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
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.
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.
Have fun and may the High Habborg of the Habbish extractors
be with you.
MSDOS 3.3 or higher
Now that the install is out of the way, I am in a wonderful
mood to start reviewing the game 
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:
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.Gamer's Zone Scorecard
Product:
Extractors
Company:
VIC TOKAI INC.
22904 Lockness Ave.,
Torrance, CA 90501
Cost:
$29.95
System Requirements:
25Mhz 386
2MB RAM
Hard Drive (for saved games)
256 color VGA Card
MSCDEX or equivalent
Microsoft compatible MouseBreakdown:
Fun Factor 3
Graphics 3
Sound 4
Interface 3
Replayability 2
Overall Score:
