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The adventures of Quik and Silva was a game designed to full price standards but released as Public Domain. Primarily aimed at kids, the game features a variety of platform levels and shooting action.
You play as a red (or green in 2 player mode) robot who must simply get from one side of a horizontally scrolling level to the other, avoiding or shooting obstacles along the way. The first level opens to a cute and cuddly world similar to those found in Mayhem in Monsterland, Giana Sisters and of course Supermario Land. Our hero can shoot a quite powerful gun, which can be upgraded by a further two levels to become a rapid fire six-shooter, and can be used to quickly dispatch those enemies.
The enemy targets come in an array of flying, walking and swimming varieties, and feature characters familiar to the C64 and Amiga scene. Here you will find Sonic the Hedgehog, Pogo from Nebulus, Wasps similar to Apidya, Bubble Bobble dinos, R-type ships, Mario heads, and an assortment of walking menaces from games such as Turrican. Our character moves quickly and responsively, and can jump huge distances to out manoeuvre the many enemies and traps along the way.
The platform action is less varied but still in keeping with the iconic homages of the characters. Expect to see star blocks which can be head-butted, exploding platforms, disappearing logs, spikes, and platforms made up to look like barricades, fortresses and castles.
The game is also split between two different environments; the second one being the caverns (above); and the game alternates between the two. There are 8 levels in all, each with a different difficulty level, but all of a similar formula. There are also bonuses to pick up on each level, gems, points bonuses, and extra lives (noted by 'X' bubbles) - which are always hidden inside destroyable blocks. The game ends with a simple 'Congrats' screen.
As far as gameplay goes, the sprites move quickly and responsively and the graphics are polished higher than the standard PD game. In game music is provided by non other than Chris Hülsbeck, and coding is credited to one Andreas Breebruck (another joke perhaps of top programmer Andrew Braybrook?). As this game is a homage to platformers everywhere, expect to find the usual platformer traps and tricks. For example, on the first level, the player must jump out (to reveal a bubble bobble creature) - and then turn back to land on the original platform again. This is the classic 'reveal' stunt, and must be done at least twice to get through the first level. Similarly, the standard 'round-robin' jump (where the player must jump back on himself to land on a higher platform) are evident particularly on the last two levels.
Overall, the gameplay is fun for a while as long as you use auto-fire - which is a given for this type of game anyway, and preferably a standard microswitched joystick (such as a Zipstick). The level designs become slightly more interesting as the game progresses, and gameplay rarely steals lives away unfairly. However, don't expect a long and happy relationship - as the whole thing can be completed in less than 30mins, and there is nothing new to see here. The action also gets very frustrating if you loose all your weapon upgrades in a hostile situation. As a public domain game though, the standard is very high, and can be fun for a jump-in 10 minute blast.
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Quite polished but not staggering.
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Usual explosions and beeps for the SFX, although the game tunes are quite bubbly.
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Hardly plays unfairly and relies on the players own talent. Responsive controls but the game can slow down when there are many things on screen.
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| Above and beyond a PD game, a homage to the Amiga. |
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