The games have been coming in faster than I can write about them, obviously, and don't even get me started on the application programs I hope to write about! Here are three random games for the Commodore VIC 20 sans my usual semi-clever attempt at an overarching theme.
Fast Eddie (Sirius / 20th Century Fox)
Designed by Mark Turnell / VIC 20 Conversion by Kathy Bradley
Fast Eddie is a puzzle platformer from legendary software house Sirius Software, also brought to the Atari computers, the Atari 2600 console and the Commodore 64 in 1982. By the time the VIC 20 version was published, Sirius had forged some sort of deal with 20th Century Fox to publish it as a part of their "Games of the Century" line.
Fox of course immediately put it in a larger box than previous Sirius-published VIC 20 games, so it can't sit next to my copy of Spider City on my shelf, the shortsighted dimwits. Also stupid - the chip is in the cartridge upside down, so the very nice cartridge label faces down to the desk under the computer, unseen by the user. That was just a warning sign, though, as Fox were real bastards later when they failed to pay Sirius eighteen million dollars in owed royalties, dooming one of the great early computer software companies.
Riding a wave of Space Panic clones that started with Broderbund's Apple Panic, Fast Eddie varies in that it has no offensive move that the player can use against the monsters, whereas in the Panics one uses a shovel to dig holes, trap them, and bury their asses alive. Fast Eddie can only avoid enemies through jumping and climbing.
These kind of games are usually frustrating for me for several reasons that are not present in Fast Eddie. In a game like Burgertime, the enemies travel up and down the ladders between platforms just like the player, leading to easily getting cornered with few escape options available. In Fast Eddie, each little monster guy stays on their platform as if it is their patrol area. Some move back and forth across the platform and some are sitting still, but they don't go up the ladders, and in fact I seem to see some evidence in the VIC 20 version that starting to climb the ladder makes the player immune to harm. Exiting at the top of the ladder, one becomes vulnerable again.
Speaking of ladders, these type of games sometimes rely on razor-thin, pixel-perfect alignment of the player to allow for upward or downward movement on the ladders (I'm looking at you again, Burgertime ladders, but also you, Elevator Action doors). Fast Eddie seems more generous with that alignment issue, partly I suspect being that the ladders are drawn with thick lines. The ladder controls can of course still be a bit touchy at times, especially when two ladders are in alignment and the player intends to go up just one platform level but continues up two levels and right into a monster.
Another frustration thankfully missing from Fast Eddie is a timer, meaning that the player can be more careful and focus on jumping over and avoiding enemies rather than picking up the items scattered about before a clock expires. The gameplay goal is to clear each screen by collecting nine out of ten random prizes floating about the platforms, and then jumping up to the key on top of the monster's head at the top platform.
The monsters are called Sneakers, used in previous Sirius software games, and their boss at the top platform is called Hi-Top. The player cannot jump over Hi-Top, but once the player has acquired the nine prizes, a key appears over Hi-Top's head and the player can jump onto that, clearing the level. The manual claims there are five total screens and eight challenge levels, but they look quite alike, except the ones with the aligned double ladders.
While the VIC 20 graphics are blocky and barely a step above the Atari VCS version, they are crisp and functional. The sound effects are fine, but what shines are the controls. In addition to the fair ladder-interfacing controls mentioned above, Eddie jumps pretty damn well for 1982. I pulled off a few jumps running toward the right and then switching to the left as I jump back over a pursuing Sneaker. The jump is a boxy, straight-up and then left or right, and then straight down, rather than an arc kind of jump seen back then. Eddie gets some hangtime while airborne, which is essential when calculating jumps.
At higher levels, some platforms have two Sneakers, side-by-side and moving in unison, requiring very carefully timed jumps to clear. As previously stated, Hi-Top atop the top platform cannot be cleared by jumping.
At first I wasn't too impressed with Fast Eddie, but once I got into the gameplay and jumping I found it fun. The common frustrations of similar games of that era are missing, letting the player focus on running, jumping, and climbing thanks to tight controls. As fun as it was, though, I still need to reacquire Apple Panic for the VIC 20 so I can fight back a little.
Amok (UMI)
By Roger Merritt
Another Roger Merritt UMI title, Amok is the arcade classic Berzerk for the Commodore VIC 20, sans Otto. For those who don't know, Otto is the time limit in each Berzerk level, a smiling, bouncing ball that appears after a few moments and starts bouncing toward the player, its touch deadly and its stupid face invulnerable to any bullets. It sometimes forces the player to just make a run for the nearest exit rather than kill all the enemy robots in the level.
