Durell Software Ltd.

Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1988

The Anti-Nuclear Party are up to their old tricks again. They have decided to infiltrate a nuclear power station and programmed the robots to empty the containment vault and attack all scientists inside it. To make matters worse, the entire facility will self-destruct in fifty minutes. As one of the scientists that survived the onslaught, the player must prevent this from happening by collecting eighteen fuel canisters scattered around all seven floors of the facility and disposing of them in the pit that lies at the center of the first floor, but only one canister can be carried at a time. If the player comes into contact with any of the robots, their radiation level increases. Once the player becomes totally contaminated, they will die. There are decontamination showers around the facility, and entering them reduces their radiation level. Players are also equipped with a jet-pack that can be used to fly over dangerous areas.
Combat Lynx

Combat Lynx

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1984

A semi-realistic helicopter battle game, viewed from behind. Allied bases must be protected from air and land attacks, and soldiers transported between them. The Combat Lynx is equipped with various weapons, including mines and heat-seeking missiles. A map enables the player to keep track of enemy forces. Includes various difficulty levels.
Critical Mass

Critical Mass

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1985

Mankind has spread throughout the solar system into vast colonies, which are under alien threat. The bad guys have anti-matter machines capable of destroying the planets' power source. You must destroy these before they can reach Critical Mass. Your journey involves travelling primarily to the east, in a hovering craft. It is rotated with left and right movements, and accelerated with forward motion. Laser and shield strength are limited and monitored on screen. Use them wisely, as hostile aliens and mines line the route. Get shot down and you re-emerge with a jet pack, now directed to the bay which can give you a new craft. The force-field gates near the power planets are guarded by turrets which must be shot down. The mission then boils down the insides of the plant, which must be destroyed before its tractor beam has sucked you into the core.
Deep Strike

Deep Strike

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1986

Deep Strike is set in World War 2, and you form part of a squadron attempting a dangerous mission of destroying a Nazi fuel depot. Your fighter plane is armed with guns; a team of bombers are out there with you, with one always in front. Initially you will face a few planes flying towards you. red planes shoot at you, and later there are black 'suicide planes' which aim to take you down Kamikaze style, and 'Blue Max' planes which are extra-tough. After the first minute or so another challenge is added, in the shape of hills to fly around or over. After this, you reach the bombing zone, in which you guide the bombers behind you and instruct them which sites to bomb. The game is viewed from the cockpit, with displays telling you of how much damage you and the bomber have taken, and whether you are steering in the right direction. A map is build in. The controls can be set in two ways, for 'up' on the joystick either equaling 'move upwards' or 'dive' (as on a real plane).
Deep Strike

Deep Strike

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1986

Deep Strike is set in World War 2, and you form part of a squadron attempting a dangerous mission of destroying a Nazi fuel depot. Your fighter plane is armed with guns; a team of bombers are out there with you, with one always in front. Initially you will face a few planes flying towards you. red planes shoot at you, and later there are black 'suicide planes' which aim to take you down Kamikaze style, and 'Blue Max' planes which are extra-tough. After the first minute or so another challenge is added, in the shape of hills to fly around or over. After this, you reach the bombing zone, in which you guide the bombers behind you and instruct them which sites to bomb. The game is viewed from the cockpit, with displays telling you of how much damage you and the bomber have taken, and whether you are steering in the right direction. A map is build in. The controls can be set in two ways, for 'up' on the joystick either equaling 'move upwards' or 'dive' (as on a real plane).
Durell Big 4

Durell Big 4

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

Compilation of 4 games from Durrell Software, the games included are: • Combat Lynx • Critical Mass • Saboteur • Turbo Esprit
Fat Worm Blows a Sparky

Fat Worm Blows a Sparky

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1986

Fat Worm is locked inside a Spectrum's architecture, and is looking for a disk drive, in order to produce a clone of himself, which he presumably will Write Once and Read Many. He moves around the arrangement of chips, processors and boards, with the aim of finding his way through. On the way he will encounter bugs (of the insectoid type) which must be shot at, by 'blowing a sparkie' - releasing a bolt of electrical energy. Mines and impact shots can both be fired. Contact with these bugs causes them to jump on you, gradually slowing your movement and sappoing your energy. You must collect spindles in order to get rid of them.
Harrier Attack!

Harrier Attack!

