RGCD


Get It

Author: James Monkman
Publisher: Assassins Group
Machine: Commodore 16/Plus 4

 
Published in RGCD #4

Get It

Although the Commodore Plus/4 and C16 range of home computers were a commercial flop compared to the huge success of the C64, the homebrew scene for these underrated 8-Bit machines is far from dead. In fact, if the stats at plus4.emucamp.com are correct, 2007 has seen more releases for the Plus/4 than in any other year for over a decade - and out of the handful of new games this year, Get It stands out as one of the best.

Coded by the long-serving C-Plus/4 Assassins group (with music supplied by the Legion Of Doom), Get It is single-screen arcade gaming at its most simple; the player's goal being to avoid the nasties, collect the randomly placed key (before it vanishes and appears elsewhere) and leg it to the exit within a 60 second time limit. It might not sound like much, but the presentation and execution of the game is top quality stuff; Assassin's old-school demo roots shine through with the super-fast manipulation of software sprites and impressive pixel work. The music is equally notable; Get It has a catchy little soundtrack that makes great use of the Plus/4's limited two channel sound. Progress is saved via a handy password system, with a new one rewarded after completing every five screens (and don't ask me how many levels there are because I haven't got a clue - with deadlines being tight I only had time to play up to level 21).

And to be honest, there's not a huge amount more to write about Get It. The game is well-paced, with the early levels slowly increasing in difficulty via the introduction of a greater number of sprites to avoid (that also increase in speed level by level) and awkward and complex to navigate formations; by level 20 the action is akin to dodgy traffic on the autobahn. The only flaw is that the game is pretty easy to cheat on the early levels - you can quite happily use the majority of the 60 seconds to wait at the start point for the key to appear nearby, thus removing the risk of driving your little man(?) down through the rapidly moving sprites to collect it from a more dangerous location.

The game is full of nice little touches; from the cute animated blinking eyes of the player sprite to the visually appealing screen fades, every aspect of the game has been well thought-out and Get It is clearly been a labour of love. The non-complex yet addictive game-play, password system, cute visuals and high quality music all add up to create a piece of modern Plus/4 gaming excellence.

James Monkman