Sinclair ZX Spectrum

The Tripods

The Tripods is a futuristic game where the world has been taken over by an alien race known as the Tripods and the humans are capped with a thought regulating device. A group of teenagers trying to avoid capping at the age of sixteen flee, in search for the white mountains which, as tales were told, is the human resistance against the Tripods. This takes them from England to France where the mountains are located. It is an adventure game based on the BBC television series The Tripods broadcasted between 1984 and 1985. It mostly plays like a text adventure, but contains graphics too. Actions are selected from an action line showing the actions L (look left) / MV (move) / R (look right) / PK (items in the backpack) / HEALTH / 1 / 2 / EAT. Players select an action by pressing the corresponding key. Descriptions in text about the actions and the situation are shown near the bottom of the screen, below the graphics. The bottom of the bar also has a bar showing the time left until nightfall. The game supports up to four players taking turns, so when night has come for one player, another player then gets to play. Another part involves avoiding Tripods while exploring. There are often multiple options to deal with a situation. For instance: you can attempt to hide from a Tripod or disorientate it by using a radio to upset its communication systems. This is tied to using specific items stored in the backpack.