LOCKED by Rikus Kras

GAME TYPE: 
MAZE/PUZZLE
PLAYERS: ONE
DIFFICULTY: MEDIUM
TARGET: GET MR BALL THROUGH
A SERIES OF CHALLENGING MAZES.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
MINIMUM: 486 SX WITH
4 MEGS RAM
RECOMMENDED AT LEAST
486 DX2 WITH 8 MEGS RAM
SOUND CARD OPTIONAL
Long before he was involved in a climatic battle to save Silky's Home Page and, inevitably,
the entire world, or before he even had a face (!), Mr Ball was simply a ClipArt ball that had been thrown into a world full of huge, daunting mazes. His mission is simple: as Mr Ball, you must escape from the series of increasingly difficult mazes.
Locked was released to the Klik & Play community when games were created mainly for
fun and for other people's enjoyment, and long before the public demanded original graphics and sound etc, and looked down on and despised ClipArt. Therefore, Locked's artwork mainly consists of Europress sprites and backdrops. However, the most important factor of any game is not how the game looks (although it helps), but rather how the game plays. And Locked plays wonderfully.
When you first begin to play the game, it is apparent that the levels have been magnificently
planned and thought out, and each maze is intricately designed so all the traps and tricks work like clockwork. An example of Locked's wonderful maze design is the first stage (pictured above): Mr Ball must dodge crushers and an awkwardly positioned bad guy to access a teleporter, which leads to a previously inaccessible area, then he must dodge a row of three more crushers to obtain a fireball which is to be thrown at a wooden doorway, hence demolishing it, and providing access to a newly-opened area, where he must flick a switch to turn off the electrostatic forcefield, therefore providing access to a teleporter which takes you to the next maze!!
Another fine level example is Maze three, where Mr Ball must run through a narrow winding
passageway while being pursued by a bad guy that increases his speed, getting closer and closer...
He must reach the spaceship at the end of the tunnel (above), but one bump into the walls could slow him down, hence being grabbed by the bad guy...a very fast paced, exciting level.
Some levels may seem reidiculously difficult at first (Maze 2 particularly), but there is
always a certain routine to get through unscathed. Mr Ball has infinite lives, but this is not a bad thing. When first trying to get through the game, you may lose into double figures of lives on just one level! However, the game is so polished and smartly executed that you never feel overly frustrated.
The game itself plays beautifully. At first Mr Ball may feel slightly too responsive, but it does
not take long to master his movements. The puzzles and traps are so cunningly thought out that they are a joy to behold. Also, completing a level gives you the feeling that you've really achieved something, providing a "feel-good" factor. It is always an enjoyable challenge to try and master each level, and the game grows progressively more difficult as it goes on, unlike some of Amazing Productions' later games, which sufffered from their lack of a learning curve.
The graphics of Locked, although almost entirely consisting of ClipArt, suit the game
perfectly. Even the most original-graphics-biased person probably couldn't fault the way this game looks. Rikus has set out the levels perfectly, with bright, interesting and eye-catching colours, assorted greenery for decoration, and sometimes even clouds drifting overhead! Although these don't affect the game in any way, they make the game much more tolerable and pleasing to the eye. If the graphics hadn't have been so colourful and pretty then Locked may have felt a lot duller to play, and wouldn't hold your attention for as long. There are a variety of different locations in the game, too. Although they are not specifically set anywhere, some levels look as though they are erected on grassy verges, some in a barren, sandy desert, and some levels even take place on an asteroid in space! All look splendid and very pretty.
The music in the game is wonderful. Although there are only three pieces, which have been
borrowed from other media, they have obviously been very carefully selected, and suit the game fantastically. One song, the theme from a largely unknown television programme (Rikus didn't even know it!), the Munsters, suits the game in an apt, yet bizarre, way. This tune later became the theme tune for Locked 2, 3, 4, and 5. Another midi, Tubular Bells II, suits the space levels perfectly, almost sending chills down your spine (well, it did for me anyway!). Finally, Rikus has used the single greatest, most wonderful, spiffy, totally awesome, fantastic, megatastic and frankly ACE midi ever EVER EVER composed!! I'm not being biased or anything here or anything... ;)
Seriously though, the theme "2brich.mid" is a wonderful tune, and really suits the game. It is
happy, tuneful and funky all at the same time, which is no mean feat! In fact, I like the tune so much that I've made it available for download at the bottom of this review!
Locked only has eight levels, which are taxing at first, but once you master them you should
never have any trouble cracking them when next playing the game. However, the game is simply so much fun that you'll find yourself coming back to play it again and again. Locked, well over a year since it was downloaded, is still on my hard drive, and remains one of only two Locked games to do so (the other being Locked 6), and still retains its warm charm and fantastic level designs. To this day, in my heart it still remains one of the finest Klik & Play games ever uploaded. A miniature masterpiece, and a classic in ever respect. Anybody who hasn't download this K&P milestone should download it right now!
Who says great graphics and sound make a great game? 

GRAPHICS

87%

 Beautifully presented and laid-out.

A lot of ClipArt used.

MUSIC

94%

 Absolutely wonderful! Some of the best heard in a game.

SFX

90%

 Nice mix of buzzes, whooshes, klaxons etc.

GAMEPLAY

93%

 Almost faultless. A joy to play.

Mr Ball can feel overly responsive at first.

LASTABILITY

95%

 Locked may quite possibly never leave your hard drive!

OVERALL

92%

 An absolute marvel! A wonderful, simplistic, yet stylish performed maze game. A classic.
Locked can be downloaded at Rikus Kras' New Games Page.
2brich.mid - a wonderful tune from the game, can be downloaded here.
Back to the Reviews Index
Back home

This page hosted by GeoCities Get your own Free Home Page

1