Amok, lacking any Otto, becomes more - dare I say it - tactical - as the player can go around the room meticulously picking off the enemy robots at their discretion. The walls, deadly to the player like Berzerk, allow for use of cover when enemies are attacking from different directions. Since the player can only have one bullet on the screen on the screen at a time, this is essential.
I had assumed the default level on "1" shown on the title screen when the computer is turned on was the normal level of play. Once I started to carefully pick off robots at that level, and saw that the only real danger occurs as the player enters a new room, it felt too easy.
It's a scale of 1-9 so I set it Amok at "9" and the game became more akin to Robotron sans rescuees than Berzerk sans Otto. At that level, the robots move a little more faster and frequently and toward the player. It's essential to get to cover and pick them off one at a time at that level, if possible.
It was refreshing that the lower and higher difficulties really do require such a difference in tactics. Amok, in terms of both graphics and sound, are functional but not exceptional. The player animates in each compass direction as they move but flickers a bit, which is not too noticeable in the heat of battle. Having to run in a direction a little at least to shoot in that direction requires some getting used to as well for the player not native to that era.
My previous Commodore VIC 20 collection had the sequel Super Amok in it, and I am looking to recover that one as well. I'll be sure to write about the upgrades it contains if and when I get it back. For 1982, Amok was a good enough version of Berzerk for VIC 20 owners to enjoy, and it's still good enough now. Finding out that the difficulty settings are the key to creating some non-Otto challenge was a pleasant suprise.
Muncher (The Wizard’s Magic Toy Box / Video Wizard's, Inc.)
By Ray Mitchell
Muncher is a game on cassette for the VIC 20 that sure sounds like a Pac-Man clone by the name, but is actually a weird spin on Centipede. Designed by Ray Mitchell for a small company I had never heard of back then called The Wizard's Magic Toy Box, or Video Wizard's, Inc. depending on what part of the box or instructions one views. As far as I can tell, and there is nothing I am finding on the internet, this was another one of those small, independent software houses that popped up in San Jose, California office parks in 1982 like weeds.
I've got one other The Wizard's Magic Toy Box game (I prefer that name and will go forward using it) called Search and Destroy, also by Ray Mitchell, which I'll get to in some future review. It's also on cassette and even if the Wizard folks were small and independent, they took some care in packaging their games. Both come in classy, sealable plastic clamshell cases, where the tape fits snugly in the inner plastic holder, and the cheap printout instruction sheet inside a sleeve on the opposite side of the case.
So what did Ray Mitchell come up with for Muncher? As stated, it looks and plays like Centipede, without centipedes or spiders, just Munchers and colorful magic flowers. The instructions warn that the Munchers will sometimes disappear among the flowers and reappear, so be prepared.
Be prepared for cheap deaths, is what that means, and disappearing Munchers are a result of flickering as they descend the screen, blinking in and out among the flowers. Several times they disappeared at what appeared to be a few spaces away from my defender bee, only to reappear right on top of me for a nice collision death.
The interesting twist here is that the player as the defender bee is guarding a five-space wide stash of royal honey under a single-space layer of shield that the Munchers must first penetrate before they can sneak past you and get to it, ending the game. The Munchers crash into the shield and remove a piece, Breakout-style, and die in the process. But they keep coming.
The best strategy I could find was simply to stay in the center just above the five space section of shield and honey, shooting as many Munchers on their way down as I could, as well as clearing the flowers above that area. Nonetheless, the relentless assault eventually will win and once the Muncher gets to one space of honey, they get to it all. I would have preferred that they only get one piece at at time and carry it away, offering the opportunity to shoot them and reclaim it. Some mechanic like Gopher for the Atari 2600 where the honey could have been regenerated, perhaps.
There is a price tag sticker on my other The Wizard's Magic Toy Box game that shows the game sold at $18.95, so I suspect that however the team got the game into distribution, they went for a budget price right out of the gate. Oddly enough the Ebay prices for these games are about the same in 2026, as collectors for the VIC 20 are mostly interested in cartridges. I'm into it for the history, and Muncher is entertaining enough for a few rounds - but its indie vibe from that bygone era has a value for this collector that can't be quantified.
No comments:
Post a Comment