Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes..?
Ladies and gentlemen, I am as certain as Richard Burton’s curtains that all of you have heard of Rick Dangerous and almost all of you probably have fond memories playing the game on an 8-bit, or a 16-bit computer system back in the late 80s. It really was, frankly, a lovely little game, but baste me in a bucket of ham – it is frustrating!
Playing this again, to refresh myself with the game mechanics, I was struck by just how well the game overall has stood the test of time. It looks great, it sounds brilliant and importantly – it plays exceptionally on the C64. Indeed, being a Core Designs game, as you expect, it is packaged up and produced really, really tightly. The cinematic intros are a lovely touch, with a few bars of well put together classic tune-age; there is humour and nods to Indy all over the place; the death animations are hilarious and importantly – it doesn’t generally progress from being happily frustrating to bloody annoying – it remains fun to play, to remember the trap patterns and routes and to try and get past Egypt, for the love of Geoff!
Whilst not having the all the bells and whistles of its sequel (Rick Dangerous 2
did look amazing and played very, very well too!) the original game, on one single load, possessed its own unique charm and is a fantastic stand-alone
platformer. The level of difficulty on the first few plays is seemingly high,
but very quickly you begin learning the patterns and when to hug a wall, or
crawl off a ladder.
For me, the main thing is that the game is just so much fun to play. It really is and it
keeps you coming back for more, almost putting your mind into a sort of
Speed-Runner Zen Mode when you’ve played the first few screens (of which there
are 80 across 4 levels) and you quickly traverse to the furthest part of the
level you’ve reached, ready to guestimate what traps are coming.
You will thoroughly enjoy this charming, little game, so boot it up and get delving,
hearing Rick’s tinky-dinky little footsteps as he trots about.
It’s one of the good ‘uns.
Zzap! 64 Issue 80: 89%
YouTube: LogrusUK
Download: Rick Dangerous
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