Lock 'N' Chase, 1982 Mattel/Mike Winans (20 From Intellivsion #6)
10Very good port of the arcade classic by Data East for the DECO Cassette System; it's a Pac-Man type of maze game where you control a thief trying to swipe all the coins (in addition to some bonus prizes), elude or deter the cops pursing you, and make your way to one of two exits that appear when you collect all the coins. The cops in this game can backtrack to try to follow you, and can sneak attack you from one of the "warp edges" if you're not looking out for them from across the maze. Your only defense (a collision with a cop results in a lost life) is the placement of doors that the cops can't open, and notice the white lines (sniff) on the walls? Where they reach the edge of a wall is where you can place the doors as you walk by there. You can either deter the cops' path with a placed door or you can put one behind you and the cop pursuing you, then between you and the cop, trapping him! This is really tough to do in this game (more so than the arcade), so try for one of the 4 corners of the maze to do this. A sound will indicate when the dollar sign appears at the center of the maze-- collect it to stun the cops for a second or two; you can pass through them for this very short time. Also, the more dollar signs you collect in one maze, the more they'll be worth-- the first is 500 points, the 2nd is 1,000, the 3rd is 2,000 and the 4th a nice 4,000! This is how expert players rack up their score-- but those darn cops get mighty protective of it later on. An extra bonus prize appears on occasion right underneath the dollar sign. It's a top hat, crown, briefcase, phone, clock, camera, glasses, lamp, key or heart. Oddly enough the point values for these sometimes drop on the higher stages (the 4th prize, a phone, is a measly 100 and the 8th prize, a lamp, is only 400!). If you can get a hold of the 8K version of LNC instead of the original 6K version, do so-- it has reportedly better controls and a more arcade-like death scene for the thief. I loved this port back in the day, and it's still enjoyable. STAY SAFE, everyone. Better times are ahead. Maintain safe distance, cover cough/sneeze/ and keep up good hygiene and hand sanitizing. See you soon with the final 5 in my series!