The Addams Family

Creepy, Kooky, Ooky, Spooky

I am a massive fan of the original TV series, plus the movies from the 90s are favourites in our house. I've no idea what's taken me so long, but eventually, I got around to Ocean's 1992 platformer developed by James Higgins. The same programmer behind two superb games - Navy Seals and The Untouchables.

The story is an 'original' one about kidnapping and rescuing. Morticia has been abducted by Abigail Craven, who is after the Addams' family fortune. The other characters have been captured and imprisoned in the mansion's many rooms. As Gomez, we must locate Pugsley, Wednesday, Granny, Uncle Fester, and Morticia.

I reckon we need to see the first screenshot, which proves it always pays to explore...

That looks ominous, but let's be daft and climb up it... Hmm, what is that below?

The Game

We begin outside the front door of our mansion, but I would stay outside for a while. Go for a walk, who knows what treasures and power-ups there could be! You may also uncover underground passages. Outside the mansion is the perfect place to get used to the controls and the method of killing the monsters.

Gomez can walk left/right and jump using the fire button (hold down for larger jumps). He has no weapons and kills enemies by leaping into the air before landing on them. It's like we have in the excellent budget platformer Well 'Ard. This technique works brilliantly except for those enemies protected by spikes or fire.

Once inside the house, you stand in the hallway that grants access to several "rooms". These are the levels that lead to a boss who is holding a family member captive. The Addams Family is a non-linear platformer, so you can choose any level you like. All are massive. When I say massive, I really do mean massive!!

Whatever level you play, a wealth of monsters feature constantly. Never have I known a game with so many enemies - any contact will drain energy. This is represented by love hearts, which can be replenished along the way. Interestingly, having lost all lives doesn't mean the game is over because there is the option to continue or quit. The caveat of continuing is having to restart from the beginning of your current level.

Run and stomp monsters like a crazed Sonic! However, slow down; otherwise, you might miss hidden rooms, power-ups, and secrets. Also, there is Thing's Box, which reveals a clue about the level. Nothing mindblowing, stuff like "some doors are less visible than others". Essentially, that means pay attention!

Let's look at the power-ups left sparsely scattered about every level...

• Small hearts - replenish a heart's level.
• Dollars - for every $25 you replenish a heart and $100 grants a 1-UP.
• 1-UP - will also grant a new life.
• Shield - invincibility for a short period (shown as a star trail)
• Shoes - mega run and jumps! (Argh, this should be the default!)
• Fez - Fezi-copter works on current level and allows flight (it's brilliant - think Joust!!)

After running through any level, you eventually reach the boss, who is holding a family member captive. Once defeated by the same leap and stomp method, he/she seeks refuge in the Music Room with Lurch. The big guy remains in this room throughout, as he plays with his organ (come on, I just had to).

As you free family members, they will also come to this room. Once everyone is gathered, Lurch can properly play the organ music that magically grants access to the underground chamber. This is where we stash all of our cash, but more importantly, the location where Morticia is held prisoner. The big boss here is tough.

Once the final battle is over, everything returns to normal for the Addams. The game then ends with a funny and loving Gomez and Morticia scene. Finally, you get to see caricatures of the game developers.

Okay, let's pause this boring reading with a pixel-sexy screenshot...

Within the mansion, there are many doorways to different levels.

Graphics

Warren Lancashire and Simon Butler designed the visuals, and to say they are great is an enormous understatement. Never have I played a platformer with so many characters!! Each has incredible detail and great animation. It's beyond admirable to see something like this for a 16-bit platformer.

The backdrops are truly stunning with an individual style and theme appropriate to that part of the house or grounds. I love the 'heat' levels that actually felt hot thanks to their bright palette. Every level looks gorgeous, and my favourite is the outside areas, which I thought looked the most pleasing.

Push-scrolling is used alongside a heavily reduced screen size. There are many other similar platformers with proper scrolling. Also, many use the push method without any screen/size reductions.

I bet you want to see a creepy tree and dancing flowers? Here you go...

The artwork is stunning, and I just had to capture a GIF for this scene!

Audio

Music and effects are by Jonathan Dunn, who worked on Elf, New Zealand Story, and Rambo III. The Addams Family theme plays on the title screen, but sadly, it isn't a sample. The gameplay is accompanied by several fantastic chiptunes, alongside adequate spot effects for jumping and squashing the enemies. 

If you like the Addams Family theme then check out ZombieCrypt slideshow!

Before the gripping conclusion, let's see a werewolf in a cemetery against a mysterious sky...

