By Tom R. Halfhill — originally published in Volume 1 – Issue 1 – June, 1983
For a while, most of the best computer games were available only for such machines as the Apple II or Atari 400/800. Partly this was for marketing reasons: these computers have what’s called a large “installed base,” and the major software companies naturally preferred to make games which would sell to the most customers.
But that’s been changing now that the VIC-20 and Commodore 64 computers have been selling like hotdogs at the World Series. The major software houses are recognizing that a significant new market is developing. Companies once known primarily for their Apple or Atari games are moving to support Commodore, too.
One of these companies is Sirius Software, Inc. Sirius may be a new name to Commodore users, but it’s well-known among Apple and Atari game-players for such classics as Space Eggs and Sneakers. It was also the stomping ground of such famous game programmers as Nasir Gebelli.
Deadly Duck is one of a new line of games introduced by Sirius for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. Although Deadly Duck is available only for the VIC-20 at present, a Commodore 64 version is in the works (in fact, the game instructions refer to the 64 version).
Deadly Duck maintains the standards set by Sirius’s previous products: the game program is fast (all machine language) and bug-free, makes excellent use of the computer’s color graphics and sound, includes multiple difficulty levels and other options, and is supported by solid documentation. The game was designed by Ed Hodapp and programmed for the VIC-20 by Jeremy A. Jones.
Big Duck In A Small Pond
Although the title Deadly Duck might imply that your enemy is some sort of fearsome waterfowl, you are actually “Deadly” the Duck. Using either a joystick or the keyboard, you control a multicolored duck which can swim back and forth on a pond along the bottom of the screen. You begin the game with a supply of four ducks; your three spares are displayed below the pond. You can acquire any number of bonus ducks throughout the game, but no more than three of these spares are displayed at a time.
The object of Deadly Duck is to retain control of your pond while battling pesty enemies. During the first level, the enemies consist of flying crabs which try to drop bricks on your head. More enemies appear in the higher levels.
Besides evasive action (swimming back and forth), you have another way of defending yourself. Woe unto the unsuspecting hunter who tries to bag Deadly, because this is one duck who is literally armed to the teeth — or bill. Inside Deadly’s bill is a hidden gun which fires “bill bullets.” You can fire one bill bullet at a time by pressing the joystick fire button (or space bar). Each shot is accompanied by a very realistic “quack.”
To aim your shots, you maneuver Deadly directly beneath your target. Naturally, this exposes him to the falling bricks. This means you have to become adept at swimming beneath the flying crabs (which are constantly changing direction), firing a quick bill bullet, and then dodging the falling bricks. When a brick misses Deadly and hits the pond, it floats on the water for a few seconds, blocking Deadly from swimming past it. If several bricks fall at once, he can be trapped between them, or against one side of the screen, which makes you even more vulnerable to the falling bricks.
One solution is to shoot the bricks. You also score more points this way, but it’s a hazardous tactic since Deadly must be positioned directly beneath them. And in the higher levels, the bricks drop much faster.
More Formidable Foes
To advance to each succeeding level, you must destroy all eight flying crabs. This wins you a bonus duck. Getting past the first level isn’t too difficult after a few tries. Beginning with the second level, though, you encounter even more formidable foes. These are the constantly increasing, hovering dragonflies.
Two of these dragonflies appear in the second level. They hover just over Deadly’s head, below the crabs. Since they don’t move very fast, they’re quite easy to shoot, and each hit is worth ten points. Unfortunately, shooting a dragonfly doesn’t make it disappear, because the dragonflies are invulnerable. What’s worse, shooting the dragonflies only angers them, and they retaliate by dropping bombs on Deadly. Each bomb consists of a slowly descending cloud of tiny fragments. The slightest touch of one of these fragments is deadly to Deadly.
The bombs are relatively easy to dodge in the second level, since there are only two dragonflies dropping only one bomb at a time.
If you survive long enough to reach the fifth level, the bricks start falling faster. And in the sixth level, the crabs start flying as fast as mosquitoes around a light bulb. The crabs are always worth 30 points, and the dragonflies ten points, but you do get more points for shooting bricks in the higher levels — up to ten times the 50 points that bricks are worth in level one.
Attention To Detail
All of the animation in Deadly Duck is extremely smooth and swift. You don’t expect slow, jerky motion in a good commercial game program, and none is evident here. What’s more, all of the main characters — Deadly the Duck, the flying crabs, and the dragonflies — are finely detailed and multicolored. This is especially impressive since the VIC does not support sprites or bit-mapped graphics modes.
Deadly Duck also has several convenience features which should perhaps be standard on all games of this type. The keyboard control option will be appreciated by people without a joystick, or by those who prefer the feel of “buttons” for this game. The f5 function key allows more advanced players to skip the lower levels and begin immediately at the higher levels. The RESTORE key ends any game in progress and returns you to the “demo mode,” in which the high score is displayed and the screen colors cycle endlessly. The RUN/STOP key instantly freezes the action in case the phone rings or some other momentary distraction arises. Pressing RUN/STOP restarts the game where you left off. And finally, the f7 function key helps clear up fuzzy images on some color TV sets which are slightly out of synchronization with the VIC’s video signal.
The thoughtful design of this product extends even to its plug-in cartridge. The decision to put the game on a cartridge makes it convenient to load and accessible to any VIC owner. Deadly Duck is enclosed in a sturdy plastic case with indented and ridged finger-grips. If you’ve ever struggled to extract a reluctant cartridge from the back of your VIC, you’ll appreciate this.
For fans of arcade-style action games, Deadly Duck should be a welcome addition to the growing selection of VIC-20 software.
Deadly Duck
Sirius Software, Inc.
10364 Rockingham Drive
Sacramento, CA 95827
$34.95