Rendell001

Merchant of Venus (ZX81)

Could've been up there with the greats... difficulty curve kills it.

The Good
Well thought out trading game like a cut down version of "Elite" on a ZX81. The flying sequence is basically Lunar Lander but it really shines when the camera view switches to landing mode - each trade port is lovingly crafted with the ZX81 character set. You'll want to visit them all to appreciate them all.

The Bad
The Lunar lander flying part is ludicrously hard - I bet that difficulty killed the player's interest in the rest of the game.

The Bottom Line
I think Crystal had gotten the idea from "Elite" on the BBC micro and tried a similar idea set on a single planet. The player would have to pilot his "lander" over the landscape to various trading posts and mining instalations to conduct business. This was easier said than done as it was VERY hard to land at destination without (A) crashing or (B) landing so hard that your ship was effectively wrecked. The graphics weren't hi res but they were lovingly crafted and if it wasn't for the difficulty curve in piloting the ship, it would be a pretty compelling game...

By Rendell001 on July 7, 2024