Creatures

Scenario

Zany! Addictive! Whacky! Cruel! Wild! Irresistible! Tear-jerking! Fun!

Held in devilish chambers, an entire village of Fuzzy Wuzzies - the cutest but most mischievous characters ever - need your help! Control the only free Fuzzy, Clyde Radcliffe, on a mission that takes him through the haunted Black Forest of Gateau, to a land full of crazy creatures, scuba diving in piranha ponds and into the lethal chambers themselves! You need quick reactions, a sharp brain and a crazy sense of humour to complete the cartoon game of the year - Creatures!

Out in the nether regions of deepest space (in the far bottom right of the Milky Way) lies a small, insignificant little planet named Blot. Although a pretty place, it’s deserted after its inhabitants were forced to flee from an awful fate - being called by such an un-hip name as Blotians. As soon as they were able, they built a crude but sufficient colony ship and spluttered off into space in search of a trendier planet. Until such a place was found they renamed themselves Fuzzy Wuzzies in search of real hipness.

Unfortunately, a collision with an asteroid led to a crash landing on Earth. As luck would have it, they landed in some blue wobbly stuff - commonly known as the Pacific Ocean - next to an undiscovered island. After the Fuzzy Wuzzies swam ashore they promptly began building a village and named the island “The Hippest Place in The Known Universe”.

What the Fuzzies didn’t know was the existence of bad tempered Demons living on the far side of the island. These demons were enraged by all the noise made by the cheerful Fuzzies, and hated even more the ridiculously silly island name.

The Demons came up with a cunning plan to put an end to the commotion and general good time being had by these intruders - they invited them to the biggest party ever held on the island. Fuzzies cannot resist a good party, and all of them brushed up their fur and attended. But just as they were starting to enjoy themselves, the Demons threw a net over everyone and carted them off to their chambers.

The only one who wasn’t caught was Clyde Radcliffe, a tanked up little Fuzzy already throwing up in the bushes. The next morning Clyde woke up with a splitting headache and breath so bad it could scorch a tree at six paces. Nevertheless, our courageous little hero vowed to destroy the Demons and rescue his fellow Fuzzies.

Playing the Game

Each stage in the game represents part of the island. Once the end of the stage is reached and completed, Clyde enters a Witch’s Hut. Inside is a good witch who has a Fuzzy fetish and offers to mix Magic Potions which, when drunk by Clyde, give him special weapons.

However, to enable the witch to mix any potions, she needs ingredients. These are in the form of “Magic Potion Creatures” found during each stage. It’s important for Clyde to collect as many MPCs as possible before entering the hut, so that he can obtain better potions from the witch.

An enemy will only be killed if it flashes white when hit. Some enemies that appear to be completely separate from each other will in fact be “linked”. If any of these are hit, the rest of the linked enemies will also be hit.

Once two stages have been completed, Clyde is not automatically put onto the next level. He will first find himself in a chamber. This is the location of one of his friends who must be saved to proceed any further.

Controls

On the Title Screen:

Press FIRE to start the game.

On the Get Ready screen:

Press FIRE to begin the Stage.

In-game options:

CLYDE: Pushing UP makes Clyde jump. If FIRE is depressed, Clyde will fire (using the current weapon). If FIRE is held down for a second and then released, Clyde’s bad breath will be used and he will breathe a large flame. Pulling DOWN on the joystick and then pressing FIRE will present you with the “weapons table”. Keeping FIRE pressed, pulling LEFT and RIGHT will enable you to view the weapons tablet.

Keeping FIRE pressed, pulling LEFT and RIGHT will enable you to view the weapons, and releasing FIRE will select the chosen weapon.

Note: only the weapon purchased in the shop will be displayed in the weapons tablet. The weapon’s grade is indicated by its colour:

SHOP: (When the weapon tablet appears)

A weapon will only be added if you have enough Magic Potion Creatures for the Witch to use as ingredients, and the weapon is not at its maximum grade (grey). You can also buy information from the Witch by selecting the “i” icon. She can give you up to three clues, helping you complete the next chamber. Selecting “E” icon will exit the shop and continue the game.

CREDITS

Game conceived and created by APEX COMPUTER PRODUCTIONS
Programmed by John "Playboy" Rowlands
Graphics, music and sound FX by Steve "Superslick" Rowlands

With help from (and big drinks to):

Dave "Eat my dust and count my Vs" Birch (loadsahype)
Franco Frey (money management)
Oli Frey (creative cover art)
Andy "Southern Comfort" Smith (numero uno play tester and supplier of invaluable ideas)
Rob "It's okay I'm fully comp." Ellis
Miles "TLH" Barry (technical desistance)
Andy "Now you see it - now you don't" Roberts (creative consultant)
Rob "Dig those waitresses" Hogg (constructive criticism)
Mum and Dad (big, shiny new office and unconstructive criticism)
Carol Kinsey & Richard Eddy (show-stopping Bug frenzies).

This game is dedicated to Mr & Mrs Rowlands without whose help it would not have 
been possible.