DESCRIPTION

A beautiful and addicting game, Drol challenges you to rescue a family that is being held hostage in a bizarre multi-level dream world. Sporting a nifty anti-gravity rescue suit and an unlimited supply of Reality Pellets, you must navigate a three-level maze in search of the lost family and their pets.

In the first mission you must locate the girl and her pet dragon by controlling our hero with a joystick or keyboard controls. Deadly scorpions hop toward you from both sides, and flying turkeys launch an aerial assault. A few quick blasts of Reality Pellets vaporize the scorpions, while creating a nice Thanksgiving dinner out of the turkeys. Locate the roaming girl and the jet-propelled dragon by dropping through the various trapdoors found within the simple labyrinth. You can save the hostages by touching them, but be sure to keep your eye on the radar screen for the invading marauders.

Level two has you rescuing the boy and his pet crocodile from attacking snakes and a crazy witchdoctor who materializes at will. Magnets will also be attracted to your flying suit and will hinder your ability to shoot your pellets. Level three is a tad trickier. Reminiscent of an old Warner Bros. cartoon, knives and hatchets will fly at you, along with some attacking crazy eyed monsters. Since mommy is tied up at the very bottom on the right hand side, it will be a bit of a journey to rescue her. Be on the lookout for the Venus Flytraps that have staked themselves out underneath the trapdoors.

You begin each game with five lives and earn a new one for each round of three levels completed. As you progress through the levels, the game becomes more challenging — and the monsters more deadly (beware of insane vacuum cleaners!). Some monsters, like the turkeys, require more than one shot to kill, and since trapdoors become scarcer as you proceed, you will need to take extra precautions in order to survive. If you are struck down while on a lower level, you must begin your quest anew from the top. While this is a challenging aspect of the game, it can also be intensely frustrating at times.

Drol is one of the more distinctive titles to ever be played on the Apple II. The cartoon-like characters and colorful landscapes are reminiscent of a time when game ideas were unique and programmers were given license to be as creative as possible. The non-graphic violence and silly themes make it suitable for the entire family. ~ Chris Cavanaugh, All Game Guide