Classic Computer Magazine Archive PROGRAM LISTING: 87-09/MAX.TXT


MAXIMILLIAN B.

ACTION/STRATEGY GAME BY JD CASTEN

Hey, kids!  Help the intrepid duck
Max (Slyvester Biffdrop's clever
cousin) conquer the mechanical
monster that's making mouse lives
miserable.  This BASIC program
works on Atari 8-bit computers with
at least 32K memory, disk or
cassette

Maximillian B. approached the large
oak doors slowly and cautiously.  As
he drew ever closer, the doors
creaked open, revealing an office the
size of a basketball court and barren
except for a large desk.

"Hurry up, Maxy babe," echoed a voice
from behind the desk.  "My oh my,
what a beak you have!  You know,
plastic surgery can do wonders these
days."  Max's bill began to clatter.
Aunt Icked, the family's wealthy
oddball, always gave him the chills.

"You asked to see me?" gagged Max.
Aunt Icked rarely summoned him just
to make fun of his long beak.

"Yes Max, I have an assignment for
you.  This is big-time, Max."  Aunt
Icked pulled a few documents and a
train ticket out of her desk and
handed them to Max.

"Shouldn't cousin Sly handle matters
of this sort?  I'm an inventor, not
an inspector."  But Max's heart began
to pound harder: this was a dream
come true for him.

"No," replied Aunt Icked, "this job
requires someone with extra
brain-power -- but you'll do.  You
and your Clijum-9 aircar are perfect
for this mission.  Besides, Sly has
had terrible nightmares lately, and
he needs all the rest he can get."

"What's the mission?" questioned Max.
Max swelled with pride: he had become
an inspector.

Aunt Icked sighed gravely.  "A
Mechanical Electrical Operational
Weapon manufactured by Icked
Industries has gone haywire.  The
contraption took off in the middle of
the night and holed up somewhere in
the Rodentential section of Burger
city.  Evidently the machine has been
terrorizing the mice and other rodent
residents.  Your mission is to enter
the fortress and destroy the
Mechanical Electrical Operational
Weapon.  The details are in those
documents.  Get your little ducktail
moving."

THE MISSION

On the train ride to Burger City, Max
studied the material.   Apparently
the mechanical menace had built a
fortress in a large mountain of
deadly vampire vegetation.  Max would
have to climb and jump on the
framework of the fortress, but could
he avoid the vampire vegetation?

The fortress has nine rooms, most of
them isolated from one another by
locked doors.  The only way for Max
to unlock a door is to overload the
power pulsar in each room by feeding
all the power charges from the room
into the pulsar.  The power charges
move in straight paths until
something blocks their way, making
them turn counter-clockwise.  The
charges are lethal, so Max will need
to move special blue inso-cubes
around to change the paths of the
charges.

Once Max finds the Mechanical
Electrical Operational Weapon, he
must neutralize it with charges to
complete his mission.

CLIJUM-9 OPERATION

In his amazing Clijum-9 micromini
aircar, Max can move horizontally,
jump, climb walls and pick up and
deposit inso-cubes.

To move, push the joystick left or
right.  To jump, push the trigger.
To climb, hold the joystick in
direction of the wall (this makes the
Clijum-9 grasp the wall) and press
the trigger (this moves it up).  To
pick up an inso-cube, push the
joystick up, and to put one down,
push the joystick down.  Combinations
of operations can (and must) be used
by pushing the joystick in diagonal
directions.

To pick up an inso-cube, the cube
must be in front of Max's aircar.
When he picks it up, Max carries it
on his back, so there must be space
behind Max before he can grab an
inso-cube, or else it might be
destroyed.  If a power charge hits
the inso-cube while Max is carrying
it, the cube will be destroyed.

Max begins with nine lives in Room
One of the fortress.  If Max loses a
life, he'll have to start over at the
room entrance.  This "room restart"
can also be activated at any time
without losing a life by pressing any
key.  The game ends when Max destroys
the Mechanical Electical Operational
Weapon or when he loses all nine
lives.

HINTS

First, get thoroughly familiar with
the Clijum-9 aircar.  Remember that
left and right motion in jumps can be
controlled continually with the
joystick.  Max is tough and can take
falls from any height.  He can't fly,
but he can glide down in any
direction.  Inso-cubes can be put
anywhere -- even in mid-air -- but
not where they won't fit -- say, down
a small hole.

Maximillian B. is just as much a
logic game as one of action.
Completion of the game rests heavily
on strategic positioning of the
inso-cubes.  It only takes one cube
to change the direction of a charge.
In some cases (such as room one --
this is a hint) the charges will be
trapped by inso-cubes, and Max must
set them free.  On these screens, it
is wise to set up a path for the
charges to follow before letting them
free.

There are many ways to solve each
screen, and it is possible to
complete the mission.  Good luck to
you and Max.

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