How to play Frankensteinās Monster online
- Walk: left and right arrow keys
- Jump: Space bar
- Climb up through a trapdoor: hold the up arrow and press Space
- One or two players: F11 (the consoleās Select switch)
- Beginner or advanced: F4 (the difficulty switch; A = advanced, B = beginner)
- Start a new game: F12 (the consoleās Reset switch)
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0ā9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0ā9 loads it
Gameplay
The game has two scenes. In the first, you make your way down through the castle to the dungeons to pick up a stone. In the second, you carry it up to the tower where the monster lies, past a swarm of vampire bats, and add it to the wall. You need six trips to finish the wall, and each trip is harder than the last.
The monster needs 30 units of time to become fully charged. On the beginner setting that gives you about eight and a half minutes, on advanced about five. Ghosts put you in a trance for a moment, and spiders stun you with their venom; they give roughly a second of warning before dropping into your path. Falling into the acid pool costs you one of your three lives. If the time runs out, or you lose all your lives, the monster breaks free and walks towards you until it fills the whole screen.
You start with 500 points. Each stone you place is worth 500 more, and each unit of time left over when you finish adds 100. Touching a ghost or spider costs 20 points, a bat 10, falling through a trapdoor 100 and falling into the acid 200. In the two-player game, players take turns, each with their own timer.
Tips
- Watch for the spiderās warning. Stop or jump as soon as a spider starts to move, rather than running underneath it.
- Time is worth more than a few points. Bats only cost 10 points each, so donāt lose seconds trying to dodge every one in the tower.
- Be careful at the acid pool. Creatures and trapdoors cost points, but the acid costs a life. Line up your jump before you go.
- Start on beginner. The extra three and a half minutes make it much easier to learn the route.
History
Frankensteinās Monster was one of the cartridges Data Age published for the 2600 in 1983. Electronic Games magazine liked its charming graphics and unusual idea, and compared parts of it to Activisionās Pitfall!. In 2013 The A.V. Club listed it among the notable games of the Atari 2600.
