A&B Computing


The Last Of The Free

Author: Dave Reeder
Publisher: Audiogenic
Machine: BBC/Electron

 
Published in A&B Computing 3.12

The Last Of The Free

Anybody out there in joystick land remember an amusing little game called Hunkydory? Programmed by Peter Scott, it detailed the trials and tribulations of a little blob who had to escape from a world of platforms and evil monsters?

It's a game I return to fairly frequently, partly because of the skill of the programmer (large, flicker-free objects, etc), partly because of the sheer good humour of the game, and partly because it is so damn compulsive.

Now, sneaking out in approved secret Audiogenic style, is this new game by Peter Scott (and, no, there are no ducks!). The game scenario is quite similar to Hunkydory: an Ordanoid (?) droid called Clement is the last hope of the Ordanoids, whose mission is to escape from the evil Proleoids, find the transporter and warn the human controllers.

The Last Of The Free

So far, so much to ignore. How does it play? Well, stylishly it must be said and the humdrum plot is soon forgotten as your little droid must jump impossible gaps, avoid obstacles and solve a few puzzles (i.e. keys which open new screens).

With 55 different and complex screens to play in and 32 aliens to avoid, this is a compulsive game. The large animated 'sprites' are well-drawn and move with astonishing ease, the music and sound are well-conceived and the game, with its mixture of puzzles and platforms, is well programmed.

I know there is a movement that pretends that platform games are a dead sub-genre. However, I challenge any player not to load this game and play with it for a while. Like all good games, its complexity grows with each play and the sheer skill and good humour of the programming suggests new ways for even such a hackneyed gameplan to develop.

I've had a lot of fun with this game; I expect to have a great deal more. If only more arcade adventures were this good!

Dave Reeder

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