''Frenzy'' is an action video game for the

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers, to provide many of the features of that more expensive mach ...

and

BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...

published in the UK by

Micro Power Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s by former accountant Bob Simpson. The company was best known as a video game publisher, originally under the name Program Power. It also sold many types of computer hardware and s ...

in 1984. It is a variant of the 1981 region-filling arcade video game ''

Qix ( ) is a 1981 puzzle video game developed by husband and wife team Randy and Sandy Pfeiffer and published in arcades by Taito, Taito America. ''Qix'' is one of a handful of games made by Taito's American division (another is ''Zoo Keeper (1983 v ...

''. Ports were released for the

in 1984 and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

in 1985.

Gameplay

Although the gameplay is similar to ''

'', the backstory for ''Frenzy'' involves the player controlling a robot craft, attempting to capture deadly sub-atomic

Lepton In particle physics, a lepton is an elementary particle of half-integer spin (Spin (physics), spin ) that does not undergo strong interactions. Two main classes of leptons exist: electric charge, charged leptons (also known as the electron-li ...

s from inside a scientific research centre. In ''Frenzy'', a Lepton is captured if it is trapped in an area enclosed by the player's robot craft or if 95% of the screen area has been filled. The robot craft has two speeds and the score for filling in an area using only the slower speed is subject to a 2x multiplier. ''Chasers'' appear in higher levels which can collide with the player's robot craft, causing a life to be lost. The number of Leptons and Chasers increase as the levels progress, up to a maximum of five of each on the most difficult screens—except for Levels 12 and 14, which have a smaller number of Leptons (and no Chasers) but the Leptons move much faster. The player obtains an extra craft on completing the third, sixth and ninth screens. It has been found that after level 14, the last two screens repeat indefinitely. It is stated in the instructions that a good strategy is to build narrow filled blocks using the faster speed across the centre of an unfilled area, and then finally seal the area off by using only the slower mode. This maximises the score while reducing the risk of using "slow mode" to a minimum. It can be seen that players of the game tend to stick to this strategy. Some players remark that ''Frenzy'' is not an exact ''Qix'' clone. Although the game is clearly derived from ''Qix'', there are crucial differences. In ''Qix'', completing a line fills in the area not containing the Qix regardless of size, whereas in ''Frenzy'', the smaller area is always coloured, allowing Leptons to be trapped (which kills them). In ''Qix'', filling a set percentage is the only way to complete levels; in ''Frenzy'' it is more common to complete levels by killing all the Leptons. Also, in ''Frenzy'', the Leptons move in a regular, completely deterministic pattern, and the player's robot craft is permitted to hesitate, making ''Frenzy'' a different playing experience to ''Qix''.

Reception

Generally, the game has received a positive response from both players and reviewers. ''Frenzy'' was reviewed in the August 1984 edition of ''

Acorn User ''Acorn User'' magazine was founded by Acorn Computers in 1982, contract-published by Addison-Wesley, to coincide with the launch of the BBC Micro. It covered the range of Acorn home computers, the BBC Micro and Atom at first and later the Elect ...

'' and also in issue of ''

Electron User ''Electron User'' was a magazine targeted at owners of the Acorn Electron microcomputer. It was published by Database Publications of Stockport, starting in October 1983 and ending after 82 issues in July 1990. Initially it was included as a 1 ...

''. Adam Young in his review entitled "Simplicity Makes a Winner" described the game as "one of the most amusing and compulsive games on the market" and "excellent". Oliver Robinson enjoyed playing ''Frenzy'' by Micropower. Comparing the game to another similar game called ''Kix'' he wrote that ''Kix'' had better music, while ''Frenzy'' had better gameplay. The music to ''Kix'' is " Scarborough Fair" and "

House of the Rising Sun "The House of the Rising Sun" is an American traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the ...

"; ''Frenzy'' has no music at all. Other players have described the game as "a great family favourite", a "favourite game" and "simple, but addictive".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frenzy (Micro Power Video Game) 1984 video games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Commodore 64 games Micro Power games Single-player video games Video game clones Video games developed in the United Kingdom Qix clones