"We have to be careful. This is an emergency area!"
Jacek, every time he (re-)starts at a checkpoint
Jacek, every time he (re-)starts at a checkpoint
Electro Man is a VGA sidescrolling DOS computer game developed by xLand Games and published by Epic Megagames in 1993. It was initially released in Poland (and later Germany) without the involvement of Epic as "Electro Body" complete with some changed graphics and CGA, EGA and composite monitor display modes. Though initially offered under a shareware license, the game was released as freeware on June 25, 2006.
The player controls "Jacek" the electro man (who is very similar, design wise, to RoboCop) as he travels through eight levels, shooting enemies, using teleporters and upgrading his main weapon.
Has nothing to do with a series of Adobe Flash games known as Electric Man.
This Video Game contains examples of:
- A Winner Is You: Don't expect anything big for beating the game.
- Calling Your Attacks: The robots. and the mobile gun turrets which run on rails, stand still briefly just before firing, and emit a beep or whistle.
- Cheat Code: There are cheats for God Mode, suicide, level skip, collect all three circuit boards/disks (although this one cheat doesn't work on some versions), and select any of the five weapon power levels (or no power). However, Level 8 is still fairly difficult even when cheating, and there is no cheat to turn clipping off — presumably because that would make the game too easy.
- Copy Protection: In the original Polish version, the end-of-level teleport pad did not lead directly to the next level, but to a room with several teleporters. Choose any but the one indicated in the manual, and you end up in a Dead-End Room.
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Die and you keep your disks and return to your checkpoint.
- Dead-End Room:
- It is possible in level 7 (though unlikely, especially after you know it's there) to fall into a section with no exits and no way out except death.
- In order to get to the final part of Level 8, you have to make a perilous set of jumps across a deep pit. There are a pair of dart-spitters down there to kill you (and thus return you to your last checkpoint) if you fall in, but of course they don't help if you're in God Mode. This is probably why this game has a suicide cheat. Fortunately, you have infinite lives even without cheating.
- Easter Egg: Two in Level 6:
- A room about halfway up the left edge of the level has tiles which can be shot away to reveal a map.
- The room below the above has a set of pipes forming a (peace) swastika.
- Expy: Jacek strongly resembles RoboCop.
- Freeware Games: The game became this on June 25, 2006.
- Leap of Faith: There's at least one point in Level 8 where you have to jump blindly off the edge of the screen, trusting that there's a ledge on the next screen to catch you.
- One Hitpoint Wonder: Played perfectly straight here: one hit and you're destroyed on the spot and lose all your ammo. However, you keep your progress in the form of your disks and checkpoint.
- Subliminal Seduction: Pastor Ferell Griswold's "Jesus is here!" (also used in Front 242's "Welcome to Paradise") when you reach the checkpoint is reversed in the re-release, but not in the original.
