Let's get medieval
Ubi Soft's Sir Fred (aka Fred) was released in 1989 and is a platform/beat 'em up. It was programmed by Tuan Do Cao and Philippe Villain and I feel they were inspired by many older games I played back in my Spectrum days.
Our adventure begins with a fantastic intro animation depicting our fearless knight tragically zapped into a midget by an angry dwarf. Shocked by this, he shakes his fists at his foe but, they cannot help themselves and burst out laughing. Then, adding salt to Fred's wounds is a little gnome who completes Fred's ridicule. What a brilliant opening intro!!
That's the basis of the game, we need to heal our wounds. Wanna see some screenshots? I know you do...
Now come on, who would have ever expected rude gnomes to be our enemy?
Hang on, these are armed. They might be little but they're evil little b4s@£@s!
A garden centre platformer?
Beginning our life as a miniature warrior, we first explore the spooky forest to battle those cute garden gnomes. Other beasts lurk in the woods and castle grounds - skeletons, snakes, headless axemen, and ghosts. Everything wants you dead! So kill them with your arrows - these will even reach the baddies off-screen, which is kinda cool.
Fred is a nimble chap with the ability to walk, leap and roll his way through his quest. However, these controls often got me into trouble: turning around reminded me of Black Lamp feeling laborious and lethargic. This cumbersome method of turning around spoils the action somewhat because our ability to react is hampered by that speed.
The graphics are interesting beyond their looks, using a multi-layer arrangement. This effect is used to climb steps and bypass obstacles like rocks or trees, representing a 3D feel. At first, this will feel weird when you are too high/low (behind/in front of objects). It's a good idea but awkward in battles because both parties need to be on the same level.
Energy levels are indicated by three apples and, once they're gone, you're dead as a dodo. These don't last long but, your death produces a hilarious effect as our hero drops his sword in agony. This is just one more aspect of the visuals that is brilliant. There are lots of new and cool ideas in Fred, I just think some weren't needed for this game?
What was it with developers, didn't they play their own games? I know one thing, it's screenshot time...
I absolutely love the details and the murky palette which is perfect for the creepy scenario.
Check out that headless axeman and the gnome's facial details are astounding.
Aesthetics
Jean-Marc Torroella and Jerome Guerry should be forever proud of what they created. This is one of the best-looking games for the Atari ST using unique and colour landscapes with stunning attention to detail. The palette is eerie as it is comical with the cute sprites. The characters are animated perfectly, even the rude ones who stick out their tongues!!
The audio is (almost) as good as the visuals with a crunchy sampled tune playing on the title screen and intro. Charles Callet did great but, I'm more of a chiptune guy. In-game sound effects are sampled and I love these. From the firing of arrows, and clanging of swords to the silly screams of your enemies. Hardly high in quality but very enjoyable.
We've just enough time left to see a couple more screenshots. Keep on scrolling...
Those darn gnomes are a pest even the rude ones lol
Oh no, is that a skeleton or a zombie? Whatever it is, I should run away!
The CryptO'pinion?
Fred is a good game but it's too difficult thanks to the fudgy controls that needed to be quicker. Also, I feel more checkpoints were required to prevent restarting from the beginning. That is so annoying. Don't get me wrong, this is a good game but it looks better than it is. Am I right? Let me know in the comments below what you guys think.
Grab a sword and boot this up on floppy disk or for your hard drive.
