OK, let's admit it, Zzap never game a Thalamus game a bad rating because, well, they belonged in the same company: Newsfield Publications. How's that for objective, unbiased journalism? A bit corrupted maybe? Poor old Zzap reviewers, you could sense for example that when they gave the mediocre Delta 74%, the pressure was really on them to give it a somewhat positive review. And don't even get me started on Hawkeye's golden medal. -)
Summer Camp was actually one of the last titles that Thalamus published for the C64 but it never really caught on the way Creatures or Nobby The Aardvark did. It's a flick-screen platformer where you play the part of a mouse, Maximus, and you have to find the flag of your summer-camp which has somehow gone missing. In order to do that you have to go through four levels, and your objective is to pick all Acme crates located there. These crates contain vehicle parts for your transportation to the next level. There's also a bonus round in-between, where you have to assemble these vehicle parts.
The first thing you notice about Summer Camp is the colourful, cartoony graphics. Boy, are they wonderful! The second thing you notice is how difficult it is to move around the platforms. That's because the controls suck, which is very frustrating for a game that demands pixel-perfect positioning. The collision detection doesn't do you any favours either, and neither do the hordes of re-spawning enemies, as opposed to non re-spawning power-ups. Again, terribly frustrating for a game that relies so much on them. The game is just unbelievably, infuriatingly difficult. You might find the patience to practice enough to make it through the first two levels (the summer-camp itself and a Wild-West styled ghost-town), but levels three and four (some gold-mine and the moon!) are just impossible.
It's not really worth bothering. The game is just an evolution of the ancient Jet Set Willy formula, with enemies going back and forth around the screen, and you having to climb your way through the desirable object. Oh sure, there are amusing touches, such as Maximus using his tail to become helicopter-like (if you get the necessary power-up), or the cat in level-two which swallows you and then burps you out, or the platforms which you can move yourself in level-four etc. The thing is that the average games-player will never get to see them because he will give up too soon, seeing as the game is stupidly difficult. What a shame.
Now here's something different.. a longplay! McDonaldland was a platformer that came fairly late in the C64's commercial lifetime, and it was a conversion of a NES game. Mystifyingly, both Commodore Format and Zzap64 (aka Commodore Force) gave the game somewhat positive reviews (both in the low 70's range), which was weird seeing as the game was an appalling conversion. There's a ridiculous number of bugs to be found (unforgivable for a commercial release), it's terribly slow, there's a general lack of enemies, and later levels look rather unfinished. But it sort of has a charming fairy-tale like atmosphere, one not unlike Super Mario World, and there's a fair bit of variety to be found. Check it out.
Bzzzt, happy new year! I thought I'd do another update now that I'm sort of reinvigorated. OK, so.. coin-ops! Were you a fan? I was. Arcade games had a rather bad reputation when I was a kid, in the sense that it was the "bad boys" that went there and spent their time (and money) instead of doing their homework. That only enhanced their appeal as far as I'm concerned.
Of course an arcade game is different in it's philosophy than a home-computer game. Since it relies on the player keeping paying in order to continue playing, the game has to be instantly appealing and not too deep in it's gameplay mechanics.
I only started going in the arcades from high-school onwards, and I do admit on missing a few good classes in lyceum. Coin-ops didn't help in trying to get to university either. -) Sega's Virtua Striker is one of the games I've wasted *shitloads* of money in. It was that good. A two-player game was a must, and usually resulted in a shouting match. Emulating it these days on my PC, I find that it's just as playable as it ever was. Why is that? Simply put.. simplicity!!
No modern-day FIFA or Pro-Evolution Soccer overload of complex controls. Instead you just control the movement and get two different types of passing (high pass and low pass) whose power depends on how hard (long) you push the button, a button for shooting, and two different types of tackling. Yet the game feels quite realistic thanks to the spiffy 3D-graphics, as opposed to the popular overhead footie arcade games of the early 90's like Kick-Off 2 and Sensible Soccer.
