Eight Bit Magazine


Yoomp! 64
By Psytronik
Commodore 64/128

 
Published in 8 Bit Annual 2019

Yoomp! 64

This is the long awaited conversion of Team Yoomp's, ABBUC Software Contest 2007 winning game, Yoomp! for the Atari XL/XE.

Plot And Gameplay

The player is in control of a bouncing ball and must make their way through 23, three-dimensional tubes filled with various tiles. From the main menu, the player can start a game, choose between music and sounds and fx (only one can be active) and enter a password. The passwords are displayed on completing a level and are entered with the joystick or keyboard.

The tunnel appears from the centre of the screen and moves towards the player. The ball must not touch black space as this will result in the loss of a life, restarting the current level. At the bottom of the screen are displayed the number of lives remaining, the current score and the number of long jumps available. A long jump is selected by pressing fire before hitting the floor, so that the next bounce will go further. Some tiles will force movement (arrows) and the arrow pointing forward gives an automatic long jump (extra jumps can be earned from the tile with double arrows). An extra life can be earned from the 1-up tile. The player moves by pressing left or right on the joystick to follow the coloured path, which means they might need to go up the walls and across the ceiling of the tunnel.

What I Like

The 3D effect is pretty impressive, especially with certain colour combinations. The gameplay is very challenging, reminiscent of Trailblazer and Cosmic Causeway. The illuminated transparent blue cartridge is pretty cool. The digital download and disk version are also compatible with the SD2IEC. Supporting joystick and keyboard for the entry of passwords and names, makes the game compatible with the C64GS.

What I Didn't Like

The physical game (on cartridge and disk) is PAL only, which will disappoint users outside Europe. Playing from disk means a brief load for each new level reached, slowing the flow of the game down. One notable absence from the Atari version is the distance bar in the lower border, which showed how far through the current level the player had reached. Triggering the long jump does take some getting used to, and the ball doesn't seem as bouncy as the original version.

Verdict

A highly enjoyable game that will challenge the dexterous player.

Merman

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