The Graveyard is great but quite difficult, especially when fire falls from the skies.

CryptO'pinion

When I began playing the opening scenes, I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. It's fantastic and provides an opportunity to grasp the superb joystick controls. Not only that, these areas feature secrets and power-ups. However, once you go inside, you realise this is a poor conversion with serious issues.

The Addams Family could have been great, but I grew weary of plodding through levels that felt like they wouldn't end. Plus, it's impossible without a trainer, as there are too many dangerous obstacles and enemies. It's way off-balance. With a trainer, I endured to the bitter end and earned these codes...

• 1Z9KX - Wednesday
• 1G99? - Fester
• KGH9C - Pugsley
• KL#RJ - Granny
• RLRRX - Heart Power Up

I'm not sure why Ocean released this stinker, but the combination of thin screen, push-scrolling, and impossible difficulty amplifies my sorrow. Play a different platformer - Jim Power, Black Tiger, Zone Warrior, Stario, Wonder Boy, Giana Sisters, Kid Gloves 2, Astro Marine Corps, Potsworth & Co, The Viking Child, etc/etc.

The Addams Family is a lame duck and should be grateful for getting a bleak 60%.

Masochistic gamers should download from D-Bug (and Atari Legend has several menu disks).

I'm on my way to rescue Wednesday, but losing the will to live because it's so tough!!

Lurch has left friendly advice at the start of some levels.

Look at that photograph, it's Christopher Lloyd!

I took this screenshot simply because I liked the look and its colour!

I thought the background on this level was the best looking.

The Music Room is where Lurch attempts to play. Note the blocked door on the right.

Every house has a vault, right? Fill your boots!

The first of the boss screens, this one frees Wednesday, and he's a right bas$@^!!!

This boss was the best (easiest) because you can use Uncle Fester.

The boss holding Pugsley captive wasn't difficult. Sinister face on him!

The boss holding Granny looks great, but is pretty tough.

When I encountered this boss, I was bored and lost the will to live †

Ocean nailed it with this fantastic option screen!!

Morticia's boss is the most annoying of all, as he stays out of reach a lot.

Eventually, the quest is completed...

Fireworks "light up the sky", but a screenshot is all you're getting.

Thundercats

Today's cartoons are rubbish!

Thundercats was released back in 1988 by Elite and is based on the old kids' TV show. I don't remember the programme much myself, but YouTube does, which meant I got to watch a few episodes of this olde classic. An interesting show for the time, and something that makes you realise just how much better things were back then. The ST game shares many expected similarities, particularly with its characters.

The gameplay is represented as a sideways-scrolling platformer across multiple (torturous) levels. We are Lion-O, a Thundercat with flame-red hair and a huge sword who battles strange animal foes. These baddies are from Mumm-Ra, who has stolen the Thundera jewel and kidnapped the other Thundercats.

What shall we do? I think we'd better save the day, but let's see some screenshots...

The first level breaks you into the mayhem. Look for power-ups and try not to panic.

However, things soon get freaky with loads of enemies attacking from all sides!



Being attacked by so many birds at once isn't my idea of great fun.

The weapons are great, but I didn't like that slowwwwww laser gun!

Run...Shoot...Die!!

The terrain is straightforward with monsters, deadly water, disappearing platforms and rocks/etc to leap over - watch out for the bigger baddies who will follow and chase after you. Random power-ups will appear at regular intervals and will need to be struck (with your sword) before you can collect them (I liked the mushrooms). An extra life is appreciated, but I wasn't thrilled about the laser gun, which is limited - it doesn't fire far, thus annoying when something is out of reach! That doesn't make sense, does it?

The gameplay is regularly broken up by bonus rounds like trying to rescue Tygra, which proved impossible: one touch and you have failed the mission!! Who tested these games back then, or is it just me and my lame skills? Also, the levels are broken up into themes you can choose from: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Basically, little changes, but we do get different visuals and extra baddies to kill.

Are you ready for more awesome Atari ST screenshots? Of course, you are...

That creepy fella is tough, so repeatedly hit him where it hurts. No, not his wallet!

Don't forget the mushroom power-ups... You will need all the help you can get.



Hang on, what's this? A spaceship? Gun? Plane? Hover car?

Nope, it's a lame spaceship and one that features that silly laser too... Joy!

16-bit gamers are tough!

The joystick controls are easy to learn and also very responsive: left/right walk our flame-haired hero, and he can also jump and crouch with ease. I liked these controls, which work well, and the best part is our huge sword, which puts Conan's to shame!! However, it's used more like a club, which is weird, but it works.

