| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Soft Option |
| Publisher(s) | Hill MacGibbon |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum |
| Release |
|
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1985 video game developed by British studio Soft Option [1] and published by Hill MacGibbon. It was released in the United Kingdom for the ZX Spectrum. It is loosely based on Roald Dahl's 1964 book of the same name, and consumers had the option of buying the game and book as a set. [2] [3]
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is loosely based on the book of the same name. [3] [4] [5] The game includes four different single-screen games based on characters from the book. A fifth game, an arcade adventure, is also playable. [3] In the first of the four games, the player must guide Augustus Gloop around a maze. In the second game, Violet Beauregarde is being attacked by blueberries and must deflect them into a juicing machine. In the third game, Veruca Salt is being attacked by squirrels after enraging them, and she must leave behind poisoned nuts as a defense, although the poison has a limited lifespan. In the fourth game, Mike Teavee travels across multiple floors trying to collect Wonka Bars, while also avoiding cameras that attack with a shrinking ray. [3] [6] [5] [7]
The arcade adventure takes place in the 43-room chocolate factory. Playing as Charlie, the player must traverse the factory in search of six gold keys, which will allow the player to enter the Great Glass Lift and win the game. [3] [6] [5] The player must complete each of the four games in order to win the arcade adventure. However, the latter game is still playable in practice mode without completing the four others. The golden keys are absent from the arcade adventure game in practice mode, preventing the player from completing it. [3] [6] [5] [8]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Crash | 63% [3] |
| Sinclair User |   [6] |
| Home Computing Weekly | [4] |
| Sinclair Programs | 53% [9] |
| Your Computer | [5] |
| Your Spectrum | 2/5 [7] |
| ZX Computing | [8] |
The graphics were criticized by some reviewers who described them as outdated and flickery. [3] [4] [10] Reviewers for Crash were disappointed with the game. [3] Some critics believed that the game was misleadingly advertised as having four distinct games. Computer Gamer wrote that "when you load side one of the tape, there is only one program on there, not four. So what you are really getting is a single game with four screens." [10] Home Computing Weekly wrote, "The four arcade games on side one of the tape actually load as a single 48K block of code, so what you really get is a single game with four screens and none of them are particularly interesting". [4]
Computer Gamer found each of the four games boring. [10] ZX Computing stated that the four games "are all reasonable and provide good though not very sophisticated entertainment. They are quite difficult to master". [8] Sinclair Programs wrote that the games were difficult, held no long term appeal, and failed to capture "the anarchic humour of the book." [9] Home Computing Weekly wrote that the arcade adventure "is somewhat better, though that's not really saying much." [4] Critics compared the arcade adventure portion to Jet Set Willy , [4] [6] [7] and Manic Miner . [5] [11]
Clare Edgely of Sinclair User wrote that the game "palls after a very short time. However, as the package comprises five games and the book it must represent reasonable value for money." [6] Popular Computing Weekly wrote, "If you think of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, not as anything dramatically wonderful or original, but as five reasonable arcade games for £9.95 it's rather good." [11] Other critics considered the game to be overpriced. [10] [7] Home Computing Weekly concluded, "Even with the four screens on side one taken into account this 'multi-screen adventure' simply does not justify its high cost." [4]
Computer Gamer liked the idea of getting children interested in books through computer games, but opined that the effort was done poorly, stating that the game "just doesn't do justice to the book." [10] Other critics found the game forgettable and recommended the book instead as a superior choice. [4] [7] Robin Candy of Crash later wrote that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "relates only vaguely to the book and film, and the licence is little more than a way to sell an unsatisfying game." [12]
Sabre Wulf is an action-adventure game released by British video game developer Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum home computer in 1984. The player navigates the pith-helmeted Sabreman through a 2D jungle maze while collecting amulet pieces to bypass the guardian at its exit. The player does not receive explicit guidance on how to play and is left to decipher the game's objectives through trial and error. Sabreman moves between the maze's 256 connected screens by touching the border where one screen ends and another begins. Each screen is filled with colourful flora, enemies that spawn at random, and occasional collectibles.
Knight Lore is a 1984 action-adventure game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, and written by company founders Chris and Tim Stamper. The game known for its use of isometric graphics, which it further popularized in video games. In Knight Lore, the player character Sabreman has forty days to collect objects throughout a castle and brew a cure to his werewolf curse. Each castle room is depicted in monochrome on its own screen and consists of blocks to climb, obstacles to avoid, and puzzles to solve.
Underwurlde is a 1984 action-adventure platform video game in the Sabreman series by Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. The player controls the adventurer Sabreman as he jumps between platforms in a castle and its caverns to find an escape past the exit guardians. Underwurlde features about 600 flip screen areas. Unlike other games of its time, Sabreman is not injured when touched by enemies and is instead knocked backwards. Underwurlde is the second game in the series, between Sabre Wulf and Knight Lore, and released alongside the latter for the ZX Spectrum during Christmas in 1984. Another developer, Firebird, ported the game to the Commodore 64 the next year.