The game sort of helps you out with it's mechanics, in the sense that when passing the ball, it automatically heads towards the direction of the next free player. But excuse me, isn't that what would happen as well if you were playing in a real football match? It all has to do with not making the experience overly complicated. It works. Virtua Striker 2 was more complicated and somehow lost the appeal.
I still play this game every now and then, and I invite old pals to relive the erstwhile Virtua Striker feud - with a beer or three. It's fun!!
Doesn't time fly? It does indeed, and another year is (almost) over. The retro-gaming bug has receded - and the demands of adult life have a lot to do with it, but it hasn't vanished. Not yet. Just in time for Christmas and a brand new C64 game to boot. Yes, that's right, new C64 games are still being made in 2008. The "experts" who declared the C64 scene was dead as early as 1992 didn't see that coming, did they? So it's only a bunch of retro enthusiast programmers appealing to a bunch of retro enthusiast hardcore users. So what? The current limited-lifetime-span consoles don't have the charm and you know it.
So, anyway, what we have here is an unofficial sequel to an unofficial Christmas game dating back from 1990. Frosty the Snowman originally appeared in a covertape of the Your Commodore magazine (or YC as it was called by that point) and it was a charming, if a bit crap, a bit too small and a bit too difficult platformer. Frosty 2 is cut from the same cloth, but is undeniably better. it has better graphics, better music, it's slightly more easy, and bigger. There's a cool customizable snow effect, three different tunes to choose from, and even a medley. Beat that XBOX. -)
Let's take a look at the gameplay. It seems that Santa got a bit drunk, so it's up to Frosty the snowman to get to the toy factory and deliver the presents. OK, I just made that up, but I couldn't find the "official" plot anywhere and I honestly don't think it's too different than this. What you got to do, then, is to plod along left to right, avoiding obstacles, until you reach Santa's sleigh. It's a split-screen affair, so it's a two player game, and it seems that the other player can enter your part of the screen and knock you out! Cool! The gameplay itself reminds me of a simpler version of Manic MIner.
It's not fantastic and it won't change the world, but it's simple, fun and very Christmas-y. Merry Christmas everybody (who still reads this). -)
It's been a while! But not without good reason, I tell ya. Such is the dramatic impact of adult life that you find a new job (and a shitty new job at that), and it deprives you of valuable time for your hobbies. Count on Lemon 64's excellent gaming competition to get your fix of vintage computer-gaming then. And following what seemed like an endless barrage of shoot-em-ups, last month we played this interesting racing game from 1985.
When it came to publishers and racers, Epyx was all the rage back then, what with Pitstop 2 and Super Cycle instantly being declared as classics. And they still are considered classics today. I don't quite agree with that, but whatever. Let's move on to this cute little game from Activision. As the title says, what you got to do here is race your way from one American state to another. There's several races to choose from, and each race lets you follow the route you choose. Say, d' you go from Washington to Idaho? Or from Washington to Oregon? It's up to you, as long as you make it to your final destination.
What makes this one stand out of the crowd is that for a 1985 racing-game, it's got a lot of depth. Apart from the choose-your-own-route thing, Activision added lots of interesting features. You get to refill as you run out of gas. Speed too much and the cops are chasing you, costing you valuable time. Then again each route has it's own distinct features, from desert landscapes to city panoramas. Drive too long and night falls, making for a dramatic effect. Get the revs too high, and boom, there goes your engine. There's variable weather conditions etc. It's all quite charming actually.
Sadly, arguably the most interesting part, the racing itself, doesn't quite live to the promise. It seems as if you drive a Ferrari, while everybody else drives a Skoda, seeing as your speed is virtually unmatched. Also, and funnily enough, everybody else is driving at exactly the same speed. True, that's how it was in general with arcade-racers back then, but so what? I still don't like it.
The Great American Cross-Country Race is an interesting game, for about a week. Cause that's how long it'll take you to get the hang of it and complete all races. And after you've seen all routes, there's not much else to see. Historically speaking, this is an important game and an obvious influence on Outrun. But when it comes down to it, the racing itself just isn't that good.
