Hocus Focus
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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The Editor of the Daily Shocker, Harry Hacker has received a tip-off from the police that a Professor has been arrested and that his underground lair is full of strange inventions and mutations. Smelling a scoop, Harry can't send his main photographer as he is away taking pictures of Prince Harry and his first tooth, so you Jeremy have been sent. Your task in this arcade adventure is to explore the lair and take photos of all the inventions before the other newspapers find out and ruin the papers big scoop.

The screen is split into four boxes with the top box the actual playing area showing a small part of the lair viewed from the side with the screen scrolling when you move. The bottom left box shows what you find when you examine a object, bottom middle box is all the pictures you have taken and the bottom right box are the icons allowing you to interact with your surroundings which include examine, take photo, pick up, move and fight.

As you explore the lair you will encounter objects and here you can examine them and take a picture. Your camera can take 16 pictures and once your camera is full or you want to use the pictures you have taken you move back to the top left of the lair to get them developed. Once you reach the top left you can then move the developed pictures and place them in their correct position in the bottom middle box. Some objects though hold mutants and if discovered then they will steal your film from your camera and you have to go back to the top left to get a new film. There are also mutants wandering around the lair and will also steal your film.

The main problem with the Professor's lair is that it is full of radiation and the longer you explore the more radiation you absorb. On screen is also a counter counting upwards and if this reaches 30 then you die and it is game over. To remove the radiation you have absorbed you have to take a trip back to the top left to remove it. The only way that you can move up to a higher level of the lair is by using fans which will blow you upwards but you have to find a key to use it. Swords are also scattered around the lair and these can be used to kill any mutants.


http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/hocus-focus
