Gridtrap

The Good
Grid Trap is a game based on Check Man, released by Jaleco in 1982. As a young lad who made regular trips to the arcade, I didn’t remember seeing it (let alone reading about it), and I believe not many people have heard about it either, but a company called Livewire did; it released the first ever variant for the popular eight-bit microcomputers at the time.

For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, you are trying to defuse five bombs (one by one) somewhere on a grid of squares before they explode. Every square you step on will disappear, making it harder for you to backtrack to get to the next bomb, so you need to plan your route carefully. To make matters worse, mines are scattered throughout the maze and feet move around; both of them costing you a life upon contact. Once all five bombs have been defused, you move on to the next level where the number of boots increase.

The front cover is impressive; it shows a man running across some squares, with a mine nearby. I noticed that Livewire had updated their logo at this point. I liked the “sparkey” one better, but I digress. Graphic-wise, the squares look like ice-blocks, and I could tell everything apart from each other. I think having the score and high score separated at the bottom of the screen is a good idea since it reduces clutter.

Each version of Gridtrap has its own individual music, and in the VIC-20 version it is a variation of the Amidar theme. I enjoyed listening to it as I went around defusing bombs, and even though it is the only music you hear in the game, it does not get boring. Little sound effects are heard, just a low beep when a bomb is collected. Finally, I like how Livewire gave you the option of using the joystick or keyboard; I just found the joystick easier to use.

The Bad
Sometimes, one of the feet will keep hovering around a bomb that needs to be defused, and you have to wait for the foot to move on, wasting valuable time.

The Bottom Line
Gridtrap is an excellent game that requires a bit of thinking on the player's part. You go around defusing bombs avoiding mines and feet. The catch is the squares disappear when you step on them, making it harder to backtrack to the next bomb. The graphics and music is excellent, and there is definitely an excuse to "score-attack".