Sadly, no matter how responsive the controls are, there are too many baddies to cope with. They appear from both sides of the screen - so you're soon overrun as the hordes gang up. To make matters worse, your weapon (which thinks it's a club) can only kill what is directly in front of it, rather than swinging like a sword in a wide arc. So you're constantly jumping, crouching, and turning around. Add that to everything else, and it won't be long until you've died - or launched the joystick in frustration! Yikes.

Maybe games were a lot harder back in the day? Thundercats certainly proves that possibility...

I love the macabre artwork here. It's a bit crude yet very cool... and his toes are funny!

Graphics & Sounds

Visually, things are lovely, I thought. Colours are bold and represent the cartoony feeling well. Plus, I loved the sprites, which are superbly detailed. However, what shocks me most is the smooth scrolling, including a second parallax layer, too. It's always nice to see when developers don't wimp out with flick/push-scrolling.

The in-game sound effects are nice, even if everything sounds all too familiar. However, it's the music I adore. This game ROCKS, and the theme tune is Rob Hubbard awesomeness. Leave it playing!!

Check out this artwork and listen to the tune. Go on, it's lovely...

I always fail to rescue poor old Tygra!

Click on the green arrow and enjoy this outstanding Rob Hubbard chiptune.

The CryptO'pinion?

Thundercats is a good game, albeit ridiculously challenging. My red-haired hero was walking, jumping and crouching like a crazed maniac on speed!! Yet, I still couldn't manage to kill everything without dying several times. Heck, even with a trainer, it's still hard, but at least this cheat lets me endure and finally reach the other levels after decades. However, those who playtested this need their head examined.

Yes, it's crammed full of annoying mechanics. However, it's still a game to boot up and play because it looks great, sounds great, and who doesn't enjoy clobbering animals with a huge sword? Personally, I'm more of a He-Man fan, but I enjoyed this platformer, and I think you will too. Flawed but bucket loads of fun!

AtariMania has the Super Pack floppies, and 8BitChip supports hard drive.

Thunder Jaws

Big guns and a pervy boss!

I'd seen pictures of this underwater shooter, but didn't know what to expect from what seemed a naff James Bond wannabe. Released in 1991 by Domark, our villain is the busty Madame Q, who desires nothing less than to rule the world. She's gone and kidnapped lots of gorgeous girls who are to be experimented on and turned into monsters. Our task is to find her secret base, kill all the baddies, and free the hostages.

Grab something rubbery to wear because her base is deep underwater, which reminds me of Scuba Dive on my old ZX Spectrum! But these dangerous waters are patrolled by armed guards and robotic sharks. Harpoon anything you see, destroy the automated defences, and blast open the lair's entrance.

Yeah, I like how cheesy this is, so let's check out the initial screens...

A cool loading screen, but where's the intro gone to??

Still, at least a 2-player co-op is included, which is ace!

The opening scene is underwater, heading to the evil lair...

Inside are lots of baddies and some great weapons to pick up - the punk girls scream lol

Wear your best flippers for the girls!

Once inside her lair, the game changes to a scrolling platformer similar to Rolling Thunder (yikes, we all remember that dreadful conversion). This stage is better with henchmen and other strange characters chasing you. Weaponry remains the same and can be upgraded to a flamethrower, Uzi, rocket, and more. Finally, battle a boss and rescue a few gorgeous babes, who will be extremely grateful. Oh yes!

Once completed, it flips back to the underwater stage, and we repeat for similar missions. The difficulty increases as we infiltrate the base - it's now that I activated a trainer because the later levels are crammed with an insane amount of baddies!! Also, the end-of-level bosses are tough and made even tougher by tons of other bad guys showing up to help. Argh, my screen is littered with too many brawling sprites!!

Gimme a flamethrower, a zillion extra lives, and I'm happy...

Yikes, our evil villain looks freaky like something from Twisted Sister!

Rescuing the sexy girls produces lots of kisses and hugs for our hero!!

Later on, we're in dirty waters with toxic waste barrels.

This leads to a scary rock monster and naked firewomen. Nice!

Graphics & Sounds

The visuals use a variety of styles and gorgeous backgrounds, and each level looks stunning. The sprites are superbly drawn, and nothing beats the girls falling to their feet for lots of comical kissing!! The scrolling is smooth but feels a little sluggish on later levels with a lot of action, though I'm being very picky.

There isn't a chiptune bopping away in the background, but the effects are good. Actually, no, they are crude, but the grunts are deranged - I loved the haunting female's scream of death. Sonically superb!!

