Extractors

EXTRACTORS – HABBISH HAULER!

A Review of Extractors

Trey Murff

Ask not what you can do for Extractors, but will Extractors

do anything for you?

>So what comes to mind when you hear Extractors: a visit to

the dentist? Well, after the first few attempts at playing,

I started to think a trip to Dr. Toothache might be more fun

and hurt less than sitting down in front of the computer to

play Extractors again. However, I was persistent (I despise

visiting the dentist), and after about 6 attempts I was

able to complete the first level and begin enjoying the game

a little. So read on, and come to your own conclusion with

respect to the amount of pain you’re willing to endure for a

little fun.

In my book, Extractors shot itself in the foot in the very

beginning. First, I open the package and there are no

installation instructions in the manual. If I was a consumer

that didn’t know how to setup my PC to load the CD-ROM

drivers, I guess I would be out-of-luck. Lucky for me I do

know, but I still don’t know how to install the game so I

check out the files on the CD and see a manual.txt file.

This file tells me to: “Log on to your CD-ROM drive and type

SETSOUND. This will allow you to specify your sound card, if

any. Then type XTRACTOR. If your CD-ROM drive is E:, for

example:…” This is crazy. Why can’t they make life easy

and include the install instructions in the manual or at

least an installation card with the documentation.

Now that I have found the instructions, I am a bit wary

because I have no idea as to what this procedure does. It

turns out that setsound asks me what sound card I have (no

problem yet) and then just exits
this every time?>. I type XTRACTOR and the game is off and

running. I then look in the manual to see how to exit;

Nothing there! Luckily they chose the key, which was

the first key I tried. I exit and reboot to see if I have to

run SETSOUND again. Surprise! I don’t. Now I wonder what the

heck the install procedure changed. I check in my root

directory on drive C and find a new directory C:\XTRACTOR.

Well, I am a little miffed since I would prefer to install

it in C:\JDGAMES\XTRACTOR (JD is my son . ENOUGH ALL

READY! You get the picture. Extractors pushed some of my

buttons and I may have overreacted.

Now that the install is out of the way, I am in a wonderful

mood to start reviewing the game . The introduction is

a little corny but the music is excellent. The graphics are

good (320×200 VGA) and I like the narrators English accent

(The program was developed in the UK). I start playing and

realize I haven’t a clue as to what I am doing . I

guess I need to go through the Zargon Book (at the main

menu) and the manual again.

The manual states that the goal of Extractors is to destroy

the shield generators on the 25 Hanging Worlds of Zarg. This

will cause the shield that protects the capital to fall and

the floating lands to return to the surface of Zarg. This

task is not simplified by the fact that you must collect

enough fuel to fly to the next hanging world as well as

enough money to purchase the tools required to disable the

shield generator. You earn fuel and money by collecting

mineral deposits uncovered during your excavation of the

different worlds and depositing these minerals back at your

ship. You have 3 species of extractors to work with, all of

whom have slightly different abilities: One is the best

digger, one is the strongest, and one can teleport without

damage. There are quite a few devices you can purchase to

aid in your task: Teleport Poles, Explosives, Flying

platforms, so forth and so on (Hint: I only used the 3

devices I mentioned to solve the first level). These

devices can be used in a number of ways and I am sure there

is more than one way to solve each level. Speaking of

levels, each is quite different from the previous in both

structure and art work, and the same approach doesn’t work

every time. Also, once you have finished a level, you can

scroll the entire map to see what you might have missed.

I must admit that my initial session with the game left a

bad taste in my mouth. However, after playing for a while

and finally completing the first level, I actually started

to enjoy Extractors.

Writing this review helped me settle down and analyze

Extractors, so I tempered my initial reaction with a little

objectivity and identified these 3 points as the source of

my problems:

1. The manual is lacking. Installation instructions and

a description of the different devices should be included

(The Zargon book has this but it can only be referenced

while you are at the main menu).

2. Too much information is presented to the user in the

beginning. The number and diversity of items available

(and the fact that the descriptions can not be accessed

while you are in the game) is confusing. A better

approach is one similar to Lemmings, where you are

introduced to the different aspects to the game at a

slower rate.

3. The game is too complex. Now, this doesn’t mean I

dislike complex games. In fact, complex simulations are my

bread and butter. However, simplicity in this type of game

is important. This is what made similar games like

Lemmings, Lode Runner, and Dig Dug such big hits (Yes! I

enjoyed playing all of these games). At least Extractors

includes a training area/world where you can play with the

different aspects of the game before proceeding to destroy

the shield generators.

To sum it up, if you like puzzle games that require a bit of

hand/eye coordination, you may enjoy Extractors. In

particular, if you liked Lode Runner, you may want give it

a try or at least give the demo a try (I came across the

Demo on a PC Gamer CD-ROM). Every time I fire up Extractors

I find it a little more enjoyable, and since very little is

installed on your hard drive (the save games and config file

are the only things saved in the directory so rudely

created) I can even play a round during lunch (at work).

There isn’t much replay value in Extractors, but if you

consider your time as money, you will certainly get your

$29.95 worth.

Have fun and may the High Habborg of the Habbish extractors

be with you.

Gamer’s Zone Scorecard

Product:	Extractors
Company:	VIC TOKAI INC. 22904 Lockness Ave., Torrance, CA 90501
Cost:	$29.95

System Requirements:

MSDOS 3.3 or higher
25Mhz 386
2MB RAM
Hard Drive (for saved games)
256 color VGA Card
MSCDEX or equivalent
Microsoft compatible Mouse

Breakdown:

Fun Factor 3
Graphics 3
Sound 4
Interface 3
Replayability 2

Overall Score: