on their way...

THE GAME
Long ago Plexar was a prosperous and thriving planet renown
throughout the universe for its natural beatuty. Its
inhabitants were a race of highly intelligent beings known
as the Miracle Engineers and they constantly strove to
improve Plexar until it became the most technically advanced
planet in the galaxy.
As it was divided into 16 seperate continents, the Miracle
Engineers designed a system of roads for Plexar which would
link all parts of the planet together, but in order not to
detract from the planet's beauty they decided that the roads
should be made from crystal, supported at each end by
diamond towers.
But all this happened many years ago before the Miracle
Engineers were wiped out by a plague which swept over the
planet sparing no one. The new inhabitants, or Plexarians as
they are known, are tribal and primitive by comparison. They
dare not use the crystal roads which they believe to have
magical properties, but every year in homage to the gods they
worship, a canditate is chosen to travel the roads. Those who
are fortunate enough to return are never the same again, and
are unable to speak of what they have encountered on their
journey, but they are the fortunate ones for most never
return.
This time you have been selected to make the arduous journey
along the crystal roads. You must also attempt to find a way
through the maze of walkways that link the roads within each
tower. To add to the problem, not all the systems within the
towers are quite as they should be. The service robots now
continuously ramble throughout each complex and you must jump
clear of them as they pass. If you don't they will drain some
of your strength and you may not be able to complete your
journey.
Good luck, it's not easy for a humble Plexarian to use the
technology left by the Miracle Engineers.

GAMEPLAY
Each continent is divided into three stages - three
dimensional pathways and vertically scrolling roads. The
three dimensional paths also come in two different types.

CONSTANTLY MOVING 3D PATHWAY
Moving the joystick left and right moves you left or right,
joystick forward causes you to leap over one square. Joystick
back and you leap over two squares, and pressing fire will
send you leaping over a number of squares. Different squares
have different effects, try to avoid the black ones.

CONTROLLABLE 3D PATHWAY
Moving the joystick up or down will move you into or out of
the screen. Different squares have different trals. If you're
caught in a cage. move your joystick in the directions
indicated indicated by the arrow below the timer until you
break out. To land the helicopter press fire.

VERTICALLY SCROLLING ROAD
Moving the joystick up and down will move you up and down.
Pressing fire causes you to jump. Try to keep moving and watch
out for the black squares. If you use the keyboard option to
play the game, use the appropriate key to perform the same
functions as above.

CONTROLS
Joystick or Keyboard
Q - Up
A - Down
O - Left
P - Right
M - Fire
T & Y together will abort the game.

Joystick options
Kempston, Sinclair Interface II


HINTS/CHEATS
47754,0 - Infinite Lives

RELATED GAMES
No direct sequels or prequels, but other Paul Hargreaves
games include Terminus.

SCORES
YS November 1987, 7/10
Crash issue 45, 86%
ACE Issue 2, Rating 887
Also included in the 'Top 100 games of the last 12 months'
from ACE magazine:
"VINTAGE VALUE 805 - Still a good bouncy ball game
TIPS - If you're having trouble in the game, remember that
certain squares (diagonal black and white ones) make you
bounce backwards one square - tricky when there are lots of
squares next to each other. The solution is simple - bounce
on to the square and before you bounce back move the joystick
(or keys) to move you in the opposite direction. The square
thinks you've landed it from the opposite direction and thus
bounces you the other way - which is where you want to go!
TARGET - Complete ten roads without losing a life."

URL
ftp://ftp.nvg.unit.no/pub/sinclair/snaps/games/by-letter/p/
plexar.zip

FACTS
The games real title (i.e the one that the author intended)
is 'The Roads of Plexar', as shown by the loading screen.
Mastertronic had a habit of altering titles like this, but
were by no means the only software house to do so -
Alternative were infamous for their period of re-releasing
old games with new titles, in the belief that this would
sell more copies.