PrinceWatercress plays Bionic Commando (GB) - Part 1 of 9

This may not be the NES version that everyone knows and loves, but this version is still a whole lot of fun.

Next | End

The Doraize Empire has started attacking the world as part of the Albatross project. Super Joe was sent in to investigate, but the Federal States have lost contact with him. The FF Corps and the Bionic Commandos have now stepped in, and Rad Spencer, the strongest commando, has snuck into the Empire to look for Super Joe. The final battle is about to begin...

When you start the game, your mission is clear: sneak into the main base, rescue Super Joe, and destroy the Albatross project. You'll then fly into the in-game map. The white numbers are the action stages, while the black numbers are neutral zones. Descend lets you enter the current area, while Transfer will let you move forward, assuming you've cleared the area you're currently flying over.

Area 0

Map (by Kishi)

You'll start the game with a basic pellet gun and the Alpha Receiver. Just press A to go through the equipment screens for now; you'll get more stuff to equip as you go through the game.

Left and Right let you move Left and Right, Down ducks, B shoots, and A fires the hook. You can hold Up to aim the hook upwards. While hanging on a ceiling, you can press Down or forward to jump forward, with forward (Left or Right, depending on where you're facing) lets you go further than down does. Pressing A will allow you to scurry up to the surface of whatever you're hanging on. Up and A will allow you to pull yourself to the top of the platform, assuming the platform will allow you to do that.

Shooting enemies will cause them to leave cartridges. Pick up the cartridges to get closer to increasing your health, which is on the lower-right corner of the screen. You start out with three hits, but you'll be able to get as many as eight by the time the game is over. Pressing the Select button will allow you to see your current equipment, the current amount of cartridges that you have, the current amount of lives that you have, and the current amount of continues that you have. You'll be able to get a few extra lives along the way, and you'll also more easily be able to get up to nine continues. This will be explained later. By collecting enough cartridges, your maximum health will increase by one unit, and you'll also refill your health along with the extension.

Your first order of business is to get to the door with the antenna at the top, which indicates the communications room. With your currently equipped receiver, you can communicate with the Federal States army, but you can also tap into the communications network to overhear what the Doraize army have to say. You'll be able to get some hints doing both of these things, as well as open doors elsewhere in the current area. You can also re-equip items in the middle of the stage whenever necessary.

There is a chance that if you tap into the computer to overhear Doraize communications, you'll trigger an alarm once you select "End" to get off the computer. Enemies will endlessly parachute into the room until you leave.

If you see a briefcase parachuting downwards, shoot it down to get the contents, which will be random.

The POW item gives you a shield that revolves around you and only lasts for a limited time, but the shield can take down any regular enemies that it touches. Don't expect to see this item very often. The tiny Rad Spencer doll gives you an extra life, but these are few and far between.

The doorway with the eagle above it usually signifies an important place to go. If one of these doorways is closed, look for the communications room and contact the Federal States army. That should usually unlock it.

You'll soon enter the room with the power reactor, which you'll learn about if you tap the enemy communications. The enemy captain just stands there and points, and can be shot down rather easily; the enemies that parachute in and chase after and shoot you put up more of a fight. To take out the power reactor, shoot at the middle of it until it explodes.

Completing a stage will net you ten cartridges, which will get you a tad closer to your next unit of health. You'll also get a password in the form of a 4x6 rectangle with circles, squares and triangles, which is something that the NES game did not do. Be sure to write these passwords down.

Area 1

Once you beat Area 0, you can descend into Area 1.

Entrance (by Kishi)

Inside Base (by Kishi)

At the start, you'll need to enter the communications room. Use Com. and Tap. to open the door at the bottom level and find out about the elevators, one of which is a trap. You can stand on them and press Up and Down to move the elevators up and down. As for which one is a trap, it's the one on the left; the one on the right actually works and doesn't fall down when you stand on it.

Swinging forward off the ceiling will let you get past the barrels that are in your way. Since you can't actually jump forward by pressing a button like in every other platformer, using the hook and swinging forward is how you're going to hop past pits and obstacles.

You'll find the communications room halfway through the base, off to the right past the spike pits. Be sure to do the usual things that you do in there to open the exit. You'll learn from the Federal States army about the neutral areas, where you can move freely without being attacked, but if you fire any weapons while you're in them, you will be swarmed by peacekeeper soldiers. Keep your thumb off the B button while in those areas. Tapping will reveal that the enemy knows you are in the base.

Landing in spike pits will take off two hits when you touch the spikes, and you'll want to use your grappling hook in order to get out of them. 

Shoot down the machines on the ceiling producing the force fields to get rid of the force fields.

The men with the rocket launchers take two hits with the default gun, and the explosions that they create when they are destroyed can also do damage to you if you're too close.

