The Rats (video game)
| The Rats | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Hodder & Stoughton |
| Publisher(s) | Hodder & Stoughton |
| Platform(s) | Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum |
| Release date(s) | 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Government simulation game / Text Adventure, Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | Cassette Tape |
The Rats is a Government simulation game and Survival horror Text Adventure game that runs on the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum computers. It is based on the novel of the same name by James Herbert. An Amstrad CPC version was planned but was never released. [1]
Gameplay
The game is generally played as a simulation that allow the player to strategically send emergency forces (rat exterminators, police men, fire men and eventually army troops) to areas where the rat threat has spread and provide them with available equipment. Also the player can get ten available researchers to develop addition weapons, defenses and super weapons to keep the rats at bay and to provide useful information to progress in the game. Should the rat threat reach beyond the London limits, the Research center, the Government center or Harris' apartment or if all emergency forces are lost, the game is over.
In between the simulation game play, the game will suddenly switch to the role of a playable character in a randomly chosen text adventure scenario. The player has to select one or more verbal options to perform actions to allow the character to survive against the rat threat and avoid getting killed. While it is not crucial to keep the characters alive, saving them grants the player additional reinforcements and research to aid against the rat threat. However if one of the main characters Harris, Howard or Foskins dies, the game is over.
Reception
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The Rats was generally well-received, including the ratings of 9/10 by EuroGamer,[2] 79% by Zzap! (C64),[3] 70% by Crash (ZX Spectrum),[4] a 5-star rating in the December/January 1985 edition of ZX Computing [5] and a 5-star rating in the October 1985 edition of Sinclair User.[6]
References
- ↑ "The Rats - Popular Computing Weekly" (7). p. 4. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Rats". EuroGamer. October 26, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Rats Review from Zzap 64 (Nov 1985)" (7). November 1985. p. 98. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Rats Review from Crash 21 (Oct 1985) - World of Spectrum" (21). October 1985. p. 123. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Rats Review from ZX Computer 8512 (Dec/Jan 1985) - World of Spectrum" (8512). December 1985. p. 64. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Rats Review from Sinclair User 43 (Oct 1985) - World of Spectrum" (43). October 1985. p. 21. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
