Story
This is a game about a guy called Liam... an odd sort of fellow, born with* a mysterious gelatinous sheath that gives him the power to shoot acid from his hands, climb up walls (note: this power is latent until Liam consumes a supernaturally prepared vegetable known as "THE PICKLE O' DOOM!!!!!111111one") and walk without moving his legs. Don't you wish you had a gelatinous sheath too? I know I do... *Well actually, Liam acquired the sheath through mysterious circumstances that I haven't decided on yet. Maybe he fell in a vat of something. |
Mission Objectives
Your mission should you choose to accept it (But why wouldn't you? I mean, you went to all the trouble of getting the game and now you're not going to play it? You disgust me...) is this: The evil genius Dr. T has created an army of zombified clones of his accomplice, Kyle Bolton, so that he can take over the world, or something. Your mission is to assassinate Dr. T and destroy the clone-spawning twin security systems he invented and affectionately named "Roboballs", destroying any abominations of nature you encounter on the way (e.g. Mindless zombies, Reused sprites from Pacula Resurrection, etc. Well actually not etc, that's about it... sigh...) |
Controls
The majority of the controls are covered in a compulsory tutorial in the game, but I might as well list it here too...
There are also certain other controls, used in minigames and menus that are usually explained in the context. Also, the down arrow key can occasionally be used to talk to characters in the background and interact with them. |
The Main Menu
| The main menu is the menu you first see when you start the game. From here you can choose to start a new game (be warned that this will clear any saved progress that you may have), continue playing Liam 3000 from where you left off, check out some wacky extras (there's a pretty neat menu for the extras, navigate it using the arrow keys and try to avoid the ghul- that's the green thing) and quit the game. Choose wisely! |
Levels
| In each level, the primary objective is to get from the starting position to the crawlspace which will take you to the next level without being wiped out by the various nasties you encounter on your way. There are many obstacles, such as walls made of rocks which can be demolished by firing at buttons (found on walls and ceilings elsewhere in the level), spikes and enemies (basically, if it moves it's an enemy -or a background animation). Both spikes and enemies will kill Liam in an instant. Luckily, Liam has unlimited lives! Isn't that great? |
Extras
| In the aforementioned extras menu, you can access several, well, extras (such as minigames) using the aforementioned technique of navigating the menu. Instructions are included in most of the extras, so I don't really know why I even included this section. The two minigames with no instructions (Flax-bush Dive and Liam 3000: Survival Mode) are controlled in exactly the same way as the main game. You can even shoot acid in Flax-bush Dive for no reason whatsoever! It should also be noted that in the game "Break the Tree", there are three possible ranks that can be achieved upon colliding with the tree. The lowest, GEEK, is bestowed upon you if you fail to break the tree. If you manage to break the tree but die in the process, a GOTH rank is given to you. If you somehow manage to break the tree and survive, the almighty PUNK rating will be given to you. |
Saving and Loading
| While playing Liam 3000, your game is automatically saved every time Liam starts a new level and also after every time Liam dies. That also means that if you collect a new weapon but then perish, you'll still have that weapon when you start the level again. Be glad that I was too lazy to change this after deciding It'd be better if it didn't happen like this. If you want to load your game, just click 'continue' on the main menu and you will be taken to the start of the level you most recently played. But be careful... If Liam doesn't clearly make an appearance in the level, It probably hasn't saved. |
Weapons and Items
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Acid- This is the default weapon. It is fired from Liam's hands. Damage: 1 |
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Ice Crystal- Possession of this will allow Liam to shoot a beam of ice at his enemies and freeze them. Damage: 10 |
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Sickle- A blade that can be thrown. Damage: 2 |
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Golden Sickle- This weapon is a secret... don't tell anybody. Damage: ??? |
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Bomb- Creates a powerful explosion upon collision with a wall or a press of the X key. Damage: 5 |
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Pickle o' Doom- This mystical vegetable grants Liam the uncanny ability to climb certain walls. Damage: N/A |
Miscellaneous Information
| Most of the charcters you see in this game are real people. So treat them with respect. I feel as if I should post some links here to things like blogs and personal website that will clarify a bit about who these people really are, but to quote Liam Bowen himself, feh... |
Legal Stuff
This game is freeware and may be distributed freely over the internet, as long as the contents are not modified. Should you wish to distribute on a disc or as part of some magazine giveaway thingy, contact me first at sergio@rhysd.com. I'd really prefer it if you didn't steal the graphics and other contents of the game, but if for some reason you really have to, email me and I might comply. Oh yeah, and I can't be held responsible if it kills your computer and stuff. Not that it should. This game is (C) Bulletfrog Games 2005. Visit us online at www.bulletfrog.tk. |