In the power reactor room, the soldier with the shield can be easily avoided if you stay off ground level. He can be easily taken out from behind, but you're better off just ignoring him entirely. Destroying the power reactor in Area 1 allows you to access Areas 2 and 3. You'll also obtain the Bio-Protein, which acts as a free heal with the Start Button if you equip it before entering an area.

Area 2

Area 2 is a neutral area, and you are prohibited from firing weapons from here, lest you want to be surrounded by an endless flood of parachuting soldiers. for best results, keep your thumb off the B button while in neutral areas.

Some of the rooms in the neutral areas will contain items. You won't get much here, but you'll get more stuff in future neutral areas. Watch out for the floor spikes, and use the item rooms to get used to the grappling hook controls. Keep in mind that if you swing into a wall, you'll let go of the ceiling and you'll get knocked back.

Near the end of Area 2, you'll find the flare. You can equip it and press Start in a dark area to light a dark area up. 

PrinceWatercress plays Alien Jailbreak - The Longplay

...and now, the whole game, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Alien Jailbreak is a text adventure from the BBC Micro that was originally started in the 1980s yet stayed dormant and incomplete for years until it was found and completed by Lurkio in the 2010s. It's a rather short text adventure, and while the sci-fi setting makes for a nice change of pace (compared to the other text adventures that I've played), it does end on a cliffhanger that will, sadly, never be resolved.

When you start the game, you'll get a short list of some of the commands that the game understands: L, LOOK, I, INVENTORY, X, EXAMINE, N, S, E, W, U, UP, D, DOWN, GET, DROP, OPEN, CLOSE, ON, OFF, SAVE, LOAD, ABOUT, HELP. (The game does not understand "TAKE," so don't use it.)

It was all going so well...

You had just hauled a massive cargo of food and liquor (plus a mindfuggering stash of narcotics) to the homeworld of the notorious Synn system, which was on the very edge of Stellafed-controlled space.

Not only had they given you an unusually generous payout for your trouble, but they'd even invited you to join the party. The more the merrier, they'd said. Those crazy guys! How could you refuse?

Hours - or was it days? - had passed in a rush of toxic ecstasy. You'd indulged in all the pleasures that Synn had had to offer, till your brain and body were screaming for mercy.

And it was in this befuddled state that you decided to stumble back into your ship and head for home, even though you could barely walk in a straight line, let alone navigate half-way across the galaxy in a Stellafed trading vessel.

So perhaps you shouldn't have been altogether surprised to wake with a start and realise that (a) you'd fallen asleep at the controls of your ship, and (b) its defence systems were sounding a red alert.

Now, as you desperately try to wrap your pickled head around the computer's sensor readings, it slowly dawns on you that an astonishingly powerful tractor-beam appears to have locked on to the ship, which is hurtling towards the surface of an alien planet at homicidal speed.

You have no idea how you got here. Where the hell is "here," anyway? Is someone trying to kidnap you? Or kill you? Or, worse, steal your ship?

You're just about to start cursing Vog for creating drink, drugs, the people of Synn, interstellar travel, space, and life itself, when the ship suddenly crash-lands on the alien planet, hurling you across the cockpit with what you can't help thinking is cruel and unnecessary force.

Reeling from the impact, not to mention several nights in Synn, you're only dimly aware of the shadow figures that come aboard and steal the ship's power booster.

It's at this point that your addled brain finally admits defeat and you slip into sweet oblivion...

STELLAFED COMMUNCATIONS LOG

"This is listening station Ebdu, with an urgent report for Stellafed Communications HQ."

"This is SCHQ. Go ahead, Ebdu."

"One of our citizens appears to have been kidnapped by target QUAKE."

"Please repeat that, Ebdu."

I repeat: QUAKE has kidnapped a Stellafed citizen."

"Please identify yourself, caller."

"This is Intel Officer Gruntt."

"Officer Gruntt, I would remind you that target QUAKE is currently at the top of the Galactic Governmental Threat List. All comms regarding QUAKE must be taken extremely seriously. This is no time for jokes, Officer Gruntt."

"No joke, SCHQ. This is Grade-A intelligence."

"Please ID the kidnapped citizen."

"He's already a Subject of Interest to us: a petty smuggler codenamed SIDETHORN."

"SIDETHORN?! Trust that jackass to land himself in deep skakk. He'll keep."

"Er, with respect, SCHQ, I don't think he will. We had an implant on SIDETHORN's ship and managed to record a brief snatch of conversation between QUAKE agents when they came aboard. Transmitting recording now..."

"Take the intruder to the interrogation room."

"Yes, Commander. But what if he refuses to talk?"

"In that case, terminate him."

"Oh. I see. But SCHQ's decision remains unchanged: We shall continue to monitor the situation. No immediate action."

"So a citizen of Stellafed has been kidnapped by Public Enemy Number One, who might be about to execute him, and we do nothing?!"

"Firstly, you would do well to remember your place, Intel Officer Gruntt - if you wish to carry on being Intel Officer Gruntt, that is."

"I'm in no way tryi-"

"Secondly, we don't want to take any action that might reveal that we routinely bug our own citizens."

"I understand, but-"

"And thirdly, what exactly would you have us do? Vog knows what'll happen if we actually try to engage with QUAKE - and the last thing we need now is a war with a mysterious and powerful enemy whose mere existence we dare not make known for fear of causing mass panic across the galaxy."

"Of course, I fully suppo-"

"This conversation is terminated, Officer Gruntt."

"But-"

"SIDETHORN will have to look after himself."

TOP SECRET PRATS 3 SECURE CHANNEL

You are "Sidethorn." You are stuck on a planet you do not even know, and not only have you been kidnapped, but your ship's power supply has also been stolen. You need to get out of this place.

You start in a dingy prison cell with no doors or windows. You are strapped to a hard metal couch, connected to a mindprobe. EXAMINE MINDPROBE to find out that it is a Neurocellular Matrix Scanner Mark X111, which is banned due to requiring the subject's brain be removed. You'll also find out that wires lead from the ceiling down to a circular blade. PULL WIRES to stop the mindprobe and release the fetters holding you to the couch. If you EXAMINE WIRES, you'll find out that they still buzz with electricity as they hang down from the ceiling. If you GET WIRES, you'll shock yourself to death and you'll have to start over.

From here, STAND UP and TAKE BLADE. If you EXAMINE BLADE, you'll find out that the blade has a shuriken-like appearance. If you LOOK, you'll notice there is an air vent. OPEN AIR VENT, then ENTER VENT. You'll enter the air ducts, unable to see. The game will tell you where cool air is blowing from, so go in the direction it blows from with the first letter of NORTH, SOUTH, EAST or WEST where necessary. You'll eventually feel it blowing from below if you keep going in the right direction. You can use either D or DOWN to go down. In the next room, which is the central cooling complex, you'll find a torch. TAKE TORCH, then TURN TORCH ON before you go UP so you can see while in the air vents. (If you EXAMINE TORCH, you can see if the torch is on or off.)

From here, you're left to your own devices to map out the vent system, which is actually pretty big and makes up the majority of the game's map. After getting the torch and turning it on, go UP, then E, S, E, E, S, S, W, S, and then DOWN. This will drop you into the junk room with the remains of robots ready to be re-used. You'll find a metal hand. TAKE HAND. If you EXAMINE HAND, you'll find out that the robot hand is hollowed out and that you can wear it like a glove.

Go UP, then go W, N, W, S. When you're able to go down, DROP TORCH and DROP HAND. Go DOWN to land in a chemical plant, and take the Dacanium crystal. You'll need this to power your ship back up. (If you came down here with the torch and the hand in your inventory, the magnet that is picking up the ore will pick those two items up and drop them into the furnace, making the game unwinnable, as you'll need the hand to complete the game.) Go UP, then TAKE TORCH and TAKE HAND. Thankfully, the torch will still be on.

From here, I split the directions into groups of four, since you'll need to go a bit of a distance for what you need to do next:

NESE

NENN

WNNN

WNEE

SEEE

SESD

When you're able to go down, you'll find out that a closed vent is in your way. OPEN VENT before you go DOWN. Once you go down, go south twice. Going south once, leads to a passage leading to a plaque with useless information as well as two store rooms with nothing useful in them. After going south twice, go west to enter a computer room. EXAMINE MONITOR, and you'll find out that whoever took you hostage is aware of your escape in what is known as "Dome 1" and and that they want you - as well as someone named Xandros - executed.

Go back east, then go south again. Follow the junction west, then go west again. You'll come across a robot. If you stay around this room for two turns, the robot will kill you. THROW BLADE at the robot to kill it, then go north. You'll end up in a teleport with a control column in the center. EXAMINE COLUMN to find a touchpad on the column. EXAMINE TOUCHPAD to find out that it is a control pad for a teleporter. WEAR HAND, then TOUCH TOUCHPAD to teleport. (If you do not WEAR HAND to put the android hand on first, the teleporter recognizes you as an intruder and kills you.) Once you teleport safely, you'll get the ending. Sadly, it ends in a cliffhanger. Nevertheless, you just beat Alien Jailbreak!

You've escaped the mindprobe, found your ship's power booster, and teleported out of Dome 1, where you'd been imprisoned, and you're now in transit to Dome 2.

But you don't think you can relax just yet. For one thing, your captors seem to know that you're free and are probably looking for you. For another, you're far from certain that Dome 2 will be any better than Dome 1.

But surely it can't get any worse, what with all the killer robots and deadly mindprobes lurking round every corner?

But what if killer robots and deadly mindprobes are de rigueur on whatever planet this actually is? You still haven't figured out where you are, nor do you know why you were captured, or what the robots were trying to probe your mind for...

Who are these frukking robots anyway? As far as you knew, sentient robots that were capable of building a complex civilisation like the one you appear to have sleepwalked your way into are unknwon to Stellafed.

So where are you, and what are the robots up to?

Perhaps the mysterious "Xandros" they were so frightened you might speak to can tell you - if the two of you ever meet, that is. The problem is that you've never heard of Xandros before, so how will you recognise her? Is Xandros human or robot?

Is she in Dome 2?

Why is this teleport taking so long?

Perhaps you'll discover the answers to these and other fascinating questions in the second, scintillating part of Alien Jailbreak...

Map by unknown user, "rainbow color edit" made by PrinceWatercress. Original map can be found here. 

PrinceWatercress plays Alien Jailbreak

At long last, I finally play a text adventure with a sci-fi theme. It's a shame this game never had a follow-up, but at least the game has finally been unearthed and made available to play.

Longplay

Alien Jailbreak is a text adventure from the BBC Micro that was originally started in the 1980s yet stayed dormant and incomplete for years until it was found and completed by Lurkio in the 2010s. It's a rather short text adventure, and while the sci-fi setting makes for a nice change of pace (compared to the other text adventures that I've played), it does end on a cliffhanger that will, sadly, never be resolved.

When you start the game, you'll get a short list of some of the commands that the game understands: L, LOOK, I, INVENTORY, X, EXAMINE, N, S, E, W, U, UP, D, DOWN, GET, DROP, OPEN, CLOSE, ON, OFF, SAVE, LOAD, ABOUT, HELP. (The game does not understand "TAKE," so don't use it.)

It was all going so well...

You had just hauled a massive cargo of food and liquor (plus a mindfuggering stash of narcotics) to the homeworld of the notorious Synn system, which was on the very edge of Stellafed-controlled space.

Not only had they given you an unusually generous payout for your trouble, but they'd even invited you to join the party. The more the merrier, they'd said. Those crazy guys! How could you refuse?

Hours - or was it days? - had passed in a rush of toxic ecstasy. You'd indulged in all the pleasures that Synn had had to offer, till your brain and body were screaming for mercy.

And it was in this befuddled state that you decided to stumble back into your ship and head for home, even though you could barely walk in a straight line, let alone navigate half-way across the galaxy in a Stellafed trading vessel.

So perhaps you shouldn't have been altogether surprised to wake with a start and realise that (a) you'd fallen asleep at the controls of your ship, and (b) its defence systems were sounding a red alert.

Now, as you desperately try to wrap your pickled head around the computer's sensor readings, it slowly dawns on you that an astonishingly powerful tractor-beam appears to have locked on to the ship, which is hurtling towards the surface of an alien planet at homicidal speed.

You have no idea how you got here. Where the hell is "here," anyway? Is someone trying to kidnap you? Or kill you? Or, worse, steal your ship?

You're just about to start cursing Vog for creating drink, drugs, the people of Synn, interstellar travel, space, and life itself, when the ship suddenly crash-lands on the alien planet, hurling you across the cockpit with what you can't help thinking is cruel and unnecessary force.

Reeling from the impact, not to mention several nights in Synn, you're only dimly aware of the shadow figures that come aboard and steal the ship's power booster.

It's at this point that your addled brain finally admits defeat and you slip into sweet oblivion...

STELLAFED COMMUNCATIONS LOG

"This is listening station Ebdu, with an urgent report for Stellafed Communications HQ."

"This is SCHQ. Go ahead, Ebdu."

"One of our citizens appears to have been kidnapped by target QUAKE."

"Please repeat that, Ebdu."

I repeat: QUAKE has kidnapped a Stellafed citizen."

"Please identify yourself, caller."

"This is Intel Officer Gruntt."

"Officer Gruntt, I would remind you that target QUAKE is currently at the top of the Galactic Governmental Threat List. All comms regarding QUAKE must be taken extremely seriously. This is no time for jokes, Officer Gruntt."

"No joke, SCHQ. This is Grade-A intelligence."

"Please ID the kidnapped citizen."

"He's already a Subject of Interest to us: a petty smuggler codenamed SIDETHORN."

"SIDETHORN?! Trust that jackass to land himself in deep skakk. He'll keep."

"Er, with respect, SCHQ, I don't think he will. We had an implant on SIDETHORN's ship and managed to record a brief snatch of conversation between QUAKE agents when they came aboard. Transmitting recording now..."

"Take the intruder to the interrogation room."

"Yes, Commander. But what if he refuses to talk?"

"In that case, terminate him."

"Oh. I see. But SCHQ's decision remains unchanged: We shall continue to monitor the situation. No immediate action."

"So a citizen of Stellafed has been kidnapped by Public Enemy Number One, who might be about to execute him, and we do nothing?!"

"Firstly, you would do well to remember your place, Intel Officer Gruntt - if you wish to carry on being Intel Officer Gruntt, that is."

"I'm in no way tryi-"

"Secondly, we don't want to take any action that might reveal that we routinely bug our own citizens."

"I understand, but-"

"And thirdly, what exactly would you have us do? Vog knows what'll happen if we actually try to engage with QUAKE - and the last thing we need now is a war with a mysterious and powerful enemy whose mere existence we dare not make known for fear of causing mass panic across the galaxy."

"Of course, I fully suppo-"

"This conversation is terminated, Officer Gruntt."

"But-"

"SIDETHORN will have to look after himself."

TOP SECRET PRATS 3 SECURE CHANNEL

You are "Sidethorn." You are stuck on a planet you do not even know, and not only have you been kidnapped, but your ship's power supply has also been stolen. You need to get out of this place.

You start in a dingy prison cell with no doors or windows. You are strapped to a hard metal couch, connected to a mindprobe. EXAMINE MINDPROBE to find out that it is a Neurocellular Matrix Scanner Mark X111, which is banned due to requiring the subject's brain be removed. You'll also find out that wires lead from the ceiling down to a circular blade. PULL WIRES to stop the mindprobe and release the fetters holding you to the couch. If you EXAMINE WIRES, you'll find out that they still buzz with electricity as they hang down from the ceiling. If you GET WIRES, you'll shock yourself to death and you'll have to start over.

From here, STAND UP and TAKE BLADE. If you EXAMINE BLADE, you'll find out that the blade has a shuriken-like appearance. If you LOOK, you'll notice there is an air vent. OPEN AIR VENT, then ENTER VENT. You'll enter the air ducts, unable to see. The game will tell you where cool air is blowing from, so go in the direction it blows from with the first letter of NORTH, SOUTH, EAST or WEST where necessary. You'll eventually feel it blowing from below if you keep going in the right direction. You can use either D or DOWN to go down. In the next room, which is the central cooling complex, you'll find a torch. TAKE TORCH, then TURN TORCH ON before you go UP so you can see while in the air vents. (If you EXAMINE TORCH, you can see if the torch is on or off.)

From here, you're left to your own devices to map out the vent system, which is actually pretty big and makes up the majority of the game's map. After getting the torch and turning it on, go UP, then E, S, E, E, S, S, W, S, and then DOWN. This will drop you into the junk room with the remains of robots ready to be re-used. You'll find a metal hand. TAKE HAND. If you EXAMINE HAND, you'll find out that the robot hand is hollowed out and that you can wear it like a glove.

Go UP, then go W, N, W, S. When you're able to go down, DROP TORCH and DROP HAND. Go DOWN to land in a chemical plant, and take the Dacanium crystal. You'll need this to power your ship back up. (If you came down here with the torch and the hand in your inventory, the magnet that is picking up the ore will pick those two items up and drop them into the furnace, making the game unwinnable, as you'll need the hand to complete the game.) Go UP, then TAKE TORCH and TAKE HAND. Thankfully, the torch will still be on.

From here, I split the directions into groups of four, since you'll need to go a bit of a distance for what you need to do next:

NESE

NENN

WNNN

WNEE

SEEE

SESD

When you're able to go down, you'll find out that a closed vent is in your way. OPEN VENT before you go DOWN. Once you go down, go south twice. Going south once, leads to a passage leading to a plaque with useless information as well as two store rooms with nothing useful in them. After going south twice, go west to enter a computer room. EXAMINE MONITOR, and you'll find out that whoever took you hostage is aware of your escape in what is known as "Dome 1" and and that they want you - as well as someone named Xandros - executed.

Go back east, then go south again. Follow the junction west, then go west again. You'll come across a robot. If you stay around this room for two turns, the robot will kill you. THROW BLADE at the robot to kill it, then go north. You'll end up in a teleport with a control column in the center. EXAMINE COLUMN to find a touchpad on the column. EXAMINE TOUCHPAD to find out that it is a control pad for a teleporter. WEAR HAND, then TOUCH TOUCHPAD to teleport. (If you do not WEAR HAND to put the android hand on first, the teleporter recognizes you as an intruder and kills you.) Once you teleport safely, you'll get the ending. Sadly, it ends in a cliffhanger. Nevertheless, you just beat Alien Jailbreak!

You've escaped the mindprobe, found your ship's power booster, and teleported out of Dome 1, where you'd been imprisoned, and you're now in transit to Dome 2.

But you don't think you can relax just yet. For one thing, your captors seem to know that you're free and are probably looking for you. For another, you're far from certain that Dome 2 will be any better than Dome 1.

But surely it can't get any worse, what with all the killer robots and deadly mindprobes lurking round every corner?

But what if killer robots and deadly mindprobes are de rigueur on whatever planet this actually is? You still haven't figured out where you are, nor do you know why you were captured, or what the robots were trying to probe your mind for...

Who are these frukking robots anyway? As far as you knew, sentient robots that were capable of building a complex civilisation like the one you appear to have sleepwalked your way into are unknwon to Stellafed.

So where are you, and what are the robots up to?

Perhaps the mysterious "Xandros" they were so frightened you might speak to can tell you - if the two of you ever meet, that is. The problem is that you've never heard of Xandros before, so how will you recognise her? Is Xandros human or robot?

Is she in Dome 2?

Why is this teleport taking so long?

Perhaps you'll discover the answers to these and other fascinating questions in the second, scintillating part of Alien Jailbreak...

Map by unknown user, "rainbow color edit" made by PrinceWatercress. Original map can be found here. 

PrinceWatercress plays Spider-Man for Atari 2600 - The Longplay

...and now, almost ten commentary-free minutes of gameplay! Enjoy!

Let's Play

The Green Goblin is terrorizing New York City and has planted superbombs all over New York City. It's up to Spider-Man to climb up the buildings, get to the superbombs and defuse them before running out of web fluid and falling to his death.

Controlling Spider-Man is easy. By holding Up on the joystick and holding the fire button, you can extend a web further up the building. You can only grab onto the building itself, and you won't be able to connect to any empty spaces or windows. You can also hold Up and Left or Up and Right while holding the button to go to the side and get to other parts of the building in order to stay alive and keep a grip on the building. Once you stop the web on a solid surface, hold Up on the joystick to pull yourself upwards.

Your score is at the top center of the screen, with your lives at the lower-left and your web fluid meter on the lower-right. At the bottom of the building, there are criminals looking out of the windows, and if you touch them while swinging to the side, you'll get a few points for your score as well as some extra web fluid, which you can keep track of at the lower-right corner. The web fluid acts more like a timer, however, and you'll need to get to the top of the building and defuse the superbomb quickly.

You'll only be able to get point and time bonuses from catching criminals about four times before you stop getting them, and if you catch too many criminals, you'll start hearing a low-pitched sound that indicates that the timer on the superbomb has been activated...so be careful.

As you go higher up, you'll start seeing what look like girders. This is the high voltage tower, and the tower will get more narrow the further up you go. It makes more sense to climb onto bigger surfaces than small ones, and you'll want to get used to the timing of when you let go of the fire button as you climb upwards. Doing that will make a big difference between grabbing onto a solid surface and plunging to your doom. If you start falling, you'll still be able to save yourself if you still have web fluid. Just shoot the web like normal and make sure the web line hits a solid surface.

As you climb up the building, you'll see bombs that will flash red before exploding. The explosions will cause you to fall, but if you can touch the bombs while swinging to the side before they blow up, you can defuse them and get points and time for it, and you'll get more if the bombs are flashing red. You'll also run into the Green Goblin, and if you come into contact with him in any way, you will get knocked down and you will be forced to stick back onto the building to recover. 

At the top of the building is a box with a checkerboard pattern. This is the superbomb. You'll need to move into it from the side in such a way that Spider-Man touches it, but his web does not. Just like with everything else, if Spider-Man's body touches something that isn't Green Goblin, you'll score points, but if the web you're shooting does, you'll fall down. Getting Spider-Man to touch the superbomb in any way before you run out time/web fluid will defuse the superbomb and send you to the next level.

You'll score points for when you catch criminals and defuse bombs, and the more you do in a level, the more points you'll get when you defuse the superbomb. It takes 10,000 points to earn an extra life, and you'll need to learn how to get points to make this easier to do and also a lot more fun.

If you hit the ground from any height, you will lose a life no matter what. While you can recover by shooting a web shot and having it stop on the building so you can pull yourself up, if you run out of time/web fluid, there is going to be nothing that you can do, and you'll be forced to start the level over. Be ready to do what you need to do.

As you progress from level to level, the buildings will get taller and taller, and the time/web fluid meter will empty faster and faster. The game is easy to play, but it gets difficult to master, especially when you get onto later levels. Green Goblin will show up before you reach the top of the building, the criminals get harder to nab, and getting to the top gets harder. For some reason, I was able to manage a run that got me halfway up the fourth building before I ran out of lives on the longplay. That's something.

The very first Spider-Man game was a simple affair, but beneath the arcade action lies a game that forces you to strategize. You can get some extra web fluid early on, but it gets much harder to do the further to get, and learning how to quickly climb a building becomes a must. Learning how to recover quickly so you don't have to recover a lot of progress also becomes a necessary skill, especially when you start having so little time to get to the superbomb. As mentioned before, the game is easy to learn, but difficult to master, and when you can get to the superbomb, you definitely feel like a superhero. While there's not any crime-fighting, there's definitely a lot of saving to do, and you'll be doing that in spades here.

The graphics are basic, but you can easily tell who Spider-Man and Green Goblin are, as they both have the right colors. You don't have to guess what's part of the building and what is not, and once you get the basics nailed down, the gameplay isn't that bad. The sound is as arcade-y as you would expect from a 2600 game, and the musical ditty that plays when you start a new game definitely feels Spider-Man-esque. Later games would have Spidey doing more things, but the thrill of shooting webs, catching criminals and going up a building is captured well in Spider-Man's first video game adventure, and it is definitely one to recommend.

