New Release: Lester - Commodore 64 (2023)

We're barely 2 weeks into 2023 and we have one of the first new C64 releases of the year. This comes courtesy of knifegrinder, and it's a bit of a corker.

Set aboard space station where the central AI core has gone haywire, players assume control of android L-3573-R (or Lester to its friends), which must search the various ducts and corridors of the facility to discover exactly what has happened. The game is a classic Metroidvania affair, with the player scouring the map to locate key cards and other items that will allow access to additional locations.

The odds are certainly stacked against poor Lester. The station is protected by an army of service droids, sentry guns and other automated defence systems, and there are plenty of environmental hazards to deal with, including rivers of toxic waste, spikes and more. Special weapons and power-ups can be discovered by destroying enemies and barrels with Lester's laser rifle, and most enemies leave behind collectible coins. These can be spent at one of the various terminals dotted around the station, upgrading your gun and restoring health.

In addition to acting as an interplanetary vending machine, terminals also show a map of your current location, plus all other rooms on the station. Visiting each location will fill the square with a colour representing the level of security clearance required to access the area, so it's pretty easy to work out exactly where you've been, as well as where you should probably be heading next. Finding the access cards can take a while until you're familiar with the map layout, but it's actually quite difficult to get lost.

Overall, Lester is a fantastic little game. The game mechanics are simple to understand and well-executed, and the size of the map means you've got plenty to get your teeth into. Quality-of-life features like the map and checkpoint system are great additions, and the aesthetics are top-notch.

As with so many recent C64 games, Lester would have undoubtedly cleaned up if it had been released back in the day, putting so many commercial titles to shame. Although the game can be downloaded for free, I chose to make the optional payment - it's a great effort and well worth a few quid for the amount of effort on display!

Developer: knifegrinder
Publisher: knifegrinder
Year of Release: 2023
Download: https://knifegrinder.itch.io/lester

The Blues Brothers - Commodore 64 (1991)

I confess always had a bit of a soft spot for The Blues Brothers on the Amiga. It was one of Titus Software's better games on the platform which, given the publisher's reputation, was quite a low watermark to begin with.

The objective is to help Jake and Elwood find the musical instruments and pieces of equipment needed to perform at their sell-out gig. The gear has been strewn around the local municipality, shopping centre and building sites, and you'll need to hunt high and low, dealing with militant cops, construction workers and seniors piloting runaway shopping carts.

When it comes to the C64 version,  I wasn't really holding my breath, but I was genuinely surprised at how well this conversion turned out. Titus outsourced development to CTA Developments and 221b Software developments, which proved to be a prudent move. The result is a really fun platform game containing practically all the features and levels of the 16-bit version.

The only complaint I have about the game is, perhaps ironically, the music. Certain notes sound off-key and a little weird, which is a shame, considering how great the Amiga tunes were.

This shouldn't deter you, however. The game is still good fun and worth a play, regardless of the slightly wonky tunes.

Developer: CTA Developments & 221b Software Developments
Publisher: Titus Software
Year of Release: 1991

Dropzone - Commodore 64 (1984)

Released in 1984, Dropzone is the first C64 game released by the late Archer Maclean. Archer sadly passed away on December 17th 2022, and despite releasing comparatively few titles for the system, those he did release were to an incredibly high standard.

Like a lot of other titles, Dropzone is far from an original idea. It borrows heavily from Defender, the classic Eugene Jarvis coin-op, for most of its ideas, but calling it a simple clone does both Archer and the game a disservice. A quick perusal of other games published in 1984 reveal a line-up which, by comparison, were still relatively primitive. Even the first games from combined C64 programming powerhouses Tony Crowther and Jeff Minter were either lacking in playability, or required at least a couple of doses of a fairly potent hallucinogenic substance to really appreciate. Dropzone was pretty much perfect right out of the gate,  benefiting from Defender's solid design principles, but playing to the strengths of the Commodore 64 itself.

The game's objective is to simply set as high a score as possible, which requires the player to rescue a series of space-faring scientists -- blue, rotating things trundling across the planet's surface -- from a plethora of alien invaders which spawn into existence at the start of each round. Saving a scientist requires the player to fly into them, attaching the scientist's pod to the player's jetpack, then taking them to the near-by moon-base. Only a single a scientist can be carried at once, and the aliens will start to target the remaining egg-heads while you have your hands full. They'll try to assassinate the poor guys with android units, either by dropping them on to the planet surface or, more irritatingly, dropping them on to the rescue pad of the moon-base and allowing them to destroy a scientist you'd previously rescued. The round ends only when all scientists are either rescued or destroyed, and all invaders have been dealt with.

In terms of armaments, your jetpack comes equipped with a laser blaster with auto-fire for shooting down enemy craft, smart bombs for clearing out all enemies on screen, plus a cloaking device which grants invulnerability for a short duration. The points you earn will replenish these items, plus award bonus lives at regular intervals; these are great features which offset the game's difficulty and, with practice, seasoned players should be able to rack up some impressive scores.

The reason why Dropzone remains a C64 classic is due to the fact everything is so polished. It feels like a lot of time and effort went into the game, with everything being tuned and refined to perfection. The graphics, scrolling and other technical aspects are equally impressive, and it's easy to see why Zzap!64 awarded the game a coveted Gold Medal in the magazine's third issue. It's one of a select few games which remained relevant throughout the entirety of the C64's commercial lifespan, and it's still a fiendishly addictive experience today.

Developer: Archer Maclean
Publisher: U.S. Gold
Year of Release: 1984

Flip and Flop - Commodore 64 (1984)

One of the earliest games I owned back when I got my C64, Flip & Flop was one of the very first games I longplayed when I started my channel back in 2012. At the time of recording that particular longplay, I'd assumed incorrectly that the game had no ending when, in fact, it does. It turns out there are 40 levels in total and the game simply ends once the last one is completed. In my original video, I quit after 19 levels, which meant that the longplay was incomplete - there are additional cutscenes I missed. This new longplay includes all 40 levels and cutscenes.

Inspired by the likes of Q*Bert, the objective of the game is to help Flip the kangaroo and Mitch the monkey evade capture by completing a series of isometric puzzle boards. Each board features a series of interconnected tiles, with ladders connecting adjacent platforms. Flip and Mitch must bounce on tiles containing symbols, convering them to solid tiles - filling in all the tiles within the time limit completes the level.

The first few levels are simple enough, designed to ease players into the game. The only thing to worry about is getting used to the controls, navigating the grid, and learning not to fall off the edge of platforms - this happens a lot! Level 1 and all subsequent odd level numbers are played as Flip, while every other level is played from the viewpoint of Mitch. The mechanics between the two characters are identical, but the game changes the shading of the tiles during Mitch's levels to try and convey the sense that he's hanging from the grid, rather than bouncing on top of them as Flip does. In my experience, the altered perspective makes Mitch's levels considerably tougher than Flip's - even if you to train your brain to look past this, trying to keep track of which tile Mitch is occupying remains a constant problem.

The game quickly ratchets up the difficulty by throwing in adversaries which pursue Flip and Mitch, attempting to catch them. Flip is chased by a keeper, while Mitch must outwit a sentient net - both of these foes can be slowed temporarily by luring them on to the flashing squares of "fly paper", which root them to the spot for a few seconds. The same applies to the playe, however, so be very careful not to get trapped yourself.

For every four levels completed the game increases the difficulty. Levels become larger with more tiles to change and the speed of the adversaries increases. Both the player and the keeper or net must be occupying the same tile and stationary to get caught, so it's possible to move through the same tile as an enemy, provided you're both mid-jump when it occurs. The same applies to ladders, and you can use these to help put some distance between you and your pursuer.

Even after so many years, Flip & Flop remains a great little game. It's easy to pick up and play, looks great, and is fiendishly addictive - even when you've fallen off the grid for the umpteenth time, you'll find it difficult not to come back for one more go.

Developer: First Star Software
Publisher: Statesoft
Year of Release: 1984
Coding: Jim Nangano
Graphics: Jim Nangano
Music: Jerry White

Game Review: Zorro (Commodore 64)

Released in 1985 by Datasoft, Zorro is an arcade platform game based on Johnston McCulley's masked vigilante, released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, C64 and Amstrad range of 8-bit computers. It's another game that I remember playing as a child, but was never able to actually finish for one reason or another.

All is not well in the pueblo of Los Angeles, where the dastardly Colonel Garcia has kidnapped a fair Senorita, spiriting her away to his fort on the other side of town. Not one to sit idly by when a damsel is in distress, Zorro, expert swordsman and champion of the people, leaps into action, setting out on a rescue mission that will see him solving puzzles, crossing swords with the colonel's guard and plundering subterranean catacombs.

Game Review: Joe Blade 2 (Commodore 64)

Developed by Kevin Parker and published by Players Software in 1988

Released originally for the Spectrum, C64 and Amstrad CPC 8-bit computers, the original Joe Blade was a typical flick-screen adventure game where mustachioed military-man, Joe Blade,  had to locate a number of prisoners and achieve other objectives, prior to finding the exit; it was a fairly typical explore 'em up of it's day, albeit one that didn't really exhibit any real standout qualities. Whatever the case, the developer must have felt that there was some mileage in the character, for the game spawned a couple of sequels, the first of which I'll be reviewing today.