Driller (video game)
| Driller | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Major Developments |
| Publisher(s) | Incentive Software |
| Distributor(s) | Incentive Software |
| Engine | Freescape |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Score |
| Amstrad Action | 96% |
| CVG | 34/40 |
| Crash | 97% |
| Sinclair User |   |
| Your Sinclair | 9/10 |
| Zzap!64 | 96% |
| ACE | 956 |
| The Games Machine | 95% |
| Awards | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Award |
| Zzap!64 | Gold Medal |
| C+VG | C+VG Hit |
| Crash | Crash Smash |
| Amstrad Action | 4th best game of all time |
Driller (also known as Space Station Oblivion in the United States) is a 1987 puzzle video game. It was written by British developers Major Developments and published by Incentive Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and MS-DOS. The game was notable for its early 3D game engine, Freescape.
The game requires the player to maneuver the excavation probe, through a first-person view, through eighteen regions (in the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron) of the moon Mitral, and place a drilling rig in each of them to allow a minimum of 50% of the gas to escape. The position is established by a mixture of clues from the landscape (including an "X marks the spot" in the first zone) and trial and error. The security systems will attack Lesleigh upon sight, and he must disable or avoid them by any means possible. Only a few can be destroyed by shooting, the rest must be dispatched by mechanical means through switches or similar.
The eighteen regions are actually platforms above the true surface of Mitral; the excavation probe cannot fly or hover (although it can rise and lower itself slightly on hydraulics), and moving off a platform causes the player to fall onto the surface, where he is marooned. However, in one area the player can find a garage containing a hovering vehicle that can be used to explore and attack security systems, though not to place drilling rigs.
In the far future, the human race has abandoned Earth for the reaches of outer space, having ruined the planet in the relentless quest for resources and in endless conflict. In a desperate search to find a new home, they found Evath, a life-sustaining planet with two moons, Mitral and Tricuspid. They sent a ship, named "Exodus" to colonize this new planet with explorers, embryos and supplies. Generations passed, and the colony on Evath was formed. Without the rule of law, the oldest members of the Exodus' crew, the Elders, were forced to take control, form an army and bring the rule of law to Evath.
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