For many of us Atari’s Combat was the first introduction to a cartridge-based console game, and for that reason has a special place in many people’s retro memories.
Atari 2600 Combat ScreenshotAs one of the launch titles for the Atari 2600 (VCS), Combat was included with every console sold (a bit like Wii Sports now), and as such had a massive exposure amongst the Atari fan-base.
As a classic 2 player game it introduce the concept of the party game – lots of different mini-games that could be played out between 2 human opponents.
Atari Combat Box ArtAtari fans are aware of the limitations of the 2600 kit, which was built around the concept of “pong”. The system is happiest when there are 2 independently controlled players or “bats”, 2 “missiles” and a “ball” which can interact between them, as well as scenery the missiles or ball can bounce off. Combat took this concept and used tanks (or planes) for bats and the missiles, with scenary you can hide behind, and hey presto a classic is born.
This is a great example of cat and mouse style game, with a simple risk reward mechanism. You could move your tank around the maze to get a clear line of sight on your opponent, or wait for your opponent to move and try and get the first shot in. Such a simple concept, but the same basic premise as the multi player FPS games of today.
Add to this the standard Atari 2600 twist of including more than one variation of the game (27 in fact) in the cartridge, and the longevity is extended hugely. Admittedly the games are not that different, but in addition to the Tank battle there was also an Aerial dogfight, and a number of variations on the use of guided missiles and invisible tanks or planes. The dogfight was actually quite strategic in that the planes flew at a constant speed and you could only manage direction and firing, requiring you to pilot them skillfully in order to get behind the other player to shoot them down. Cue long sweeping chases, waiting for the other player to twitch or make a mistake.
I have very fond memories of this game, which I only got to play at a friends house when I was a kid, and have recently introduced my son to after he played something similar on the Wii (The Wii Play title has a similar mini-game called Tank Battle).
Burger Time was launched by Data East in 1982 to an arcade public previously starved of fast-food based gaming action.
Long before Gordon Ramsey and other so-called “celebrity” chefs, the hero of this game was burger tosser Peter Pepper. Transported to a massive kitchen with various levels, he has to climb ladders and cross platforms to assemble huge burgers, whilst being chased by angry foodstuffs. The burger components of bun, beef & lettuce must be walked across (very unhygienic) in order to make them fall to the plate at the bottom of the screen. The falling food item knocks each item below it down one level, meaning that the most effective method of creating your burger is to start at the top and work down.
Dedicated Burger Time Arcade Cabinet
Complicating matters are the evil ingredients Mr Hot Dog, Mr Pickle and Mr Egg, all of whom are out to stop you, possibly in some attempt to get themselves on the menu instead.
Fortunately you can stop the various menu items by trapping them between the burger components, or by spraying them with a limited supply of pepper (perhaps the inspiration for pepper spray) in order to stun them for a few moments. If you time your spray well you can take out more than one enemy at a time with a single spray, enabling you to walk straight through them whilst they writhe in agony. Not quite such how pepper hurts a sausage that has no eyes, but then Burger Time is a game about walking sausages..
Burger Time Arcade
As well as your burger components and enemy food items, there are also bonuses such as ice creams and french fries which appear pac-man style for extra points when collected.
Assemble all the burgers and the level is complete, and you move to the next, with slightly angrier sausages, and platforms which provide access to bigger burgers including slices of cheese and tomato. There are 6 levels in total before you loop around to the first again with an increased difficulty level.
Burger Time Home Conversions
Burger Time was released on a number of home platforms, including a classic for the Colecovision console, which was host to a number of great arcade game conversions including Donkey Kong and Zaxxon. The game was also released on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Atari 2600, as well as a later release on Nintendo’s Gameboy.
In 2011 a remake of the game was released as a downloadable title across all the major consoles, titled “Burger Time World Tour” – a comprehensive revision in full 3D which sticks to the original burger building recipe (sorry).
Burger Time World Tour – XBOX Screenshot
My personal favourite was a conversion by Ocean for the ZX Spectrum known as Mr Wimpy, in honour of the mascot of Wimpy burger restaurants in the UK.
Burger Time clone Mr Wimpy on the ZX Spectrum
Birmingham residents will also note the connection with late night fast food restaurant “Mr Egg”, which presumably was named in honour of this great game.
Although most people will remember the various home ports for Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro, Hunchback was originally released by Century Electronics in 1983 as an arcade machine. The game itself was a relatively simple “pitfall” style platformer, with multiple left to right flip screens, each one featuring a number of challenges to overcome, in order for for Quasimodo to rescue Esmerelda.
Screenshot of Hunchback
The origins of the game are however more interesting, given that the original theme of the game was apparently nothing to do with the famous Victor Hugo novel. As the story goes, the original artist had penned a fairly lumpy version of Robin Hood, that appeared to look more like a Hunchback. After the artist left the company, it was decided to rename the game to fit the artist’s rendition of the main character in the game. Looking back at the game with this in mind, it does appear to fit based on the available clues:
1) Liberal use of arrows in the game as hazards, and the bright green costume, very Robin Hood
2) The seemingly “bolted on” nature of the bells at the of each stage, and fact that the castle ramparts seem out of place on Notre Dame cathedral
3) The soldiers are dressed as crusaders, as featured in Robin Hood, from a war that ended in 129, and the Victor Hugo book is set in 1482
This does not detract from a great game, that clearly captured the public’s imagination, everyone accepting the premise that Quasimodo was on a jaunt to rescue Esmerelda, and nothing to do with Nottingham Castle, Robin or Marion.
The game itself was quite tricky, with increasing levels of challenge as the game went on, most reliant on perfectly timed jumps across ramparts, catching ropes, and avoiding flaming pits and arrows. Faster completion times awarded higher bonuses, with 5 screens cleared in a row without loss of life awarding a Super Bonus. When you reach the end of the ramparts, you rescue Esmerelda, and the game starts again, only faster.
I had fond memories of this game, starting at the end of Southend Pier in the early 80’s, and continuing through ZX Spectrum and BBC versions which I owned. Only putting this review together, almost 20 years later, did I discover the strange provenance of the game, and the alleged links to a Robin Hood game that never was.
JetPac was one of the first of the games released for the early 16k Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer, and developer Ultimate managed to fit a lot into the tiny memory. This game didn’t fit into any easily definable retro gaming genre, as it had a number of elements, being part shooter, part action-platformer. What it did do was deliver to early adopter Spectrum owners the arcade experience they had been looking for in their humble home computer.
JetPac for the ZX Spectrum
JetPac Gameplay
Due to the memory constraints of the basic 16k Spectrum model, JetPac did away with multiple screens and stuck to a very simple formula. Use your JetPac to collect space ship parts that fall from the sky, kill the aliens that try to attack you, build a rocket from the parts and take off in it when its complete. Then do it all over again, repeatedly, until you die. And that’s it.
JetPac loading screen for the ZX Spectrum
Despite the simple premise, one which would not hold the attention of many 10 year old game veterans today, Ultimate managed to build a sense of achievement into JetPac, as well as a desire to progress further through the game. You were pushed to tackle just one more screen, in order to see a new alien type with a different attack pattern. Every few screens you would get a new rocket, starting with an Apollo 13 style vehicle, and ending with a space shuttle (Tetris on the Gameboy also did this as a reward for completion).
There was also a great sense of colour in the game, from the garish alien designs to the multi coloured laser blast, but again due to memory limitations the only sound was the squeak of your laser and the plop when the aliens were destroyed.
JetPac screenshot on the ZX Spectrum
JetPac was a masterstroke of packaging in a time when memory was incredibly expensive. Developers Ultimate had to think about not only the gameplay but how they could most effectively fit it into the space available, and maximise the number of Spectrum owners that could play the game.
