Starquake
Description official descriptions
As BLOB, the Bio-Logically Operated Being, you are sent into an unstable planet and charged with the task of preventing it from exploding. This involves collecting various items (the exact combination is different every time you load the game) and taking them to the planet's core.
The game is an arcade adventure viewed from the side, with 512 screens arranged in a 16x32 pattern. A teleport system exists, so once you find the codes you can get quick access to different parts of the game.
The creatures to avoid are intelligent, getting tougher to predict as you get closer to the centre, but you are armed with a gun and can also try to avoid them. BLOB has a set of platforms which can be used to allow limited vertical movement, but these disappear after a few seconds each use.
Screenshots
Credits (ZX Spectrum version)
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Average score: 85% (based on 13 ratings)
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Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 29 ratings with 0 reviews)
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Trivia
PC disk
The PC release was actually a "flippy" disk: The PC version was on the front side, and the Commodore 64 version was on the reverse side.
References to the game
An advertising poster for the game can be seen in the background in the sitcom The IT Crowd, which is set in the IT department of a big business.
Starquake II
Original developer Stephen Crow worked for a short time on a sequel, but never finished it. As in 2014 Mark R. Jones sorted his disk archive, he rediscovered some of his work for Ocean, including the work on Starquake II for the Atari ST. These early game versions dated in 1992, with code by Paul Hughes and the graphics by Mark R. Jones. Three different versions were found, with title screen, intro, some partly playable, but the game itself was never brought into a finished product. The preserved versions can be found on Atarimania.
Information also contributed by Martin Smith
Related Sites +
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Bloody Arrgh's Starquake Page
An amazingly comprehensive website dedicated to Starquake. Covers every version released (except the PC version, oddly enough). -
Game Map
A screenshot map of the game -
Starquake Conversion
Phil Emerson is working on a conversion of Starquake.
Identifiers +
- MobyGames ID: 510
- Wikipedia (en)
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Trixter.
Tatung Einstein added by Trypticon. iPad, iPhone added by Sciere. BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, MSX added by Kabushi. ZX Spectrum added by Martin Smith. Atari ST, Commodore 64 added by Servo.
Additional contributors: Martin Smith, Karsa Orlong, Jo ST.
Game added December 2nd, 1999. Last modified November 4th, 2023.