The improbably named Charlemagne "Charlie" Fotheringham-Grunes has been asked to find the source of mysterious signals from the moon - a large black Monolith. Of course, as anyone with a name like that would do, Charlie volunteers for the job. You'll already know this when you start the game, as it begins with you wandering around on the moon's surface. There are a lot of craters here - wait a minute! They're not craters , they're moon-molehills! Those moles look quite friendly....think I'll take one with me.
Having caught yourself a burrowing friend, you can drop down a hole into the caverns of the moon. The moon is, it seems, infested with various strange monsters (such as teddy bears on springs??). Most are merely a nuisance, blocking your way, but some are definitely harmful. You can destroy some of them by jumping into them, but this costs energy. Alternatively, you can whip out your mole and guide him into them - he'll destroy them for you!
Charlie's task is to find the Monolith, but that ain't easy. To gain access to it, he needs to find eight "alchiems", which look rather like crystals. They come in different colours, red, magenta, green and blue, and look very nice! The task of finding the eight alchiems is complicated by the size of the cavern system. Many times, you will find yourself blocked in, however, if you release the mole and guide him to the wall, you will find that there are some that he can burrow his way through, thus providing you with access to otherwise unreachable areas. Pressing the fire button while the mole is out brings him back. While the mole is out Charlie cannot move, so you need to be wary of when you use him. Finding the alchiems is one thing, keeping them is another. Floating around the caverns are moon muggers! These muggers are astronauts in red spacesuits and if they catch up with you they will rob you of any collected alchiems.
Huge, deep shafts are common on the moon, and they mean the certain loss of a life if you fall down one - unless you are lucky and find that the one you just fell into has a very powerful up-draft - Charlie will rotate his arms and slowly float to the bottom, or, if at the bottom, jumping will see him float to the top! Be careful though....
There are also whirlwinds, that teleport you around the caverns, which might make exploring easier or alternatively leave you somewhere you would rather not be. They can be very handy if you need a quick getaway! Extra lives can be found in the form of helmets, which is very handy. Your vital signs are continuously ticking away and your current life force is steadily draining, so any help you can find is gratefully received.
When you get an extra life you will also obtain gravity sticks. These can be released by pushing the joystick down, and have the marvellous effect of rendering the red astronauts harmless for a while, and also cause all monsters in the immediate area to fall to the bottom of the cavern. Use them sparingly though, there's only a limited supply....
So, Charlie, time's a ticking, better get a move on!


MOZ
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