Jetpac forZX Spectrum Cassette Inlay
JetPac Critical Reception
Reviews of Jetpac on the ZX Spectrum were overwhelmingly positive, with several contemporary magazines lauding its graphics, gameplay, and overall design. Crash magazine praised the game for its “colorful and well-defined sprites,” deeming it “one of the best-looking games on the Spectrum.” The gameplay was frequently highlighted as a standout feature, with “Crash” describing it as “immensely playable and addictive,” while “Your Spectrum” echoed these sentiments, calling it “fast-paced and engaging, with responsive controls.”
Jetpac is a real scorcher…fast and frenetic gameplay that will have you coming back for more
Your Sinclair Magazine (1983)
Although the sound was recognized as basic due to the hardware limitations, it was still considered effective and adequate for the gameplay experience. The consensus among critics was that Jetpac was a landmark title for the ZX Spectrum, combining visually appealing graphics with compelling and addictive gameplay.
JetPac on other platforms
The success of JetPac on the ZX Spectrum lead to conversions various home computers of the era, each with their own strengths and limitations.
Commodore VIC-20 Version (1983)
The VIC-20 version of JetPac is much closer to the Spectrum than the BBC version, with almost identical graphics and gameplay. The game relied on an 8k expansion pack being fitted to the VIC-20, although still less memory than the already tiny 16k of the Spectrum.
The VIC-20 version of JetPac was a huge success, like the Spectrum it stretched the boundaries of what was possible on a simple home computer, and a standout title for the Commodore 64’s baby brother.
Vic-20 version of JetPac
There was never an official release for the Commodore 64, but unofficial conversions exist online.
BBC Micro Version (1984)
JetPac on the BBC Micro was visually different to the Spectrum version, with more chunky graphics and a quite basic sound effects. Gameplay was marred by annoying aliens which were incredibly difficult to avoid, resulting in a frustrating gaming experience.
JetPac for the BBC Micro
JetPac Sequels and Modern Revivals
Ultimate have survived to the present under different brands and owners, and as such have been able to sporadically revive the JetPac franchise.
Lunar Jetman (Ultimate – 1983)
Lunar Jetman was released by Ultimate the same year as JetPac, and is probably the closest thing to a true sequel to the original game.
In Lunar Jetman you had a buggy to ride around the planet surface, with items scattered across a map which was much larger than the side-scrolling screen. You still had to exit the vehicle to collect the items, and return to the buggy to refuel your JetPac. The mission in Lunar Jetman was to destroy 3 enemy bases using bombs that first had to be located and transported.
JetPac sequel Lunar Jetman
Development for the 48k Spectrum allowed more depth of gameplay and variety of graphics than the original, and it even featured voice synthesis if you had a Currah Speech Pack. It’s difficult to describe how excited I was to play Lunar Jetman on its release, and I wasn’t disappointed.
a worthy successor to JetPac
Crash Magazine (1983)
Solar Jetman (Zippo/Rare – 1990)
JetPac’s author Ultimate later transitioned to “Rare”, and in 1990 rebranded one of their acquired titles as Solar Jetman. The game was originally developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Zippo games, who were bought by Rare during the game’s development.
The links to JetPac and Lunar Jetman are tenuous, as there is no actual Jet Pack in the game. It’s more a gravity-based game, similar to arcade title Gravitar, where the mission was to use thrusters to safely traverse rocky landscapes. As such it is a sequel in name only, and due to poor sales of the NES cart, never made it to the Spectrum or any other home computer.
Jetpac Refueled (Rare – 2014)
Jetpac Refueled was commissioned after Rare were acquired by Microsoft, the original JetPac game being refreshed as part of the XBOX Arcade series of games.
The original game was enhanced with modern graphics and sound, and a number of new features introduced including weapons upgrades, smart bombs and a speed boost. The game also featured a 2 player mode, both local and online, where players could compete for high scores and places on a global league table.