Check out these screenshots that demonstrate this game's stunning artwork...

The end boss battles are rubbish if I'm honest. You are forced to cheat, which is a bit daft!

This is basically because there are far too many enemies. It's impossible!

Finally, we get to meet the flame-haired temptress. Gorgeous pixel art!

But it isn't long before she morphs into something hideously ugly. Like a dog turd with hair!

The CryptO'pinion?

I'm a little unsure what to make of Thunder Jaws. It's predictable fun, and the addition of a two-player co-op is exceptional. However, the later levels are impossible without cheating, and I caught a whiff of a lame port when things slowed down. Having said that, it's not the disaster Rolling Thunder was, and I enjoyed pretending to be James Bond, rescuing sexy girls, and saving the world from a busty flame-haired tyrant.

It's not perfect, but I really enjoyed Thunder Jaws. I played through to the end and loved every second!!

You can download the floppy or hard disk, but only if you look good in a wetsuit! Note: faster computers will certainly benefit from smoother frame rates when running from a hard drive.

Here is the end screen... It's probably best I don't remark :)

Zone Warrior

Wanna be a Timecop?

I love platform shooters; this was developed in 1991 by Imagitec Design for Electronic Arts. The story is: pesky aliens are causing grief for us Earthlings. They've pinched a time machine and are using it to alter history and wreak havoc by taking hostages from different periods. This is an attempt to halt their influence: the invention of the wheel, England's King Arthur united the Britons, and Japan's technical wizardry!

Yep, we cannot allow it, and the fight is on! Brace yourself because we are travelling into these time zones to rescue everybody. Thus saving the timeline and protecting our future. Whilst there, we may as well kill each and every bad dude that gets in our way. It's time to save the day again, so let's lock and load!!

Check out this screenshot and tell me what other run & gunner it reminds you of...

Pick-ups are cool, but something like the Map parts is essential for this platformer!!

Are you ready for a challenge?

Zone Warrior is a MASSIVE horizontally scrolling platformer that reminded me of Psygnosis' Baal in looks, with (more than) a hint of Turrican-style action. Each zone is a labyrinth of rooms interconnected by a series of doorways. A total of five time zones need to be saved from the dreaded aliens...

• Prehistoric - I really enjoyed this zone because it introduces you nicely into the gameplay style plus there are lots of power-ups and strong map designs compared to most other levels. I also thought the graphics were the best here with great use of the palette.

• Egyptian - This is is little disappointing for me because it's basically more of the same design but with a different graphics. However, I found it to be a lot harder and rather frustrating instead of anything close to an enjoyable challenge...

• Medieval - Saving the medieval Britons from their alien fate is a brilliant level and definitely on par with the Prehistoric Zone. I must admit, the music here is so gorgeous!

• Japanese - I would rate this as the best level of all because it is really challenging, with some great mechanics. Unlike the finicky Egyptian Zone, I found it tough but without the frustration. And the chipmusic is out of this world!!

• Holocaust - Sadly I didn't care for this zone... Very frustrating and ultimately annoying!

Travelling most zones is a neat experience with action to keep your trigger finger happy. During the onslaught, look for hostages and a key for the final battle (before you can progress to the next zone).

Each of these periods has its own nasties to contend with, and some cannot be killed, so avoid the Venus flytraps and sharp spikes. But most have legs or teeth, so have your trusty Turrican-inspired weapon ready. This rapid-firing gun performs well and can be upgraded to achieve a wider spread. Also, the spacebar cycles through extra weapons you may have picked up, like bombs and mines. Experiment, but use wisely.

Okay, let's check out another screenshot of Tur...Erm, no, I meant Zone Warrior...

I enjoyed the prehistoric levels with dinos and cool methods used to avoid them!

Aesthetics?

The visuals are a mixed bag; on the one hand, they look amazing with lush colours and nice details. The sprites are well-drawn and meticulous, especially the stripy dinos from the Prehistoric Zone. The scrolling is great and responsive to our hero's fast/leaping movements, essential to a running-gunner-shooter like this. However, the variety of the backdrops could have been better, especially as things get samey after a while.

Overall, the Medieval and Japanese zones looked the best, I thought. Sexy visuals!

The audio is a blast with great effects. However, it's the music I really loved because everything is composed by Barry Leitch, who created a wealth of fantastic chiptunes. Show-stompingly brilliant audio!!

Variety is the spice of life <incoming sarcasm> so if you like yellows, you will love this screenshot...

