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Dave Hughes is one of the most prolific British speccy coders of the last five or six years releasing no fewer than 40 games including Biscuits in Hell, Donkey Kong Reloaded, Encyclopaedia Galactica, Gen Blast, Left Behind and Pitfall 3. O.P.Z is a tribute of sorts to celebrate the Speccy's 36th Birthday. It was coded in just 6 hours which shows the extraordinary talents of Dave Hughes. With such a short timeline to create a platform game you'd be forgiven for thinking it would be a poorly coded, shallow, unplayable mess with hints of Atari's E.T, but I can guarantee there would have been no need to bury this one in the desert!

Dave Hughes sums up the premise of the game as follows:

"I present a 100% original idea - a platform game in which you go around collecting things then go to the exit. It's authored with the Platform Game Designer, has six levels, and infinite lives. It's not easy, but it's short. If it helps my case it took me 6 hours yesterday (every idea I tried before this had something novel that I wanted to explore further and not rush). The keys are O - left, P Right, Z - Jump and H - Pause". That's it. It's that simple but what he doesn't mention is just how fun and entertaining those six levels are.

The first thing that hits you in O.P.Z is the absence of any sound. Not even a jumping or collision beep is present. (Which I discovered after checking my speakers and re-loading the game a couple of times.) The second thing you notice is that this is an incredibly tight platformer and soon the wonderfully frustrating joy of completing each sadistically twisted and insanely difficult level takes over and 45 minutes later you are still there wondering what happened to the time. It's not so much a 'one more turn' game as it is a few dozen more turns and then some! There are shades of wonderful retro inspired indie games like Super Meat Boy in the precision of the platforming needed and the infinite lives where each death becomes as entertaining as it is frustrating. You quickly become skilled in the platforming elements of the game but skill is not enough as time and time again you need to re-think your approach to each section.

Once the game is mastered, the real fun begins. I love trying to complete games without losing a life and, for O.P.Z, that is one hell of a challenge. One pixel off at any time... and that's it! Although not an official part of the game, having this approach adds to the longevity of the title, as it may otherwise be over in an hour or so and it's so much fun you'll not want it to end! This is by no means a timeless classic. There is a lack of polish here and there but it's an absolute blast while it lasts and well worth checking out. If this game had 50 levels and some music or sound effects I would be scoring it well into the 90s, it's that good, but alas, for the time being I'll need to stick to my 'no death' challenge. This could take a while...

The graphics are fun and engaging. The level design is excellent and there are a few problem solving elements involved to spice up the gameplay. The platforming is precise and entertaining making the challenge of finishing each level rewarding without the agony of cheap deaths from poor collision detection. The game is incredibly addictive and you feel quite skilled in traversing the levels.

It's too short to score higher which is a real shame as this could have been a modern classic. There is no sound at all.

For a game coded in six hours this is an absolute masterpiece. I actually had to move computers to finish this review as I showed a colleague at work the game (over an hour ago) and he's been on it ever since, it's that addictive! I will return to play O.P.Z over and over again to attempt to get through the six levels in one life but there is just not enough game there to merit a higher score. Hopefully in the future Dave Hughes will return to O.P.Z for an extension or a sequel as I'm sure there will be many others who will have high opinions of this one. I would still advise everyone I know to go and download O.P.Z as it is brilliant fun while it lasts!