JetPac refuelled was a remake rather than a sequel, given the almost identical gameplay. Although modern reviews claim it was an improvement over the original, its impact on the gaming landscape of 2014 was nothing like that of JetPac in 1983.
JetPac, like many of the early 16k Spectrum games from Ultimate, showed what could be achieved with fairly basic computer hardware. With this title Ultimate set a new standard for gaming on the home computer platform for other developers to follow, and established them as the premier games developer for the platform.
Mr Ee! came from a time when copyright law didn’t seem to apply to video games, otherwise this game would never have existed. Imagine taking the latest Super Mario game on the wii, copying it, calling it Super Dave and releasing it on the XBOX. That’s what Micro Power did with Mr Ee! on the BBC Micro, a blatant copy of The Mr Do! arcade game.
Mr Ee! Gameplay on BBC Micro
Mr Ee! : Not just another arcade clone
But there are plenty of blatant rip offs out there in video game history, and this is not the reason why Mr Ee needs to be celebrated. What it did, it did brilliantly, providing an almost arcade perfect copy of the original. The computer that made it possible was the BBC Micro, a home computer whose primary purpose was teaching IT in schools.
Mr Ee! Cassette Inlay
On seeing Mr Ee! playing on my friend’s BBC Model B computer, a kind of cross between Pac Man and Dig Dug, I knew I had to have one. Everything from the full colour graphics to the lively (if repetitive) music, shouted quality, and to me it looked and played just like the game I had played in the arcades. It was the first time that I realised that commercial quality gaming was possible on a personal machine. It is no suprise to read interviews with Adrian Stephens (the programmer behind the game) had spent hours playing the game in the arcades and had wanted to recreate that feel.
How to play Mr Ee!
Mr Ee! has unusually rich gameplay for an early arcade game conversion, with multiple game mechanics that must be mastered in order to progress.
Firstly, you have the ability to collect cherries to score points, which rack up with multipliers when you collect them in sequence. There are also monsters to avoid, which can be killed with a ball you can fire (one at a time), and bounces off the walls of the tunnels until it destroys and enemy or returns to you.
Mr Ee! On the BBC Micro- spot the difference
Then there are apples, which unlike cherries cannot be collected, but you can dig underneath them so they fall and crush anything (including you) in their path. Be careful as some monsters can also push apples off of ledges to try and kill you. The monsters, collectively known as creeps, are broken down into:
Regular Red Creeps, that look like dinosaurs and can only travel along existing tunnels
Diggers, which are purple dinosaurs that can dig their own tunnels
Alpha monsters, that are containers with letters inside them spelling out the word EXTRA, get all for an extra life. They can also eat apples!
Unlike PacMan where there was only one way to clear the screen and move to the next level, there were actually 4 ways to progress in Mr Do! / 2 in Mr Ee!
Collect the Cherries – Easy to do on the early levels but very low scoring. On higher levels it is a good last resort if you are under pressure from enemies and there are only a few cherries left to collect.
Kill all monsters – Even if there are munchers and alpha monsters on the screen the level will end when you kill the last regular monster or digger. This is helpful when you are score chasing and get overwhelmed with multiple monsters.
Get the Extra (Mr Do! Only) – Kill the alpha monster highlighted in the “extra box” at the top of the screen and the level will end immediately
Get the Diamond (Mr Do! Only) – A diamond will appear at random from an apple that has fallen and cracked open. Get it quick to end the level.
Mr Do original arcade game
Mr Ee! Remembered
Mr Ee goes back to a time when one programmer, part game fan / part self taught coder, could produce a commercial quality game at home and it become a huge hit, selling in thousands. Today this is just not possible, not even in the world of teenagers selling games through the app store. In this open market space a popular game will need programmers, artists, musicians, marketing teams and serious money in order to compete with the thousands of quality games available.
So hats off to the BBC and their indirect promotion of blatant plagiarism for the sake of the 80’s gaming public – it will never happen again.
Retro games reviewed including 80s arcade machines, classic consoles and early home computers
