Aquablast
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Publisher : Elite Systems
Platform : Atari ST, Amiga Format : 90 mm Floppy Disk Language : 68000 Assembler Resolution : 320 x 200 Year : 1988 |
Aquablast
Aquablast is a 3D-perspective first person speedboat action game, featuring 4 obstacle-filled courses.
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Once again the world is in danger from a mad tyrant bent on total domination. In this case, the foe is creating a deadly toxin capable of destroying all life on the planet.
Until now, he could not be stopped, but the U.N.'s Intelligence Agency have discovered that there are three installations, based in some of the most inaccessible regions of the world where the toxin is being manufactured.
You have been given the task of destroying these bases, but the only way to reach them is by a complex route of waterways, heavily guarded by both natural and man-made obstacles. To combat these problems, you have been given a highly powered jet boat with mounted machine guns and a limited number of missiles.
The task ahead will be difficult, but with courage and skill you can overcome any odds.
LET THE MISSION COMMENCE!
You must travel along the various waterways. Target Practice, South American Jungle Mission, Norwegian Fjords and Middle East Desert exercises.
In the Target Practice section, the red targets must be shot with the forward mounted machine gun, the black targets must be shot using missiles. You must avoid mines, gun emplacements, dive bombing, enemy helicopters, submarines, enemy planes and enemy boats, some of which drop mines or booby trapped fuel barrels and can only be destroyed with a missile.
Along the way, you must pick up fuel by driving over fuel barrels, as well as the cannisters containing fuel and missiles dropped by the C.I.A. helicopters.
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In a high powered jet boat, the player must travel along the various waterways; Target Practice, Norwegian Fjords and Middle East Desert exercises, and South American Jungle mission.
In the Target Practice section, the red targets must be shot with the forward mounted machine gun, the black targets must be shot using missiles.
In the Target Practice section, the red targets must be shot with the forward mounted machine gun, the black targets must be shot using missiles.
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The player must avoid mines, gun emplacements, dive-bombing enemy planes, and enemy boats, some of which drop mines or booby trapped fuel barrels and can only be destroyed with a missile. Enemy aircraft can be destroyed by launching the boat into the air off a log and then releasing a missile.
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The player can slide the jet boat up slopes to avoid obstacles and destroy closed lock gates with missiles.
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Along the way, the player must pick up fuel by driving over fuel barrels, as well as the crates containing fuel and missiles dropped by the C.I.A. helicopters.
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The player's jet boat must travel through dark tunnels, avoiding mines and other obstacles.
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With a lot of skill and some luck the player will eventually reach the deadly toxin factory at the end of the waterway. The factory can only be destroyed by the boat leaping off a log into the air and letting off a missile to finally destroy the evil foe's installations.
Development
To develop Aquablast, Martin built upon the 68000 code base that he had developed for Buggy Boy. Many of the game's elements are similar to those in Buggy Boy. There are tunnels, walls, and embankments, and in place of bridges over water, Aquablast has narrow stretches of waterway.
Aquablast includes many technical enhancements over Buggy Boy:
Aquablast includes many technical enhancements over Buggy Boy:
- a triple-buffered screen - this greatly improves the smoothness of the animation by increasing the effective frame rate (triple-buffering allows for screen drawing to continue without the need to wait for vertical blanking when switching screen buffers)
- the whole game display moves up and down in sync with the vertical position of the player's speed boat - this makes bouncing the boat into the air off logs and ramps visually more dramatic
- horizontal line interrupts on the Atari ST, and copper lists on the Amiga, were used to change colour palette values on a scan line basis. This facilitated spectacular colour-gradient skies, and palette darkening inside tunnels.
- smooth sprite scaling, using vertical interpolation techniques, gives a much improved 3D effect to approaching sprites
Release
Shortly before completion, Aquablast was re-branded as Live and Let Die, and distributed jointly between Elite and Domark in those territories where Domark had the James Bond Live and Let Die computer game licence. Domark's licence did not cover America, consequently Elite distributed the game under its original title of Aquablast in the USA.