Tearaway Thomas
You control Thomas, a strange-looking but vaguely cutesy animal of some
description in an ultra-fast platform game. There are 50 levels, split into 5
groups of 10.
Each one has a certain number of gems, and your task is to collect a certain
number of them (for example, level 2 has 55 and you need at least 40) and then
find the exit, all within the time limits. The yellow gems are worth 50 points
and the purple ones 100, although the purple ones don’t appear to be more
precariously-placed, and the total makes no distinction, so this is for colour
as much as anything. Once you’ve got the required amount, the gems double in
value, tempting you to continue to explore
The levels are infested with cutesy-looking baddies, such as birds and bears,
which can’t be killed, and must be avoided, as contact with them costs you
time as Thomas picks himself up. You can jump on the heads of some of them,
which gives a small points bonuses. The layouts include ropes to ascend,
moving platforms and more. Some levels are entirely vertically-scrolling,
seeing you progress up the ledges of a tree or similar.
If you run out of time you lose a life, but the level isn’t reset, so you keep
the number of gems collected and have a fresh set of time. This means that you
are far less likely to lose a second life on the level, similarly to Chase HQ.
Tearaway Thomas