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Review

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Huge playlist archive with games from 2020: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxOanVBhqd3uaUbZJnzjW5Sv0Mot2ntmx
In this game you control two agents, Allan and Dina. The agents have to sneak into a facility where the new ZXS Spyctrum computer is being produced and steal the production plans. The game starts with a screen where the agents are leaving their car and entering the building, and when all the objectives has been fulfilled the agents has to come back to their car here.

You control both of the agents, you switch between them by pressing “1” and “2”. To leave a screen both of them has to be where the exit door are, and when you are at the door you have to be Allan (1) for leaving the screen.

This is your mission:
- Steal 12 floppy disks that contains the production plans for the new ZXS Spyctrum
- Steal 4 prototypes of the ZXS Spyctrum
- Get the activation code

To get the activation code you will also need to find 4 keycards, that has to be inserted in a specific computer you need to find.

But this is just the main objectives, because this is an arcade puzzle game with lots of puzzles to solve. You need to activate switches for making platforms appear or disappear, open doors, turn on the power to platforms that can move and that sort of stuff.

Some of the switches are marked with 1 and 2 and can only be activated by the specific agent, and later in the game Dina has to be left on a switch for keeping a door open for Allan that has to work solo for a while. This is in the basement levels, where there are some really cool screens with graphics that looks like when loading a ZX Spectrum game from tape.

There are 31 screens in this game, and with two characters to control and lots of puzzles to solve, this means that there are plenty to do before the game is completed. The structure of the game is good, some places you can take several routes, but it is not like a labyrinth, and as the game proceed you will end up having been where you ought to. You start with 12 lives which seems pretty fair once you have learned the controls, and when entering the basement levels Allan can pick up a package with x5 extra lives. Some of the screens with many enemies has a door leading to another room, you can hide in that room until the hallway is free of enemies. All the enemies has to be avoided because you have no weapons.

This is a very interesting game with some pretty unusual gameplay and lots of objectives to fulfil. The game is made in AGDX and features highly detailed backgrounds on all of the screens and the use of Spritemask, which is pushing this engine, and causes the game to be 128k only and without AY music. When you die or when you get very close to an enemy there will be some beeper fx. AY music or not - This is a great game!

The game was made by Jaime Grilo (loading screen by José Silva) in 2020.

Rating = 89%

Download and more about the game on Jaime’s site here: https://jg-spectrum.webnode.pt/l/zxs-spyctrum-mission/