Exile Amiga 1991 Audiogenic Software

Exile

Audiogenic Software released Exile for the Amiga in 1991. Exile was originally developed by Superior Software for the BBC Micro in 1988. The original BBC Micro version of Exile was designed by Peter J.M. Irvin and Jeremy C. Smith whereas 68000 Exile (ST/Amiga) was programmed by Peter J.M. Irvin and William F. Reeve, drawn by Herman Serrano and composed by Henry Jackman on MPH's TCB Tracker of 1990 on the Atari ST. [1]

Exile is an arcade-adventure game that features Gravitar-like mechanics on 8-way scrolling playfields. In fact, Jeremy C. Smith programmed the original Thrust of 1986 for the BBC Micro, which is a historically-significant shoot 'em up.

Thus, Exile employs momentum physics, impact physics and gravity.

Exile displays in 16-color 320x256 from a side-on perspective.

In Exile players assume the role of "spaceman" Mike Finn of the Columbus expeditionary force of the 21st century. Players begin Exile on an intergalactic Pericles spacecraft hovering above the surface of the planet, Phoebus. Triax teleports into the spaceship, steals the Destinator from Finn, and teleports back out.

Finn must regain possession of the Destinator in order to navigate his spacecraft homeward. In addition, Finn is tasked with destroying Triax's Maggot Machine and may also manage to rescue captive crewmen of the expeditionary force.

Finn is moved about the alien landscape in eight directions via jetpack whose thrusters propel Finn through air or water. Finn can also run and jump about if his jetpack runs out of fuel. 

Players non-linearly explore 600-screens representing the subterreanean environment of Phoebus, which is tile-rigged and procedurally generated. Players must negotiate locked doors, turrets, robots, alien-imps and Phoebus-native flora and fauna such as mushrooms, Coronium crystals and giant clams. Players solve puzzles by collecting and interacting with objects, such as switches. Some objects can be pushed around, picked up, thrown, flown elsewhere and dropped down shafts. All objects and actors in Exile are governed by gravity, buoyancy and impact-physics.

Text messages scroll along a feedback window, identifying objects of interest.

Exile weapons include Grenade, Gun, Icer, PX312 Blaster and Plasma Gun. Weapon projectile impacts can also move objects. Some objects break up into smaller ones, as in Asteroids. Collectable objects such as keys, remote control devices, cannons, whistles and protection suits cannot be destroyed. Objects are stored in a four-slot inventory.

Exile is a long and relatively difficult game that requires patience to play. Exile can take a few hours to complete even when you know the game well. However, Exile is also one of the most rewarding games once its complex controls are mastered.

The OCS/ECS Amiga version of Exile was distributed on 1x 3.5" 880kB DD diskette. It was not installable to hard disk drive.

[1] Anders Nilsson's TCB Tracker on the Atari ST:

Indexes:

• Amiga Games Reviews (Index to all Amiga game reviews)
• Computer Game Reviews (Index to all computer game reviews)
• The First REAL Amiga Game
• Best Amiga Games
• History of Computer Games 1976-2024