PrinceWatercress plays Spider-Man for Atari 2600

Like so many other people, I was introduced to this game via the Angry Video Game Nerd. Amazingly, the game isn't that bad.

Longplay

The Green Goblin is terrorizing New York City and has planted superbombs all over New York City. It's up to Spider-Man to climb up the buildings, get to the superbombs and defuse them before running out of web fluid and falling to his death.

Controlling Spider-Man is easy. By holding Up on the joystick and holding the fire button, you can extend a web further up the building. You can only grab onto the building itself, and you won't be able to connect to any empty spaces or windows. You can also hold Up and Left or Up and Right while holding the button to go to the side and get to other parts of the building in order to stay alive and keep a grip on the building. Once you stop the web on a solid surface, hold Up on the joystick to pull yourself upwards.

Your score is at the top center of the screen, with your lives at the lower-left and your web fluid meter on the lower-right. At the bottom of the building, there are criminals looking out of the windows, and if you touch them while swinging to the side, you'll get a few points for your score as well as some extra web fluid, which you can keep track of at the lower-right corner. The web fluid acts more like a timer, however, and you'll need to get to the top of the building and defuse the superbomb quickly.

You'll only be able to get point and time bonuses from catching criminals about four times before you stop getting them, and if you catch too many criminals, you'll start hearing a low-pitched sound that indicates that the timer on the superbomb has been activated...so be careful.

As you go higher up, you'll start seeing what look like girders. This is the high voltage tower, and the tower will get more narrow the further up you go. It makes more sense to climb onto bigger surfaces than small ones, and you'll want to get used to the timing of when you let go of the fire button as you climb upwards. Doing that will make a big difference between grabbing onto a solid surface and plunging to your doom. If you start falling, you'll still be able to save yourself if you still have web fluid. Just shoot the web like normal and make sure the web line hits a solid surface.

As you climb up the building, you'll see bombs that will flash red before exploding. The explosions will cause you to fall, but if you can touch the bombs while swinging to the side before they blow up, you can defuse them and get points and time for it, and you'll get more if the bombs are flashing red. You'll also run into the Green Goblin, and if you come into contact with him in any way, you will get knocked down and you will be forced to stick back onto the building to recover. 

At the top of the building is a box with a checkerboard pattern. This is the superbomb. You'll need to move into it from the side in such a way that Spider-Man touches it, but his web does not. Just like with everything else, if Spider-Man's body touches something that isn't Green Goblin, you'll score points, but if the web you're shooting does, you'll fall down. Getting Spider-Man to touch the superbomb in any way before you run out time/web fluid will defuse the superbomb and send you to the next level.

You'll score points for when you catch criminals and defuse bombs, and the more you do in a level, the more points you'll get when you defuse the superbomb. It takes 10,000 points to earn an extra life, and you'll need to learn how to get points to make this easier to do and also a lot more fun.

If you hit the ground from any height, you will lose a life no matter what. While you can recover by shooting a web shot and having it stop on the building so you can pull yourself up, if you run out of time/web fluid, there is going to be nothing that you can do, and you'll be forced to start the level over. Be ready to do what you need to do.

As you progress from level to level, the buildings will get taller and taller, and the time/web fluid meter will empty faster and faster. The game is easy to play, but it gets difficult to master, especially when you get onto later levels. Green Goblin will show up before you reach the top of the building, the criminals get harder to nab, and getting to the top gets harder. For some reason, I was able to manage a run that got me halfway up the fourth building before I ran out of lives on the longplay. That's something.

The very first Spider-Man game was a simple affair, but beneath the arcade action lies a game that forces you to strategize. You can get some extra web fluid early on, but it gets much harder to do the further to get, and learning how to quickly climb a building becomes a must. Learning how to recover quickly so you don't have to recover a lot of progress also becomes a necessary skill, especially when you start having so little time to get to the superbomb. As mentioned before, the game is easy to learn, but difficult to master, and when you can get to the superbomb, you definitely feel like a superhero. While there's not any crime-fighting, there's definitely a lot of saving to do, and you'll be doing that in spades here.

The graphics are basic, but you can easily tell who Spider-Man and Green Goblin are, as they both have the right colors. You don't have to guess what's part of the building and what is not, and once you get the basics nailed down, the gameplay isn't that bad. The sound is as arcade-y as you would expect from a 2600 game, and the musical ditty that plays when you start a new game definitely feels Spider-Man-esque. Later games would have Spidey doing more things, but the thrill of shooting webs, catching criminals and going up a building is captured well in Spider-Man's first video game adventure, and it is definitely one to recommend.

PrinceWatercress plays Punky Skunk - Part 8 of 8

In this video, we finally defeat Commander Chew and Badler, and save the islands once and for all.

