Hopeless
Hopeless is a side view scrolling game with platform elements where the
screen moves when you move your hero, Al ‘Dutch Meat’ Bluntz, as you try to
rescue your girl, Jane from the clutches of the most wanted person in the
Galaxy, the Manic Munk. The Munk has taken her to his lair in the heart of the
Solar System, Milton Keynes, and after ‘borrowing’ the latest Space Shuttle,
you have arrived at the lair ready to attempt your rescue. The only way to get
Jane is to destroy the Munk but he is protected by fourteen gates that protect
the nerve centre of the lair which are controlled by hearts. To deactivate the
gates, the hearts have to be turned off by various terminals scattered around
the vast lair one by one. Once the nerve centre is open to enter, you can face
the Manic Munk, get Jane and live happily ever after.
As you walk along platforms and use ladders to explore the lair, you also have
a Jet-Pack which allows you to fly around the lair and open space but there
are also gates blocking routes and so terminals have to be found also to turn
these on and off. Using the Jet-Pack uses up fuel which is shown by a meter
which decreases when it is in use. Many creatures move around the lair and
these have to be avoided or destroyed because if you touch one then you lose
part of your strength and energy meters and if these reach zero then it is
game over. You are armed with a defence shield or a laser but these use up
either energy or fuel, but you can also use a karate chop which doesn’t
decrease anything. Icons show which weapon you are using and there are also
icons showing the status of the game.
Below the playing area with your icons and meters, you also have a compass
which shows the direction the joystick is being used and four dots with one
turning blue showing you the direction of the nearest heart terminal. Other
terminals can be found and these can increase your energy, strength and fuel
meters as well as show a map showing a small part of the lair which can be
scrolled to look around. You can also transport to other parts of the lair as
well.