The graphics and music may change, but the gameplay is pretty darn familiar for each level...

The CryptO'pinion?

The trouble with Zone Warrior is that it's too easy to lose your bearings. The levels are huge, and wandering from "room to room" can be overwhelming. This is also due to the indistinct visuals, so each area begins to feel repetitive. Thankfully, our zone warrior can collect map pieces to help prevent him from getting lost, but I thought it was poorly implemented. Yes, I lost my bearings... a lot... and that spoiled my fun.

With a little more variation in the graphics, to help distinguish between the locations, this would have knocked the spots of other platform shooters. This is a great game with interesting mechanics and incredibly responsive joystick controls. It might whiff of Turrican, but I have really enjoyed being a Zone Warrior!!

Yep, Zone Warrior is a fantastic shooter and comes highly recommended by yours truly. Play it!!

 Update: we now have a hard drive installable game thanks to Peter @8BitChip.

 Stonish has the floppy disk download thanks to the Fuzion #80 disk :-)

  

Venus The Flytrap

Gremlin's 30+ year-old prediction!

Planet Earth is dying because mankind breeds like bacteria and rapes its natural resources to serve our gluttony. Well, some rubbish like that... But, for this game, the overuse of pesticides has finally killed off all the bugs and left Mother Nature unbalanced, but we have created cybernetic bugs to compensate for our stupidity. Of course, it wasn't long before they went postal, so we must eliminate them all before it's too late!

This is a run-and-kill 'em platformer spread over fifty levels, ranging from the green forests to Death Valley. You're a mechanical bug with a cannon to fight off the foes - that can be upgraded using the power-ups left behind by the crazy insects. These consist of a wide range of improvements like better firepower, silly reversible controls, and even antigrav upside-down walking being possible, which serves to give me brain ache! Bonus rounds appear each way through a level and flip the game into an exciting shoot 'em up for extra points.

Controls are bang-on perfect with a style that is clean & responsive. The graphics are darn beautiful with smooth scrolling and nicely animated sprites, plus it's worth noting all those many extra colours which spruce up what would normally have been a boring background. The music is perfect, something I can listen to all day.

Venus The Flytrap is extremely enjoyable and highly recommended. A great game!

• I also recorded a midi version of the game's excellent theme tune.
• An awesome remastered tune by ACC:Xess which completely blows you away!
• Okay, here is a hard drive installable copy of Venus by the mighty D-Bug to download.
• Those who require a floppy disk image should check out Old Games Finder.
• Fancy some level codes? Of course, you do! Simply press the SPACEBAR on the menu screen and then ignore using that handy keyboard because they decided that the joystick would be far better for entering these codes:

     -> The Forbidden Forest...starting level
     -> The Frozen Wastes......MANTIDS
     -> The Dead City..........CICADAS
     -> Wood World.............PSYLLIDS
     -> The Kaverns............PIERIDS
     -> Death Valley...........SATYRID
     -> The Creeping Swamp.....LYCAENID
     -> Tech World.............PYRALID
     -> Translucent Plain......NOCTUID

     -> The Stygian Creek......?

• I believe these cheat codes work fine, however, I have never tried them so YMMV... enjoy:

     -> extra time.............JUPITER
     -> extra ammo.............PLUTO
     -> weapons galore.........MARS
     -> fly like superman......MERCURY

     -> unknown................SATURN

Well 'Ard

Wanna be a thug?

Well, today is your lucky day because we are a fierce-looking dude who loves to jump on all kinds of nasties. This violent act kills and splatters the baddies, and they fall off the screen dead. Sound familiar?

Released in 1994 by Cybernation Software, the game was developed by Simon Scott and is a platformer created in GFA Basic. Well Ard is a cracking game, and to think it was developed in GFA Basic is incredible. Earlier levels are easy, but it certainly becomes challenging later on - some of those jumps are insanely tricky!

The scrolling is smooth, with fast action and large sprites - I love the snowman. Controls are accurate and responsive, with tight jumps on interesting levels. Strangely, there are no optional methods to kill enemies - no weapons. Instead, reap violence by leaping and using our red booties. It's weird, but who cares?

This is one of the most enjoyable platformers I've played in a long time. Addictive gameplay that has you coming back, so put on your red boots and play it. Downloads can be found for floppy or hard disk.

Here are some more screenshots to whet your appetite...

Look at those teeth. This guy is a beast, so don't mess with him!!

Jump up and down until they're all dead - not violent at all. Honest.

Well 'Ard features some odd critters, but don't waste time looking - squash them.