Cud Lee's Quest

A cuddly platformer?

I remember playing this quirky platformer by Robert Dytmire many years ago. I enjoyed its alternative style as it features some rather "odd" mechanics which are very weird. But stop - wouldn't life be boring if every platformer played as you expected? With that in mind, Cud Lee (geddit?) was originally aimed at a younger audience with interesting child/tutor features by design. But I also think there's something quite charming about this so should appeal to all.

The aim is to fight our way through the hoards of baddies to rescue captured Pixies at the end of each level. It sounds easy but you better watch out for a range of enemies who are happily roaming through the screens. It's like a weird dream and this mechanic I adore. They are literally wandering the screens going about their business - whether you can see them or not. These suckers love to jump and many are really tough and can even fire weapons. It's madness!!

The joystick controls are the first thing that hits you because everything feels very low-grav with super-weird movements. Collecting power-ups is a good idea to increase speed, jumping abilities, weaponry, and extra lives. Keys will unlock doors and some walls can be climbed like Zool because of "strange knobby things". What a weird game.

Yes, it's weird. I say that a lot because, well, it's weird! Let's see the first screenshot...

Gotta love the baddies and their freaky jumps but watch out for the little blue guy's arrows!!

Aesthetics?

Graphically, this is no Hoog or pretty much anything else from the Atari ST's PD library. Backgrounds are a boring black and the environments aren't anything much to write home about. However, it's got a certain charm with the character sprites being the best thing. Plus their numbers are huge and I found that detailed and styled with buckets of humour.

The sound effects are made from a mix of chip with samples. This mash works really well but the 'WORRR' when something dies is quite pathetic. So pathetic that I loved it to bits. Hey, it's a PD game... Come on!

Never has such a weird platformer been played by me! There's that weird word again! It's screenshot time...

Weapons are great and can be powered up to kill these hopping crazies with great efficiency!!

The CryptO'pinion?

Cud Lee's Quest is crudely entertaining and I think that's the point. I am unsure it will appeal to everyone because it's hardly a conventional platformer. What I love is the freedom we're given and the speed at which to explore a strange world. Also, the ability to float (err jump) with such great efficiency through the screens is utterly superb.

Genuinely, one of the silliest and most compelling platformers so why not have yourself a daft hour? Enjoy it!!

Grab the disk image if you're tempted?

Hong Kong Phooey

A story about a mild-mannered janitor

Once again, I've been plodding through my YouTube channel and found another old video, Hi-Tec's Hong Kong Phooey. This is a scrolling beat 'em up that begins with a cool intro based on the 70s cartoon I watched as a kid - this certainly brought a smile to my face!! After Spot releases the unappreciated janitor from the filing cabinet, we begin our adventure searching for Baron Von Bankjob who has just escaped from jail.

Watch out for the thugs wandering back and forth who want to stop us from capturing the villainous Baron. Thankfully, we are an expert in kung fu which is very handy. The joystick controls are superb and we can punch and kick our foe in many different ways: pushing up (whilst walking) performs a killer Van Damme flying manoeuvre. To reach higher platforms requires a bigger jump and that means also hitting the fire button which is a little cumbersome. I'm sure that action could have been thought out better?

And that's about that. Explore the screens looking for folk to hit as we hunt down the Baron. Think Rolling Thunder but a lot better. Okay, for those old enough to remember this fantastic cartoon...

I love the title sequence. It's short 'and sweet but I feel like a kid watching it!

The moves are easy to learn but lots of fun. "Yee-ah that, sucka!" (say this in a Mr T voice!!!)

Hanna-Barbera magic?

The graphics are nice and cartoony with an oldskool style that might not appeal to many looking for something extra or gorgeous 16-bit sex appeal. The scrolling is smooth but it's at the expense of screen size which has been reduced by a largely pointless status panel. Gotta love the crude character sprites and their pathetic animations! Worst of all when we jump - it's more of a float through the air! Totally ludicrous, but who cares?

Musically, there are nice tunes which I love and that are accompanied by sound effects for jumping and so on. Okay, they're just about good enough so it's the background music I enjoyed the most.

All pretty good but not great. Let's not let that stop a couple more screenshots from appearing...

Learning kung fu certainly didn't help this janitor to jump grace. More like floating!

One gets kicked into the air and then Flash Gordon turns up!

The CryptO'pinion?

I remembered making this video recording and feeling lukewarm afterwards, basically because I kept losing my barring so got lost a lot! Perhaps I should have checked out the map first? Anyhow, back then, I wasn't sure if the game captured the heart of the TV show or not. And I must admit, I'm still not exactly sure.

Hong Kong Phooey brings nothing new to the table. However, the Chuck Norris kicks are crudely entertaining, and I enjoyed exploring a technicolour world. If you have a cat called Spot and a cabinet to get changed in, then I suggest you boot it up. It's a good game, but there are better platformers for the Atari ST.

Download the floppy or hard disk version.