Commodore Free 36

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u ************************************* Wild Bunch Review By Commodore Free ************************************* THE WILD BUNCH PROJECT - THE C64 CONVERSION http://www.gamesplaygames.co.uk/ thewildbunch/ Versions available Tape / Disk / Digital download from www.binaryzone.org Tape version http://www.binaryzone.org/retrostore/ index.php?main_page=product_info& products_id=509 Disk version http://www.binaryzone.org/retrostore/ index.php?main_page=product_info& products_id=507 History The Wild bunch Computer game was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984 and then 1 year later in 1985 it was released for the Amstrad CPC By Firebird Software. The game is not based on the 1969 film of the same name but allegedly on the Wild Bunch gang who were around in the 1980's Jon Wells acquired a Commodore 64 sometime in 1987 and set about a version for the Commodore 64. Sadly although the Commodore 64 version is said to be around 80% completed some time in 1988-1991 Jon Wells at the time didn't know anything about machine code (the whole game was written for all platforms in basic) Jon wanted to exploit the Commodore 64 with interrupt driven music and sound effects, but somehow the project was put on hold. As Reported in earlier versions of Commodore Free Jon began work again on the Commodore 64 version, after being pestered by Frank Gaskin of Games that Weren't fame. Gameplay The Wild bunch is a text based adventure style game with the use of some limited graphics and sound, the Commodore 64 version also contains music! You (the player) find a dying man who had been attacked by a member of The wild Bunch Before the man dies he describes his attacker to you. Then he gives you his colt 45 just as the sheriff arrives. You are assumed to be the murder of the victim and the sheriff tries to arrest you. The object of the game is to prove you are innocent by trying to trace the real murderer and taking him to the sheriff's office to clear your name. While trying to track the Murderer you can also arrest and take into the sheriff other members of the Wild Bunch Gang. The descriptions of the other gang members are hanging on the sheriffs office wall as wanted posters. The games score system is based on the money you earn from arresting members of the wild bunch and "handing them into the law" You can also visit the local saloons where you can gamble to gain extra money, enabling you to purchase supplies. The salons are also good for renewing your energy by purchasing whiskey, but don't drink to much or in a drunken stupor you may be hit on the head by upset customers. While moving between the 5 towns you could also find valuable items like a gold nugget that will be exchanged for money or some water and food to help you on your travels. You need to be careful when moving out in the open though as buffalo and vultures as well as Indians and various none mentionable creatures that attack you on your travels. The game ends when your strength reaches zero, from the fighting or being attacked on the open, be careful to when approaching the mountains as rocks could fall on you zapping away energy. The game is won by successfully tracking and apprehending the real murder which could involve a graphical shoot out, so you need to be quick on the draw. The game starts with the player (you) choosing a town location from one of the 5 displayed on a map each town has a saloon a telegraph office (useful for information about the agent that is chasing you for the sheriff) a sheriffs office and the shop store to purchase supplies, and of course don't forget the salon full of smooth tasking liquor and fast card gambling. The player (you) have to travel between towns looking for the murderer, its quicker if you can buy a horse, otherwise you will have to walk and that takes twice as long, a horse could also out run villains you meet along the way. But remember to take water and food, oh a saddle will be needed or you cant ride the horse and without food and water you both will die. You will of course need a gun and a knife, what about when it gets cold in the mountains you will need a thick coat and maybe a knife. What if you are attacked by a snake, you will probably need some snakebite location. Of course all this can be purchased before your travels in the store, but do you have enough money and or strength to make the journey. You need to also watch out for the sheriffs agents who are looking to capture you for the murder, where will they be could the telegraph office know the agents whereabouts, will this cost money to find out from the telegraph operator. The game has 3 levels of play and once selected you need to give your self a name, do you have what it takes to survive, do you have the guts to take on "the wild bunch" The Game Ok so much for the intro what about the actual game. The cassette version arrived through my door, after being on pre-order for what seemed to be a lifetime. I had never seen another version but of course reading about the potential version for the commodore 64 with enhanced sound and graphics, I had to give it a try and besides they don't call me "Quick draw Mc giver" no-sureeebob, (they usually call me Nigel although some emails have called me other things.) The cassette is professionally printed with an enhanced version on one side and what would have been the original Firebird Release graphics on the other side of the inlay card. A nice touch is that the tape information sticker also had been printed, and on both sides, so far so good. Loading the game we see the enhanced graphics and animation intro for the Commodore version (on the disk version), we see the man being shot and you walking over to assist him, then we see a splash screen. The game starts. Well its sure not going to tax the Commodore graphics capabilities, as the game still looks like its from the 80's. Mostly text and the screen updates seem to be written in basic. However once you start to get into the game you realise this is something special. Ok so its not a graphics masterpiece and we can look over the Sea shanty that plays? The sound is functional nothing more, certainly this could still be any machine producing the sounds and music. You have to look past this, once in the game you are amerced in game play there is so much to do and think about, how many bullets to buy, where is the agent, who is on the sheriffs Wanted poster, will they be in the saloon bar! The game is samey but at the same time different, some randomness exists and its more chance than good card playing with the salon gambling team. The location of characters and the sheriff's officer move with each turn. You could knock the game but as the game play is so good who cares about the graphics or the fact you have to spend 12 days walking in the desert because your horse died from starvation, this is what classic retro gaming is all about. Some bugs still exist in the game, for example don't press the cursor keys as they crash the game with illegal quantity in line XXX this only happens on certain screens and if you are about to enter your name and hit runstop/shift you will be known as LOAD ! /there are one or two other small bugs but don't let this put you off. The pictures in the sheriffs office show the wanted men they are all the same picture with an eye patch or a scar, sometimes its difficult to know what unique features the villains actually have and so how to track them The only real graphical part is the gun shoot out, the rest of the game is really looking at text. Hey I am not putting the game down, there is so much more on offer here from Jon. I am not sure why the bugs weren't removed or why the sheriffs posters weren't re- done for the Commodore version in colour. But this is a great game, if you love adventure and mystery you will like this, try to stop playing the darn thing, I was up for hours trying to get that pesky murderer so grab yer milk and drink yer horse ( Or something like that) lets get this pesky vermin behind bars. Graphics35% Sound 35% Addiction 100% Overall lets give this a 70% COMMODORE FREE Some Game problems/ Features or Bugs (whichever you prefer to call them) in the Commodore 64 version In memory the following ranges need changing, at this moment we are still awaiting a patch for the game 53d9 should be c5 53df should be 30 30 If you play the game in WINICE or Vice you can patch the game manually by doing the following start WinVICE or Vice - press ALT + M for the monitor then enter: 53d9 c - then enter :53df 30 30 - then enter: - press x and press return to go back to the emulator These were emailed to me from Shaun Bebbington writer of the retro feature in Micro Mart magazine =====================================