OPERATION THUNDERBOWEL
by G. M. Dobbs
Sacred Scroll Software
Spectrum 48
Buried amidst the "bathroom humour" jokes, there are some funny bits, with
creative and even logical puzzles. The James Bond takeoff is not overdone,
though I thought there would be a puzzle involving piranhas. There are
some unusual moves, so you need to figure out some things by trial-and-
error and dying. In one location, it is pretty clear what you need to do,
but if you read the sign, it spells it out fully (I'll admit this is
helpful as it is hard to figure out the syntax without it). For some
reason, this tickled me.
Hints:
PRESSing the GREEN BUTTON both starts and stops the car.
DRIVE HOME first. You need what you find there.
The leaflet is not needed once you've read it.
You can get frustrated taking things out of the briefcase, so don't
bother.
A good place to drop things if you are not sure if you will need them
again, is in your car.
Once you've used an object, or extracted the information you need from it,
you can drop it.
Of what use is the piece of paper? You should have some idea if you have
watched at least one James Bond movie.
Even if you eat the food you find, and still get messages, that you need
food, don't panic.
Also don't panic if you finish with less than 100 %.
For a completely irrelevant aside (but 10 more points), OPEN BLUE DOOR and
do what is needed there. You need the cheque.
Solution:
You are Shamus Bond. Mmm, your boss, wants to see you. You begin in your
office, INVENTORY (nothing), EXAMINE DESK, OPEN DRAWER, REDESCRIBE, TAKE
GUN, TAKE WRIST WATCH, EXAMINE GUN (six bullets), WEAR WRIST WATCH
(tracker is now activated), EXAMINE WINDOW (you see your Bentley and pull
down a curtain), TAKE CURTAIN, CLOSE DRAWER, E, N, N, W, TAKE TIE, WEAR
TIE (it's too small), DROP TIE, E, E (Mmm tells you that you must stop
Blobum and gives you a file), EXAMINE FILE (in it are a piece of paper, a
pass card, a leaflet and a photo), TAKE LEAFLET FROM FILE, EXAMINE LEAFLET
(it explains how it acts as a knapsack, but it really won't let you carry
any more objects), DROP LEAFLET.
TAKE PAPER FROM FILE, EXAMINE PAPER (the plan is to stop Blobum),TAKE
PHOTO FROM FILE, EXAMINE PHOTO (it shows Blobum outside the Hotel Royale),
DROP PHOTO, TAKE PASS CARD FROM FILE), WEAR PASS CARD, S, E, TAKE RIBBON,
W, S, S (in lift), PRESS FLOOR, N, N, E, GIVE PAPER (you are given a bug
and a nuclear device disguised as an edible bun; you are also told that
some alterations have been made to your car), W, W, W (you see a mirror
hanging over the sink reflecting light in your eyes), COVER MIRROR,
EXAMINE SINK (you see a hairpin), TAKE PIN, PUT ALL IN FILE, E, E, N, N,
ENTER BENTLEY, REMOVE PASS CARD, DROP PASS CARD.
PRESS GREEN BUTTON, DRIVE HOME, PRESS GREEN BUTTON, LEAVE CAR, S, W, TAKE
TORCH, E, N, ENTER CAR, PRESS GREEN BUTTON, DRIVE TO ROYALE HOTEL, PRESS
GREEN BUTTON, LEAVE CAR, N (you need a black tie), TAKE RIBBON FROM FILE,
WEAR RIBBON, N (you are allowed in), EXAMINE REGISTER (Mr. Mublob is in
room 202), UP (you see three doors), OPEN GREEN DOOR (a glitch here as you
start your car), TAKE HAIRPIN FROM FILE, PICK GREEN LOCK, DROP HAIRPIN, E,
EXAMINE BRIEFCASE (closed), OPEN CASE, EXAMINE CASE (you see a tape
recorder, a screwdriver, and an empty packet), TAKE BUG FROM FILE, PUT BUG
IN CASE, CLOSE CASE, W, DOWN, E.
PLAY TIDDLE (you win and Blobum gives you a cheque for five pounds), W,
(while this is not needed to finish the game, you may want to do it), UP,
OPEN BLUE DOOR (Gary and Ferret argue and a solution drops out), GIVE
CHEQUE, TAKE SOLUTION (you get an irrelevant hint), S, DOWN, S, ENTER
BENTLEY (you see Blobum walking past with his suitcase and hear him say to
someone to meet him at Stenfield: he'll be in Harry the Chemist's place),
PRESS GREEN BUTTON, DRIVE TO STENFIELD, PRESS GREEN BUTTON, LEAVE CAR (you
are about to enter a maze), N, N, N, N, E, N (by a house and a dog), E,
TAKE AXE, W, N (you can't), TAKE BUN FROM FILE, DROP BUN (the dog eats it
and explodes), N, E (you see a trapdoor and a mars bar).
READ SIGN (it tells you what to do), WITH AXE SMASH TRAPDOOR, DROP AXE,
DROP BUN (a little glitch here since you shouldn't have it), TAKE MARS,
EAT MARS, DOWN, SWITCH TORCH ON, EXAMINE CASES (you see it is to be
delivered to Blono Mansion), UP, W, SWITCH TORCH OFF, S, S, W, W, S, ENTER
BENTLEY, PRESS GREEN BUTTON, DRIVE TO BLONO MANSION, PRESS GREEN BUTTON,
LEAVE CAR, N (you can't), TAKE GUN FROM FILE, FIRE (you shoot the lock off
the gates), N (you see Blobum walking toward you), SHOOT BLOBUM. You read
the epilogue and are finished. Score: 95% (which appears to be the maximum
possible).
Terri Sheehan
2008-03-13
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