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1983

The player controls a Sea Harrier fighter, looking sideways onto a right-to-left scrolling seascape and landscape. The aim of the game is to take off from a carrier, attack ships and land targets, avoid the odd missile and enemy fighter, then land back on the carrier again. Although the game was a work of fiction, it was inspired by the 1982 Falklands War, in which the Sea Harrier had played a major role. One interesting little quirk to the game was that, it was possible to bomb your own ship as you took off from it. If you did this, when you returned it would no longer be there (having sunk, presumably) and being unable to land on it your plane would just continue flying until it ran out of fuel and crashed. Durell managed to get the executable size down to just under 9 kilobytes, which allowed for a fast loading time from cassette. The game sold over 250,000 copies in total.
Harrier Attack!

Harrier Attack!

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

Harrier Attack is viewed from the side, and instantly resembles titles such as Wings of Fury and Jetstrike. You're on board of a Harrier and must reach the enemy island, destroying planes and ground installations as you go, then destroy their base and fly back to yours. Your Harrier is armed with both bombs and a gun. You must be careful not to fly at full speed throughout your journey as fuel is limited. There are 5 difficulty levels - the latter ones increase the volume and pace of the enemy, and add more mountains to avoid. The difficulty level also affects how quickly enemy aircraft appear on your radar.
Jungle Trouble

Jungle Trouble

Commodore 64 - Released - 1983

Jungle Trouble is a platform game restricted to a single scenario that takes place in a jungle environment. To conquer the game the player has to get home. But to achieve that he has to travel from the lower right corner to the upper left corner of the screen overcoming several obstacles that will be put on his way. By their level of difficulty these obstacles may be compared to independent levels composed inside a single scenario. The number of lives the player has is represented at the lower right corner and at the left corner, the existent great apes which will torment him during great part of the game. Firstly, the player will have to cross a series of platforms without getting in the water either loosing his axe or being attacked by a member of the order Crocodilia. This axe can be acquired at the start when the player leans himself against the right wall of the screen. Only after being successful transporting the axe from one end to the other of the series of platforms, the player will have to manage its use while he knocks the trees down or defends himself against the great ape's attack. Because at the first opportunity they will try to steal it from him and the axe will become permanently more damaged by its use. When this happens the player has to be very cautions because he's now helpless without any kind of weapon do defend himself or attack, and he'll become an easy prey for the apes. Therefore, the process of acquiring an axe has to be repeated. As for the last two obstacles, the player has to firmly pick a liana and safely jump to the other side of a pool of fire. Immediately after, he has to take a big leap by jumping between the extremes of the opening platform which will continually do so until it becomes too wide for any kind of jump. When he succeeds he may calmly touch the upper left wall and finally reach home safe and sound.
Lunar Lander

Lunar Lander

Oric Atmos - Released - 1984

The player must try to land a lunar landing module on the moon keeping in account fuel, velocity and distance to the surface. The game is written in BASIC.
Saboteur

Saboteur

Commodore Plus 4 - Released - 1986

Saboteur combines platform, beat 'em up and stealth elements, setting you as a lone samurai trying to infiltrate an enemy complex. You are capable of all manner of ninja-style moves including kicks and punches, as well as using weaponry. You must travel through an underground complex linked mainly by platforms and ladders, before triggering a bomb and escaping the complex. Your energy recharges if you stay still, so finding areas free of guards (kill these for money) and dogs (avoid them; killing them gains you nothing) is useful, especially as you only have one life. There's plenty of object manipulation involved, although only one item can ever be carried at a time.
Scuba Dive

Scuba Dive

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1983

The aim of the game was simple yet unique. Starting with three divers (lives) on a motor boat you were to drop into the deep blue and gather underwater riches such as pearls and treasure. Nothing like this had been released on the ZX Spectrum before, a game based around wet suit shenanigans was totally original. Controlling your sprite was a little tricky at first, but once you got the hang of it you would be moving through the underwater caverns with the grace of Shelly Winters. Well nearly. You could rotate your character clockwise or anti-clockwise then 'swim' in the direction you were facing. Acceleration to full speed took a couple of seconds (realistic) as did slowing down to a halt (again, realistic). It was up to you to collect pearls from oyster shells (which would open and shut, timing to swoop in and nab the pearl was key), and to locate lost treasure (but only in the deepest parts of the underwater cavern). There were hazards to avoid in the water such as sharks, jellyfish, eels and giant octupus. Colliding with any of these would take away one of your lives and lose all three and it was game over.
Scuba Dive

