Electroman
Description official descriptions
This is a platform game with puzzle elements. You have to guide Jacek, the Electroman, around the levels, using such things as teleporters, while shooting enemies and collecting weapon power-ups. This latter activity is essential - over a period of time, your weapon downgrades itself, until you can't actually fire at all.
The game features in total 8 levels, on which there are three microchips that must be collected in order to proceed to the next. The difficulty level is very steep, and each death sets you back to your previously visited checkpoint, but fortunately already collected microchips stay collected. Checkpoints also serve as an additional difficulty factor, as once touched, they remove all your weapons, leaving you unarmed.
Unlike many platformers, you can't control your jumping mid-air, and the main protagonist can only jump and fall at a given angle. This proves an extra challenge as when there are enemies above or below you, perfect timing is essential in order to succeed.
Apart from the title screen, only the last level, which really is just a credit to the producers, has background music.
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Credits (DOS version)
11 People
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| Sound Effects comes from the following music tracks |
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 55% (based on 6 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.0 out of 5 (based on 15 ratings with 1 reviews)
Wanna play something REALLY hard?
The Good
Well, at the beginning it's pretty fun. Lots of room to explore and robots to destroy. Later it gets worse, but we're now talking about GOOD things in this game, so let's skip it.
You have to think in some places, for example how to reach a platform. And that's good - compare it with Jill of the jungle or Hocus Pocus. Puzzles in these games were too easy, unlike "Electro Man".
The Bad
There isn't any music, graphics and sound are poor (in "Electro Body" - in "Electro Man" it isn't so bad), and it's way too hard! I don't mean here puzzles (they were okay, remember?), but other annoying things, like ammo, which disappears, lack of any "health indicator" (when you hit anything what is not a floor, you die) and strange jumping of our hero can be a real pain in a butt. Not to mention other obvious things, like saving only in checkpoints, very long levels and enormous number of enemies. Whoa! Even Jazz Jackrabbit 1 wasn't SO hard! But if you beat one level, you feel a very BIG satisfaction! "Electro Man" is probably the hardest 2D platform game in history.
The Bottom Line
If you're a hardcore platform games fan, you may play it. Otherwise, don't run it - it's veeeeery difficult.
DOS · by Sir Gofermajster (485) · 2008
Trivia
Collector's Edition release
After 22 years the game was re-released on CD-ROM at Poznań Game Arena 2014, including a high quality soundtrack and a printed certificate.
Contest
In 2014, the Polish indie game website 1ndie World announced "The Jam", a contest for the best game inspired by Electroman. The winner, announced at Poznań Game Arena 2014, was Ego Protocol.
Extras
In its original release, Electroman came with an audio cassette with in-game music, for the benefit of people without sound cards.
Certain releases of the game also came bundled with a Covox Speech Thing, which would generate digital sounds and music when connected to a LPT port.
Freeware release
Developer xLand generously released this game as freeware under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license on 25 June 2006. This version was released to work in DOSBox and will not work in original DOS.
Jacek and Placek
The manual of the original Polish release contains an extended backstory which mentions Jacek's friend, Placek. The two characters' names are a reference to the Polish novel O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc ("About two guys who stole the Moon"), originally published in 1928 and later adapted into a movie and an animated series. The two protagonists of the novel are named Jacek and Placek (Jacek is a genuine Polish name, while "Placek" literally means "pie".)
Python port
The game's developer, Maciej Miąsik, was working on a Python port of the game under the name "PyElectroMan" as a hobby project. However, the project has not been active since 2011.
Sound effects
As the game credits point out, several sound effects in the game were taken from various songs by electronic music groups. In particular:
- the words "We have to be careful, this is an emergency area!" which play upon starting a level are taken from Fatal Morgana's "Lifeblood";
- the whooping which plays upon collecting a weapon power-up is taken from Code Industry's "Fury";
- the words "Jesus is here!" that play upon touching a checkpoint are taken from Front 242's "Welcome to Paradise". In the Electro Man release, the words are played backwards.
Version 1.5
The version of the game for markets outside Poland is version 1.5, with improved graphics. The improved version also saw release in Poland.
Additional information added by Scaryfun and Karsa Orlong
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Related Sites +
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Download Electro Man!
Free, legal download of the shareware version of Electro Man -- look for $ELECTRO.ZIP -
Various versions of Electroman
Download different versions of the game, like the 2006 Creative Commons licenced one.
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Retron.
Additional contributors: Kardboard2na, Pseudo_Intellectual, Havoc Crow, Karsa Orlong, Narushima, hoeksmas.
Game added January 15, 2000. Last modified February 5, 2024.