game review: ORMEN by Scan-Bit-Software

[David G]

English port of ORMEN (The Worm) for all the Futura 8300 owners in america. Thanks to kolbeck for bringing attention to this lost classic


Another good game from SBS, Denmark's great Lambda 8300 software house. This is a Snake-type game with an intriguing backstory (via the on-screen instructions). Something about a køkkenbed [kitchen garden/vegetable bed]. Anyways it features a useful range of speeds from very slow (works for me) to lightning fast. The action ramps up quickly. I have cleared the first level (lane/course), but what comes after that is waiting to find out ...

After running the game, then looking at the size of 1 REM, it seemed very short for such a visual powerhouse. Then I remembered that Snake games can run in 1K easily. This one has a bit more candy on it

Ormen - Scan-Bit-Software (SBS)

Requires 16K Ram

As usual with the Lambda 8300, this game is set up for the built-in joystick port. These keys correspond to the joystick:

KEYS
U JOYSTICK Fire Button
7 left
F right
4 up
R down

[mrtinb]

This game requires 16k RAM expansion and a joystick. When the game has been loaded into the machine, it will ask you whether you would like the game instructions.

Your task in the game is to help a baby worm around in a vegetable garden, so it can eat seeds and flowers while avoiding the hungry blackbirds and avoid the border of the garden.

You start by entering the speed from 1 to 100 (1 is slow and 100 is fast). You control the worm with the joystick. 20 points is given for eating a seed. If the worm has eaten 5 seeds, it can then eat a flower. 30-100 points is given for eating a flower, but no points are given if the worm has not eaten 5 seeds first. Number of eaten seeds are shown at the top of the screen. If then number is above 10 the number is show with letters (A=10, B=11, C=12 ... Z=34).

If the worm tries to walk into itself, it will bite itself to death.

After about 2 minutes the game will stop and change to a more difficult level.

The actual score is constantly shown on the top of the screen together with the hi-score. For every 1000 points you get an extra 100 points. For every 5000 points you get an extra life.

You begin with 3 worms and the game ends when you have lost all lives.

Have a good time.