Scuba Dive

Oric Atmos - Released - 1984

Take on the role of a fearless pearl diver, as you plunge into the unknown ocean depths! You'll be swimming with sharks, squid, jellyfish and all manner of strange and deadly creatures. When you find a clam, wait for its shell to open, then swoop down and grab your prize! Descend further, to find larger clams with bigger pearls. And if you go deeper still, you may find cave systems with ancient treasures to be taken. That is, if your oxygen holds out and you can get past the waving tentacles of the octopuses which guard these forbidden places! Once you've taken as much as you can find, you'll have to make it back to the surface. Climb aboard your boat, offload your booty, then strap on a fresh oxygen tank and take to the waters once more.
Shades

Shades

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

A curse has fallen on the island of Arulan called Shades and it causes people to vanish and reappear elsewhere. Whatever brought the curse also brought monsters and traps making the island a dangerous place to be. You play a hero determined to find out the truth and rid the island of the curse, monsters and traps, and make the island the lovely place it used to be. You can attempt this quest solo or you can allow three other players to attempt the quest as well, each taking it in turns at various points. Three skill levels can also be picked. Shades is a flick-screen arcade adventure where each screen is viewed from an elevated angle as you explore the island. You are armed with a sword (a crossbow can be found later) and as you move about the island you can encounter many monsters who can either be avoided, fought or pleaded with but if pleading fails then you can fight or run away. On each screen are many traps and you can search by pressing T but be careful because if there are many traps then not all will be revealed at first. Secret doors can also be searched for by pressing E and these are an important part to complete your quest. Fighting or hurting your self on traps decreases a Physical State bar but if you can avoid battles this can increase slowly if in the green section. Once the bar is empty then it is game over for that player. Scattered around the island are chests containing various objects to help you in your quest. You can carry up to eight items and any items carried can be dropped or used in various locations to aid you on your quest. Objects cannot be dropped on stairs or The Moors as the winds would blow them away. Taking objects or fighting monsters increase your experience and is used as a high score at the end of the game. As you explore the island the Shades curse can hit you and transport you to an earlier location you visited. Once all the players are dead then the game is over.
Sigma 7

Sigma 7

Commodore 64 - Released - 1986

The space station Sigma 7 has a problem: all robots have gone havoc. Now the player has to set things right by using the central controls inside the station - but of course it is not that easy. He first have to solve three levels with different gameplay mechanics: The first is a diagonally scrolling shooter which plays very basic: don't getting hit by the mines which come in formations of three. It is best to shoot them, however, because surviving mines may come back from the side, which is deadly. After reaching the station, the game becomes a Pac-Man variant. In a maze-like field the player needs to pick up glowing balls on the floor without being touched by the enemies. But there are two important differences: the player controls a tank, i.e. he can shoot the foes, and he doesn't have to pick up all balls. If he got enough, he can simply use the exit. However, a few balls can't be picked up and the pattern needs to be remembered, During the last mini game the player gets presented with a panel of buttons. He bounces a ball on those buttons to recreate the pattern from before. He needs to look after a force field which follows the ball's movements - touching it results in losing a life. The buttons also flash in different colours and the bouncing only gets registered when the right colour is active. After finishing this level the game loops with faster enemies.
Sigma 7

Sigma 7

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1987

The space station Sigma 7 has a problem: all robots have gone havoc. Now the player has to set things right by using the central controls inside the station - but of course it is not that easy. He first have to solve three levels with different gameplay mechanics: The first is a diagonally scrolling shooter which plays very basic: don't getting hit by the mines which come in formations of three. It is best to shoot them, however, because surviving mines may come back from the side, which is deadly. After reaching the station, the game becomes a Pac-Man variant. In a maze-like field the player needs to pick up glowing balls on the floor without being touched by the enemies. But there are two important differences: the player controls a tank, i.e. he can shoot the foes, and he doesn't have to pick up all balls. If he got enough, he can simply use the exit. However, a few balls can't be picked up and the pattern needs to be remembered, During the last mini game the player gets presented with a panel of buttons. He bounces a ball on those buttons to recreate the pattern from before. He needs to look after a force field which follows the ball's movements - touching it results in losing a life. The buttons also flash in different colours and the bouncing only gets registered when the right colour is active. After finishing this level the game loops with faster enemies.
Starfighter

Starfighter

Oric Atmos

Welcome to the game Starfighter. You have just volunteered to captain one of the federation's most powerful intergalactic starships on a mission to clear the Andromedan galaxy of alien intruders. Before entering the falaxy you'll have to destroy the aliens which have infiltrated past the starfleet's outlying fighters, and are now jamming the star-gate to Andromeda. To complete the mission you must wipe out all the aliens in the nine sectors of this galaxy, and then bring your ship safely through the last star-gate back into the war-free zone. You will be protected by powerful but limited energy shields, and will have both long range photon-torpedoes and short range phasors with which to engage the enemy.
Thanatos

Thanatos

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

In the game the player must guide the dragon through the land flying towards the right, and fight its way through a multitude of enemies, both humans and fantasy creatures: sea snakes, giant spiders, a hostile two-headed dragon. They can be burned with the dragon's fiery breath, or they can be grabbed with the dragon's claws and dropped onto other enemies. Boulders can also be picked up and dropped on enemies. To win the game, the dragon's mission is to pick up an enchantress for a ride, then safely deliver her to find a book of spells, and finally take her to a magic cauldron so she may cast her spell. The enchantress brings extra challenge to the task, as she must be kept safe from harm. If Thanatos turns around too fast while flying, she may fall off and must be picked up again. If the sorceress is slain or Thanatos dies, the game will end. The dragon makes its way through a few strongholds, whose gates must be burned through (apparently the castle walls are too tall to fly over). If the dragon runs out of fire breath, it must backtrack to find a virgin strapped to a pole, land nearby, and walk closer to eat the virgin. This will restore the dragon's breath. However, be wary as a knight is waiting in ambush and attacks the dragon while it's landed and vulnerable. The dragon's health is indicated by a beating heart in the bottom of the screen. As the dragon takes hits from enemies the heart starts beating faster and faster, and near death it starts flashing blue. The dragon must withdraw to safety to rest and recover.
Thanatos

Thanatos

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1986

Thanatos is a side-scrolling dragon action game with a dragon protagonist named Thanatos the Destroyer. The large on-screen dragon was animated with a lot of detail on the head, wings and legs, and the background had a semi-3D parallax scrolling system, akin to the semi-3D systems seen in other Durell games such as Fat Worm, Combat Lynx and Turbo Esprit. The game's title music, composed by Julian Breeze, is multi-channeled on the Spectrum's single 'beep' channel, using the same multi-channel engine as some other Durell titles. On Spectrum 128, the title music has actual multiple channels. In the game the player must guide the dragon through the land flying towards the right, and fight its way through a multitude of enemies, both humans and fantasy creatures: sea snakes, giant spiders, a hostile two-headed dragon. They can be burned with the dragon's fiery breath, or they can be grabbed with the dragon's claws and dropped onto other enemies. Boulders can also be picked up and dropped on enemies. To win the game, the dragon's mission is to pick up an enchantress for a ride, then safely deliver her to find a book of spells, and finally take her to a magic cauldron so she may cast her spell. The enchantress brings extra challenge to the task, as she must be kept safe from harm. If Thanatos turns around too fast while flying, she may fall off and must be picked up again. If the sorceress is slain or Thanatos dies, the game will end. The dragon makes its way through a few strongholds, whose gates must be burned through (apparently the castle walls are too tall to fly over). If the dragon runs out of fire breath, it must backtrack to find a virgin strapped to a pole, land nearby, and walk closer to eat the virgin. This will restore the dragon's breath. However, be wary as a knight is waiting in ambush and attacks the dragon while it's landed and vulnerable. The dragon's health is indicated by a beating heart in the bottom of the screen. As the dragon takes hits from enemies the heart starts beating faster and faster, and near death it starts flashing blue. The dragon must withdraw to safety to rest and recover.
Turbo Esprit

Turbo Esprit

Commodore 64 - Released - July 1, 1986

Turbo Esprit puts you in control of a Lotus Esprit cop car, with the challenge of breaking up a drugs gang and protecting the innocent. A map is built into the car, which can instantly show the positions of the baron's cars - this is crucial because you can't interrupt them before the initial deal is done, as this will simply make them leave and try again another time.
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