Cosmic Wartoad was an action game

Action game

Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...

 developed by Denton Designs

Denton Designs

Denton Designs was a British video games developer based in Liverpool. The company was founded in 1984 and initially specialised in developing software for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computer...

 for the ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...

. It was published by Ocean

Ocean Software

The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...

 and released in the UK in 1985

1985 in video gaming

-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...

.

Gameplay and Plot

The queen of the cosmic wartoads has been kidnapped by the Rygellian Slime Beasts, turned into a human and is being held captive beneath the Slime King's Sludge Saw, which descends over the course of ninety minutes and will kill her if it is not stopped.

The player controls the Cosmic Wartoad as he attempts to rescue the queen. To achieve this he must travel across the Rygellian Timevoid, an 8x8 grid of "nodes"

Vertex (graph theory)

In graph theory, a vertex or node is the fundamental unit out of which graphs are formed: an undirected graph consists of a set of vertices and a set of edges , while a directed graph consists of a set of vertices and a set of arcs...

, by entering a node, successfully completing the minigame

Minigame

A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...

 within, and then entering an adjacent node, all the while collecting the eight pieces of the Cosmic Toolkit that will shut down the Sludge Saw. Each node contains one of several repeating minigames, which typically involve the Cosmic Wartoad fighting one or more enemies on a pseudo-isometric screen.

The game finishes either when the Cosmic Wartoad successfully collects all eight pieces of the Toolkit and navigates his way across the grid to shut down the saw; when the Cosmic Wartoad loses all of his three lives

Health (gaming)

Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....

; or when the ninety minute game period expires.

Reception

The game received generally positive reviews on its release. Crash

CRASH (magazine)

Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.-Development:...

 awarded it 88%, Sinclair User

Sinclair User

Sinclair User, often abbreviated SU, was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum...

 gave it four stars (out of a possible five), Your Sinclair

Your Sinclair

Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...

 scored it 8/10 and Your Computer

Your Computer (British magazine)

Your Computer was a British computer magazine published monthly from 1981 to 1988, and aimed at the burgeoning home computer market. At one stage it was, in its own words, "Britain's biggest selling home computer magazine". It offered support across a wide range of computer formats, and included...

rated it 3/5.