Reviews

If this had been released some years earlier it could have been a remarkable game , but for 1988´s standards it was too poor to be taken seriously ...

Movility is very reduced and this is the main critizicism I have to make to Cerius ... apart from that , the idea behind Cerius is brilliant and should be taken into the present .

This one was a bit of a surprise.

Games by The Shaw Brothers were often graphically neat and stylish and are typical fare for the better-rated budget game. They often borrowed ideas from other Spectrum games and never quite reached the heights of the game that inspired them. Shaw's were worthy games, that gave budget purchasers a more colurful experience but were never top class.

Cerius meets all of those Shaw preconceptions, on the surface a poor man's Exolon, a game made immediately worse than Exolon by virtue of the very small playing area and the lack of a jump control. Teleporters dominate for scenery, action and strategy, as these are the only way up and down the platforms.

So far so predictably below average.

But with a bit of perseverance it seems Cerius has something rather playable about it, a fluidity that keeps you moving, progressing, and just enough variety with new stages and areas to reward that progress.

Its flawed, of course. Often you may scramble to a level end, hoping that reaching a new landmark is rewarded with some kind of upgrade or energy bonus. It isn't. The reliance on the teleports also means that the map feels repetitious. Sound is present, but not good. Level design is competent, but nothing witty or clever about it.

Yet I came back enough times to chalk Cerius up as 'game completed' It is addictive enough and my evaluation has doubled since I first thought to write this review.

An easy budget game based on Exolon.