First | Previous

Commander Chew

To beat Commander Chew, be ready to fly the moment Commander Chew stops talking. Use the platforms to rest briefly as you continuously fly upwards, and shoot Commander Chew with fireballs whenever you can. If Commander Chew is spinning around towards you, he is invulnerable; wait for him to stop spinning before shooting fireballs at him.

Once you beat Commander Chew, you'll finally face Badler. Avoid him as he springs around, and attack him before he attacks you. He splits into smaller clones and will make more and more clones; avoid all of the Badlers and shoot the real Badler when he stops spinning. If he glows gold, move away from your current position so you don't get zapped by lightning. He can also throw energy balls, but at least he's not invulnerable during the wind-up, so you can still hit him as he throws one.

After you damage Badler enough times, he will blow up like a balloon and bounce around the screen. If he's moving away from you, fire at him as much as possible, and stay away from him whenever he comes towards you. The more you hit Badler, the bigger he gets, and when you hit Badler enough times, a whole bunch of mouse enemies will come out of Badler before he is ultimately defeated. You just beat Punky Skunk!

PrinceWatercress plays Punky Skunk - Part 7 of 8

In this video, we take on the remaining levels before the final boss battle against Badler.

First | Previous | End

BB Industries

Grab the skates at the start, then be ready to fight your way past a bunch of machines, make a big jump with the skates, then jump on the button and leap from one platform to another as they appear. You'll be fighting off a lot of mice and machines, so be ready to attack with the Square button.

The second section is more straightforward, but the third one has more of the button platform jumping that you were doing in the first one. You'll also have to deal with flying enemies on the way up, so be ready to jump up and attack at approximately the same time just to take out a few of them, especially when the platforms only stay solid for a short amount of time.

The fourth section has more platforming above a bottomless pit, but at least it goes from left to right. The fifth section has a moving ceiling, but thankfully, it does not crush you. It does make it harder to avoid the baseball pitchers and their attacks, however. Give them some room so you don't get hit a lot.

In the sixth section, grab the skates and keep them equipped so you can jump on the enemies' heads and get across. For the seventh section, you'll be avoiding rolling wheels as you skate and jump to the right. This section gets a little easier once you're halfway through.

In the eight section, the right wall keeps moving back and forth, and once again, you'll have to watch out for those dreaded baseball pitchers. Once you reach the top, you'll reach the goal.

Oh Nash!

You'll finally find Nash...only to find out he's been brainwashed by the BB Brigade and wearing a jetpack. He'll fly around and try to hit you, but if you can get him in front of you and mash the Square button, you can keep attacking him with the skunk spray attack and he'll just stay there and keep taking damage. He does have attacks, such as a fireball shot, but if you keep him stunlocked, you'll never see them. Once you beat Nash, Nash will come to his senses and you'll get the jetpack. You can press and hold X to rocket into the air, but if you hear a knocking sound of sorts, the jetpack it about to stop working. If you land anywhere, the timer on the jetpack will reset, and you'll be able to use it again.

Wolf Base

Aeroskunk

The level will immediately scroll upwards when you start. Keep pressing and holding X to fly, and make sure you land on platforms when you can to reset your jetpack timer, because the scrolling is pretty fast. Press Square to fire fireballs at enemies to get rid of them. This is not a long stage, but it can be a bit difficult due to the speed of the automatic scrolling.

Galaxy Glider

This level is a series of sections that go in one direction. You'll want to tap the X button in short bursts instead of holding it in order to get through the sections quickly.

In the second section, you're going upwards. Rest on the yellow cloud platforms to reset the jetpack, and get off them when they turn red. In the third section, you have a huge group of air currents that create one big maze, but you can tell where the air currents are going to push you. Once again, remember to tap X to fly upwards in short bursts, and land on platforms often while going against the current when necessary.

In the third section, you'll want to stay away from the air currents, as they will push you away from the level.

In the fourth section, you'll have the mice on ostriches throwing spears. Avoid the spears, even when they're on the ground, so you don't take damage. Thankfully, this section is the last one in the stage.

Skywolf Alpha

Skywolf Alpha is one big maze that relies extensively on the jetpack. The stars that you see littered around the level will tell you where to go, so keep them in mind if you're unsure where to go. You'll need them in the first section, as you'll be going around in a complete circle without them. If you find any safe spots to land, use them; you'll want to be able to fly to where you need to, when you need to.

In the second section, you'll be zig-zagging your way to the top while landing in the safe spots and shooting down the enemies on the off chance that they drop health pick-ups.

For the third section, follow the stars closely. You'll want to follow them so you can go through an air current; otherwise, you're doing the whole stage over, as the first and third sections are part of the same room in the stage. Go up and to the right once you're past the air current that the stars lead you to, then take out the green machine and land where it was. From there, follow the stars up and to the right and follow the path to the goal.