Planet Bob - Playing Menace (C64)

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Hi there!

 

Let's have a look at the first game of a team that would later create Grand Theft Auto:

 

http://home.arcor.de/cybergoth/xype/menace.gif

 

Well, back then "Rockstar North" was still called "DMA Design". And before creating GTA they would still waste a lot of time working on thousands of Lemmings games

 

I was positively surprised from this Psygnosis production, especially since their first two Amiga games (Barbarian and Terrorpods) did turn out pretty bad when scaled down to the C64. (Of course, the 16-Bit versions weren't that great to begin with )

 

Truth to be told, Amiga Menace was nothing too special either. The main difference though, it didn't lose anything in the translation.

 

Graphics and music are good on the C64. No competition for the top like Wizball or Katakis, but still really good. Gameplay is just average though. The level design is boring, the extra weapons are bland and the end bosses unspectacular. The standard enemy designs and their attack schemes are okay though.

 

While Menace is a technically flawless and solid crafted game, there is absolutely nothing "new" in there though - we've seen it all before, down to the spaceship-flying-away-from-exploding-planet ending!

 

I'll spare you that, but show you another picture from the ending sequence, where the players ship happily reunites with its mothership:

 

http://home.arcor.de/cybergoth/xype/menace_x.gif

 

Some future day the "Playing..." series may see another DMA Design game in the form of "Blood Money", but first it'll continue with something else.

 

Greetings,

Manuel

 

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