______ _______ _ __ ______ _ _ ______ _ _
| __ | |__ __| | | /_/ | ____| | | | | | ____| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |____ | |/\| | | |___ | | | |
| | | | | | | | |____ | | | | ___| | | | |
| |__| | __| |__ | |____ ____| | | /\ | | |____ | |____ | |____
|______| |_______| |______| |______| |_/ \_| |______| |______| |______|
O I L #
__|___|___|___|__
| |___
| |_ |
| | | | ______
| | | | | __ |
| | | |_______| | _|_|________
| | |___________|| |
| | | |=======
|_________________| |____________|
|/\|
Copyright Sierra Entertainment 1984
Written By Brian P. Sulpher
E-mail: briansulpher@hotmail.com
Version 1.1
Date Written: October 20th, 2004
I dedicate this to my Uncle Donald for showing me the great old system
called the Colecovision all of those years ago. It truly is a cherished
childhood memory, and I will never forget the time we spent playing those
awesome games together together. You da man UNCA DONALD! you da man...
Also, for Cougar, Howler, Koonce, and Gracey. I miss you, and I hope you
are living it up in the afterlife as you did in this world. You will always
be in my memories, and you will never be forgotten.
-----------
Version 1.0
-----------
-Submitted guide on October 20th, 2004
-----------
Version 1.1
-----------
-Submitted guide on February 7th, 2005
-I added in Honestgamers as a site allowed to use my FAQs
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----------------------------Table Of Contents-------------------------------
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1) Introduction
2) Controls
3) Level Stats
4) Strategies
5) Final Word
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-------------------------------Introduction---------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) The following is the work of Sierra Entertainment and is in no way the
intellectual property of Brian P. Sulpher.
You're rich. . .maybe. Geologists have just located one of the largest oil
deposits in North America, on your land! But you have to get it out of the
ground before you can spend it.
The other oil barons are jealous, and they would do anything to sabotage
your operation. They have planted oozies and land mines in your oil fields
to wreck your drilling equipment. Don't let them cheat you out of your
millions!
Sounds kind of corny I know. Yet, it is still challenging, fun, and most
importantly it has complexity that is not so easily seen (those make the
best games after all). I hope you enjoy this one as I sure have for the
few months that I have been playing it, offering up a lot of challenge
and interest!
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---------------------------------Controls-----------------------------------
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2) This section will outline the Menu Options as well as how to control your
Drill Bit in the world of Oil's Well.
o--------------o
| Menu Options |
o--------------o
==========
One Player
==========
Regular : Enemies will be slow to appear and in movement, only rarely
acompanied by Land Mines.
Unleaded: Enemies will appear more frequently and move faster, also being
joined by more and more Land Mines.
Premium : Enemies will be very numerous, moving at super fast speeds. Land
Mines will actually be slower, but they will be allowed to enter
the tunnel closest to the surface, meaning an instant death if
this occurs (though only if the Drill Bit touches it)!
===========
Two Players
===========
Regular : Enemies will be slow to appear and in movement, only rarely
acompanied by Land Mines.
Unleaded: Enemies will appear more frequently and move faster, also being
joined by more and more Land Mines.
Premium : Enemies will be very numerous, moving at super fast speeds. Land
Mines will actually be slower, but they will be allowed to enter
the tunnel closest to the surface, meaning an instant death if
this occurs (though only if the Drill Bit touches it)!
o------------------o
| In-Game Controls |
o------------------o
Joystick---> Moves your Drill Bit and the piping down through the tunnels in
your attempt to harvest the oil that lies beneath the surface.
Left Fire--> As long as this is held, your Drill Bit and piping will be
retracted towards the source. This is done to escape any of
your piping from being damaged by enemies or to get out of a
dead end passageway.
Right Fire-> As long as this is held, your Drill Bit and piping will be
retracted towards the source. This is done to escape any of
your piping from being damaged by enemies or to get out of a
dead end passageway.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------Level Stats-----------------------------------
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3) This section will look at the enemies, the Helpful Objects, the Point
Values found within the game, and Strategies for dealing with each Enemy.
o---------------o
| Enemy Listing |
o---------------o
Land Mines: Flashing red objects, these planted traps will float through
the pathways underneath the surface, trying to collide with
your Drill Bit to destroy it. However, they can harmlessly
pass through your piping.
