DESCRIPTION

The madness of trying to keep a marble balanced atop narrow, obstacle-filled pathways makes its way from the Arcades to the palms of your hands with Marble Madness for the Game Boy Color.

After plugging the game in, firing up your system and progressing past the title, you'll see an option screen that lets you start the game, observe a demonstration, or reconfigure the sound effects, music and angle of your control pad commands. Unlike the original Arcade game, which featured simultaneous combative play, there is no two-player mode in this version.

Your goal in each level of Marble Madness is to safely steer your marble through twisting mazes, steep ramps, dangerous enemies and hazardous drops, eventually crossing the finish line. There are numerous tunnels and chutes in the various mazes and pathways that will send your marble to a different area of the course.

Marbles are free and unlimited in number, but when an enemy destroys your marble or your marble falls off a cliff, you lose valuable seconds. If you run out of time in any course, it's game over. If you perform exceptionally well, your marble will sometimes be "charmed" with extra time.

You score points in Marble Madness by finishing levels, completing the entire game, dropping through chutes, landing on painted blocks, passing the finish line with extra time left on the clock, and defeating Steelie, a black marble that is basically your arch enemy. Other enemies and obstacles include: Marble Munchers, which hop up and down trying to swallow your marble; Vacuums, which can suck up your marble piece by piece; and Acid Pools, which dissolve your marble on contact.

In most of the levels, your marble starts off at a high altitude and it goes down the course, rolling down slopes, pathways and ramps. However, in the Silly Level, the game's rules are reversed and you go up the course. Also, the enemies and obstacles are smaller and can be destroyed. Each Silly Level impediment that you defeat adds three seconds to your time.

Let the madness (and the silliness) begin with Marble Madness for the Game Boy Color! ~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide