Commodore Plus/4 Games Review #1

For those of you who aren't aware, Plus/4 is a console released in 1984, by Commodore. The games are on cassette tapes which are read and then loaded by the Datasette addon, which is connected to the console. On average games take 5 minutes to load into the system's memory from the cassettes. For these it may seem as if the scores are very harsh, but as these are being ranked against all games I have previously reviewed, some of them may have been great for 1984 but in the present day, they just don't compare and so whilst its fun to play and see what games were like back then, they must be fairly and accurately assessed. Also as the NES was released in Japan in 1985, there's not much room to say that "games of the time were simpler" etc.

Game: Space Sweep + Invaders
Console: Commodore Plus/4
Developer: Mr. Micro Ltd.
Year: 1984

Space Sweep (I'll get to invaders later) is a space shooter of sorts, you control a ship and attempt to navigate the vast reaches of space without hitting meteorites, or literally anything else on the screen. Instant death is the penalty for those unable to avoid the obstacles, although there are five lives at the beginning of the game. The targets for the player to shoot are "satellites" (although its hard to tell what they are), and doing so earns points. Beyond this, there's a limited amount of fuel and if you're able to survive long enough to run out, you'll need to refuel at the mothership. Beyond this there's not much else to gameplay; you survive as long as you can in order to obtain the high score.

In terms of gameplay, the controls are pretty average by Commodore Plus/4 standards although gamers used to more modern controls might struggle at first. The game's difficulty in avoiding obstacles is quite high and this makes for fairly short attempts with each life. Graphically it's fairly poor, not a lot of the obstacles look like anything but boxes, and initially its difficult to tell what's what.

Space Invaders, is a version of the classic game that most people will be familiar with. Graphically its a little different from the Atari version, but it plays pretty similarly. Shooting and moving is surprisingly smooth and while the graphics seem a little odd if you're used to Atari's version, I'd contend that they're better than the original in some ways. There are 9 different difficulty levels, although approaching either end of the scale is a bad idea, 1 being far too easy and 9 being impossible. The invaders shooting patterns are odd also, with a rain of shots at some points and absolutely none at others. 

Soundwise, there's the classic decending tones and shot noises, nothing really too spectacular. Its pretty playable overall, and the better of the two games on the cassette. I can see Commodore's intention in putting two space themed games on a single cassette, but neither is incredibly impressive, even for the time. 

Rating: 29/100
Grade: F

Game: Speed King
Console: Commodore Plus/4
Developer: Mr Chip Software
Year: 1986

Speed King is an interesting, if utterly unplayable game. Released a year after Sega's Hang On, the game follows the same basic principles. You play as a motorcyclist, racing around a circuit (although here you play for position at the end of the race). Just like Hang On, hitting any other racer or obstacle will slow you down and cause you to reset on the track. There are a lot of ways this game is worse than Hang On, however. For a start the graphics are bad even for 1986 with the player looking more like a blob than a biker. Soundwise also there's only the droning of engines to accompany the game.

The gear system gives you a choice of 6 gears, although it doesn't reset upon collision, so you'll find yourself having to keep coming down through the gears to get started again. Crashes occur very often, as opponents come through from behind you to overtake, and as the sides are instant crash zones. Ultimately the racing isn't particularly fun, the graphics are bad even for the era, the difficulty is ridiculous and the choice of tracks seems to make almost no difference to what is onscreen.

Rating: 4/100
Grade: F

Game: Powerball
Console: Commodore Plus/4
Developer: Mastertronic
Year: 1986

Powerball is a simple game, where the player guides a ball along a series of platforms, in order to get it across the screen. The main reason you'd want to beat the game is that it says on the cassette packaging that there's no chance you will. The game difficulty is pretty hard, due to the controls being a little off, mixed with the bouncing mechanics of the ball. While it's not terrible, if the difficulty doesn't stop you from playing within about 5 minutes, the boredom will.

Graphically, the game is pretty simple too, and although some things are distinguishable as household objects etc., most things don't look great. Soundwise also, there's only a simple tune at the beginning and the ball's bouncing sound effect. While it's playable, its not something I'd come back to or even try to complete as even for Plus/4 it feels lazily made.

Rating: 12/100
Grade: F

Game: Prospector Pete
Console: Commodore Plus/4
Developer: British Software
Year: 1986

Prospector Pete is a puzzle game, where the player controls the titular character, who has to mine treasures underground, whilst avoiding "meanies" and floodwaters, controlled by the current level they have followed Pete's tracks to. With quick strategy, thinking and planning the player can set a course which helps Pete to collect all of the items before the flood waters get to him. While this can be fun, the same strategy works for basically every level, and the game does get repetitive after a short while.

While the graphics aren't anything that advanced gaming technology, its easy to see where you are and what you're doing. Soundwise, there's not a whole lot to the game, besides a digging sound and some effects for when the level is finished. Overall its a simple puzzle game that has a little play value, and controls fairly well.

Rating: 24/100
Grade: F