Oozies : Small, white objects, these potential saboteurs will attempt to
chew a hole through your piping, destroying your drilling
attempts. However, your Drill Bit can decimate them.
o-----------------o
| Helpful Objects |
o-----------------o
Drill Bits : These are used to grab Goblets, Oil Pellets, Petromins, and to
destroy Oozies. Starting with 3, every 10000 points collected
will add an additional one to the reserves.
Goblets : Flashing blue and green objects, collecting these will add a
large bonus to your total score.
Oil Pellets: To clear a stage, collect every single one of these objects
from the tunnels below.
Petromins : A larger dot in the tunnels, these special objects will greatly
slow down the appearance and advancement of Oozies and Land
Mines.
o--------------o
| Point Values |
o--------------o
Goblets : 1000
Oil Pellets: 10
Oozies : 20-170
o------------o
| Strategies |
o------------o
Land Mines: Where ever these appear, get your Drill Bit away from the tunnel
they are passing through, thus avoiding their damage. Sometimes
the situation will be one where you can not retract the drill
enough to avoid them, so you should move to a lower level, as
the piping will be passed through by the offending object.
Oozies : These guys are very common, constantly attacking from both sides
of the screen. They exist solely to chew holes into your
piping, so always retract pipes that are on the same level as
the ever advancing enemy. However, these nuiscances can be
taken out (for the moment anyway) by using your Drill Bit to
destroy them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------Strategies------------------------------------
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4) This section will take a look at a few strategies for making you more
successful in this sabotaged Oil Business!
a) The most important aspect of the game to remember is that you are not
just attempting to collect the Oil Pellets, but you must also be wary of
all the tunnels that your piping are lying in. Oozies can appear at any
time, so you must watch out for any tunnels that you have passed through,
as they would love to munch a large hole into your piping.
b) As you perform the feat above, sometimes you will see that you will not
have enough time to retract your piping to ensure your safety. At this
point you will have to accept your death, OR you can try to charge to the
closest Petromin(s) within the tunnel to slow the advancement of the
enemy. Then you should retract your piping and destroy the Oozies before
continuing to collect more Oil Pellets. An alternate solution is to try
and collect the remaining Oil Pellets, but that only works when there are
VERY FEW of the Oil Pellets remaining.
c) Remember that Land Mines can in fac pass through your piping without
causing any harm, so never use your Drill Bit on them or you will be
exttremely sorry!
d) Every time you are seeking to head down to the next tunnel, try to keep
your overall total of piping that is lying in the tunnels to a bare
minimum. If you are forced to retract all that pipe when a higher tunnel
Oozie is threatening the safety of your operation, all that extra piping
may take too long to retract, causing the disaster that you are seeking
to avoid.
e) Goblets are easily the best source of points to be found in the entire
game, but do not get careless when going after one. They will often be
accompanied by a dangerous obstacle like a Land Mine beside them, or an
Oozie that will appear elsewhere and make an attempt on your pipes, so be
wary of attackers when trying for this oh so valuable and pretty object.
f) Your Drill Bits begin each appearance with a life of 990, which will
be reduced by 10 every few seconds. If you are about to run out of time,
leaving too many Oil Pellets to snag before time runs out, it is best to
go after some tough to reach Oil Pellets and get them since you are going
to lose that Drill Bit anyway.
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------------------------------Final Word------------------------------------
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5) As is the usual, this walkthrough is copyright property of Brian P.
Sulpher, 2004. The only website, group, person, etc. to have access to
post it is www.gamefaqs.com, www.ign.com, and www.honestgamers.com. You
must ask for permission before posting this, as doing so without consent
is a violation of international copyright law.
If you liked it, hated it, have anything to add, then please E-mail me at
briansulpher@hotmail.com. You can also contact me through MSN messenger
through the same E-mail address.
An amazingly complex game for so simple graphics, concept, and design.
However, it remains a favourite of mine to this day as it is so highly
addictive to play (so go play it GUYS and GIRLS!). Seriously, get at it
and play this sweet little game with the oh so neat graphics!