Nightshade is an action video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was first released for the ZX Spectrum in 1985, and was then ported to the Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro later that year. It was also ported to the MSX exclusively in Japan in 1986. In the game, the player assumes the role of a knight who sets out to destroy four demons in a plague-infested village.
Crystal Computing, later renamed Design Design, was a British video game developer founded in 1982 by Chris Clarke and Ian Stamp while students at the University of Manchester. Graham Stafford, Neil Mottershead, Simon Brattel and Martin Horsley, joined the company as it expanded. The company's first software release was a compilation of games for the Sinclair ZX81, though it was with the ZX Spectrum that Crystal found its greatest success. A deal with the machine's manufacturer Sinclair to distribute Crystal's Zeus Assembler gave the company sufficient funds for a major marketing campaign for their next product, Halls of the Things, an arcade adventure game that became their most successful title.
Deactivators is a 1986 puzzle video game designed by David Bishop and Chris Palmer, developed by Tigress Marketing and System Software, and published by Ariolasoft's action game imprint Reaktor. The player controls bomb disposal robots known as deactivators and must use them to deactivate bombs planted by terrorists in five research complexes. The concept for the game came from a brainstorming session between Bishop and Palmer; its design and development took five to six months to complete. It was released for the Amstrad CPC 464, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms in October 1986.
Kong Strikes Back! is a 1984 platform video game published by Ocean Software in 1984 for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. While its predecessor, Kong, is a Donkey Kong clone, Kong Strikes Back! is a clone of Mr. Do's Wild Ride with Donkey Kong-inspired graphics.
Bruce Lee is a platform game written by Ron J. Fortier for the Atari 8-bit family and published in 1984 by Datasoft. The graphics are by Kelly Day and music by John A. Fitzpatrick. The player takes the role of Bruce Lee, while a second player controls either Yamo or alternates with player one for control of Bruce Lee.
Cobra is a 1986 platform game based on the film of the same name. It was developed and published by Ocean Software, and was released in Europe for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum. By 1990, it received a budget re-release.
The Dukes of Hazzard is a 1984 racing video game developed and published by Coleco for their ColecoVision game console and Coleco Adam computer. Elite Systems released a different game with the same title for the ZX Spectrum computer on February 23, 1985. Both versions are based on the television series of the same name.
Daley Thompson's Decathlon is an Olympic-themed sports video game developed and released by Ocean Software in 1984. It was released in the wake of Daley Thompson's popularity following his gold medals in the decathlon at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games. The game is based on the gameplay format established by 1983 arcade game Track & Field.
Dragontorc is an action-adventure game developed by Steve Turner's Graftgold and released for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It is a sequel to 1984's Avalon The 3D Adventure Movie. The hero of Avalon, Maroc the Mage, returns to defeat an evil witch and save Britain. The game was very well received by critics.
Heartland is a platform game for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Commodore 64 released by Odin Computer Graphics in 1986.
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is an arcade adventure video game released by Crystal Computing in 1984 for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computer. It is loosely based on the adventure gamebook of the same name written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and published by Puffin Books in 1982.
Moonlight Madness is a video game for the ZX Spectrum home computer, published in 1986 by Bubble Bus Software. It is an arcade adventure game in which players control a boy scout. The object of the game is to unlock a safe within a mansion to obtain pills for the mansion's owner, a mad scientist, who has collapsed. This requires the player to traverse the mansion's rooms while avoiding hazards such as dangerous house servants and fatal falls.
Top Gun is a 1986 combat flight simulation game based on the film of the same name. It was developed and published by British company Ocean Software, and was released for several computer platforms. In the United Kingdom, it was released for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum in December 1986. The following year, it was released for Atari ST. In the United States, it was published by Thunder Mountain. In 1989, it was published by The Hit Squad as a budget re-release for ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.
Judge Dredd is a platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Beam Software and published by Melbourne House. It was released in Europe in 1986, for Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.
Knight Rider is a 1986 video game based on the series of the same name. It was developed and published by Ocean Software, and was released in Europe for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Yogi Bear is a 1987 arcade adventure video game developed by British studio Dalali and published by Piranha Software. It was released in Europe for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum. In the game, Yogi Bear sets out to rescue Boo-Boo after he is captured by a hunter. Yogi Bear received praise for its graphics, but criticism for its controls.
Yes, Prime Minister is a 1987 adventure game based on the television series of the same name. It was developed by Oxford Digital Enterprises and published by Mosaic Publishing. It was released in Europe for Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found it a faithful adaptation of the television series, but remarked on its high price, short length, and lack of long-term appeal.
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