''Nonterraqueous'' is a

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

, and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 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 the Guinness ...

, released by

Mastertronic Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was one of the largest software publishers in the UK, achieved b ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Gameplay

The player controls a

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

(which resembles an eyeball) whose mission is to destroy the central computer currently in control of the planet Nonterraqueous. The robot has a "psyche" value which is reduced every time contact is made with a surface, requiring fine control over the robot's movements. Barring the way are enemies which can be shot with the robots lasers, "photon thrusters" (white barriers that pulsate and kill the robot instantly if they contact), and other obstacles, some of which can only be destroyed by finding a bomb and dropping it in the room. Along the way, there are stations at which the robot can "recharge" its psyche, although some are deadly to use, and knowing which ones can only come from experience. There are also "SWAP" stations that allow the robot to transform into a form which doesn't allow shooting lasers but is invulnerable to some otherwise deadly obstacles. Also along the way is a long vertical corridor which is seemingly impassable until a rocket at the bottom of the vertical shaft is activated, catapulting the player up several dozens levels and through the barrier. The overall size of the game was considered daunting for the time, consisting of 1004 separate locations.

Sequel

A sequel to the game exists and is called '' Soul of a Robot''; the gameplay is quite different.

References

External links

*{{WoS game, id=0003456
Nonterraqueous
at CPC WIKI 1985 video games ZX Spectrum games Mastertronic games Commodore 64 games Amstrad CPC games Video games about robots Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set on fictional planets