CarVup? What's the connection?

Exploring the origins of CarVup's mysterious title. Core Design's cutesy vehicular-based platformer published for the Atari ST and Amiga in 1990, that is. What do you mean you don't care? You're the reason this remains an X-File... of sorts.

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Heaven is a halfpipe when you're a sk8er boi

Skidz from Core Design aptly demonstrates that kidz can be kool as well as environmentally responsible. Whether we choose to ride BMX or skateboard wheelz, our mission is to collect 75% of the litter strewn across each obstacle course stage, earning bonus points in between for performing stunts. Scavenged refreshments boost health, whilst money can be exchanged for hardware upgrades. Skidz is pretty much what happens if you play Paperboy in reverse.

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More fun than a barrel of monkeys

In CarVup we star as Arnie, a cute little vehicle that would look right at home in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, yet was actually plucked from Jaleco's City Connection arcade coin-op. Our goal is simply to explore every last area of a given level within a limited timeframe, transforming the appearance of platforms to reverse Captain Grim's evil influence. It's a sub-genre in itself believe it or not - the 'platform painter'.

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Talking turkey with Simon Phipps

I quiz talented coder/artist, Simon Phipps, on his involvement with the gaming adaptation of Monty Python's Flying Circus, published by Virgin in 1990. You can find my ridiculously comprehensive review of the TV show and its accompanying game elsewhere on my blog.

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Who cares what picture we see?

Premiere has to be the ultimate movie license game in history in that it's a homage to all the movies encapsulated within six of Hollywood's major genres. Rather impressively, The 8th Day accomplished this feat without paying a penny in royalties to a single studio. Genius!

Cast as a distraught movie editing assistant, we're culpable for the safe return of six stolen film reels. Tirelessly tracking the hijacked canisters obliges our hero to ransack six distinct scenarios themed around horror, wild west, sci-fi, Egyptian, animated and classic black and white movies. Fail to recover this purloined paraphernalia in time for the movie Premiere and Grumbling Studios will go bust with our career prematurely cut short.

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A page right out of history

Junior, Son of Chuck, demonstrates he's a chip off the old block in the sequel to Core Design's prehistoric platformer, Chuck Rock. As before, it's hard to play without imagining being trapped inside a vintage Flintstones cartoon, except now we're in charge of a nappy-clad, further regressed Bamm-Bamm, wielding a club taller than he is on a quest to save his kidnapped dad from the clutches of the stony-hearted Brick Jagger. It's hardly a chore when the audio-visual presentation is so enticing, exquisitely crafted by esteemed professionals who clearly had their hearts invested in this passion project. Much like living in Bedrock, endless comedic touches keep us amused throughout while we bash and crash our way to a poignant family reunion.

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Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got, I'm still, I'm still Moley with a Glock

Gremlin's fifth Monty Mole jaunt signalled the humble, furry miner's transition to the 16-bit systems in 1990 as well as smooth scrolling platforming. A fluttering cape can work wonders for one's superpowers, evolving our dirt-munching workhorse into a Rick Dangerous style Impossamole, ready to burst loose, kung-fu-kicking from his 8-bit shackles equipped with smart bombs and a gun, fearlessly prepped to explore the far reaches of the planet.

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Can you tell what it is yet?

Doodlebug is Mutation Software's prettier follow-up to Bug Bash. A visually enticing platformer, crammed with cute, endearing touches and the novelty of drawing your way out of trouble, as in the animated kid's TV show, Penny Crayon.

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Xeroxmorphs in Dittoland - to Cimmeria and beyond!

Have you ever dreamed of becoming Conan the Barbarian without troubling yourself with all that inconvenient weight-lifting, cardio workouts and extreme dieting? Meet Core Design's Torvak the Warrior! Wield a spell-bound melee weapon or four, slay a meddlesome necromancer, have tea and biscuits with Rastan and talk tactics - it's all here hack 'n' slash fans! Arnie Schwarzenegger isn't so you may get a generous discount. *

* not guaranteed

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Czar and away

Big Red Adventure, set in Russia during the '80s, following Gorbachev's Perestroika, Dynabyte's point and click adventure game is surprisingly non-partisan. Surely that's no bad thing unless you're a history teacher who can't cope with long words. No, it's a bit more exciting than that, partly courtesy of the lifting of political oppression at this juncture. We play as one of three unique characters who must cooperate with one another, controlled sequentially, to solve the Mother of all Russian mysteries. Residents we encounter respond differently to our stereotypical femme fatale, nerd, and boneheaded weight-lifter and they, in turn, arrive equipped with variable traits and aptitudes. Use them wisely or... it'll take you longer to beat. Thumb-screws are old news.

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A Viking is for life, not just for Ragnarok

I tackle the labyrinthine task of documenting the plot, design, artistry, and game mechanics behind The 8th Day's multi-system, isometric, fantasy RPG, Heimdall, published in 1991 by Core Design. Luckily two of the original developers were on hand to slake my curiosities, programmer Ged Keaveney and graphician Jerr O'Carroll. Together we elucidate the Norse mythology that inspired their Viking-themed epic and where our eponymous demi-god protagonist fits into the lore. Moreover, we trace Heimdall's more contemporary celluloid and gaming influences, whilst I attempt to assess its merits. What transpired is one of my longest, most comprehensive articles to date so I hope you've got a bookmark handy!


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I wish I'd been a girlie, just like my dear pappa

I take a deep, delving dive into the surreal realm of Monty Python and his splendidly witty Flying Circus, analysing every last millimetre of their very essence until they get fed up with all the excessively invasive probing and go on holiday to Scunthorpe.

More specifically, I assess the 1990 multi-system video game by Core Design, tracing its constituents and themes back to the source material of the iconic TV show that ran for four series between 1969 to 1974 starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam.

In the game, we explore various chimerical scenarios playing as one of the Gumbys under the guise of his human-ish character, or a fish/chicken sporting a transplanted Gumby head. Regardless of the mode of transport, we must navigate through the sequential arcade-action stages shooting projectiles at bizarre enemies replicated from the TV show. Between levels, animated interludes further aim to replicate some of the Python's best-loved sketches.

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