| Judge Dredd | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Random Access |
| Publisher(s) | Virgin Mastertronic |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Platform, shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Judge Dredd is a 1990 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1990, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.
Judge Dredd is a platform shoot 'em up game played across six levels set in the fictional Mega-City One. Playing as Judge Dredd, the player must stop criminals and face off against enemies at the end of each level, including Orlok and the Dark Judges. The player's weapon is Judge Dredd's Lawgiver gun, which has three types of ammo. The player must be aware of the city's crime rate, which gradually rises as the game progresses. If the crime rate becomes too high, the player loses. The player can ride around on Judge Dredd's Lawmaster bike for faster transportation, although using it will rapidly increase the crime rate, and the player cannot use weapons while riding it. Killing civilians also increases the crime rate. A bonus subgame is played after completing each level. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
In 1989, Virgin Mastertronic acquired the licence to publish a video game based on the Judge Dredd character. The game was developed by Random Access, the programming team for The Sales Curve. [7] [8] Simon Pick was the project manager. Pick had finished work on the Commodore 64 (C64) version of Shinobi , and he "had the vague idea that we'd just make a similar game, but styled to the Dredd universe. That seemed like a good idea until someone noted that Judge Dredd never jumped, at which point we should have given up on the idea of making it a platform game." The development team proceeded with the idea and created mockups, but was unable to make them work in the game because of technical reasons. Ultimately, the team implemented orthographic projection designs into the game. [9] Judge Dredd was released in Europe in 1990, for Amiga, Atari ST, C64, and ZX Spectrum. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] A version was also created for the Amstrad CPC. [15] Reviews were published for the ZX Spectrum and CPC versions, but both were once believed to be unreleased. A copy of the ZX Spectrum version eventually surfaced on eBay in the mid 2010s. [9]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Crash | 78% (ZX Spectrum) [3] |
| Computer and Video Games | 54% (ZX Spectrum) [2] 55% (Atari ST) [2] |
| Sinclair User | 63% (ZX Spectrum) [10] |
| Your Sinclair | 74/100 (ZX Spectrum) [4] |
| Zzap!64 | 37% (Amiga) [5] 53% (C64) [5] |
| Amiga Joker | 57% (Amiga) [11] |
| Amiga Power |   (Amiga) [16] |
| Commodore Format | 56% (C64) [1] |
| CU Amiga | 66% (Amiga) [17] |
| Micro Hobby | 51% (ZX Spectrum) [14] |
| ST Format | 41% (Atari ST) [6] |
| Zero | 78% (Amiga) [12] |
Judge Dredd received average reviews. [18] The gameplay was particularly criticized for being repetitive. [5] [17] [12] [4] [3] [19] Commodore Format called the gameplay "atrocious" and stated that it suffered from "gross unplayability," writing that the crime rate "accelerates too rapidly." [1] CU Amiga considered the gameplay dull and wrote that the crime rate indicator "seems to have a mind of its own and doesn't follow any particular pattern." [17] Reviewers for Zzap!64 were critical of the crime rate difficulty on the Amiga version, but they found the C64 version to be easier. [5] ACE was also critical of the gameplay, but wrote that the game, "Does a reasonable job of capturing some of the graphic humour" of the comic series. [20] Your Sinclair called it a "nice attempt to capture the flavour of the character." [4] CU Amiga wrote that the game failed to capture the feel and action of the comic books. [17]
Robert Swan of Computer and Video Games considered it an improvement over an earlier Judge Dredd game, [2] while CU Amiga considered both games substandard. [17] Amiga Power considered it to be, "Another Judge Dredd game screwed up totally." [16] Crash stated that it was better than the previous Judge Dredd game. [3] Garth Sumpter of Sinclair User wrote that the game "may not set any new standards for graphics, sound or gameplay, but it's full of authentic Dreddian detail which should appeal to fans." [10] Swan stated that the game was "full of glaring inaccuracies", such as the lack of weapons on the Lawmaster bike "which will leave any Dredd fans disappointed." [2]
Zzap!64 criticized the graphics of the Amiga version but praised them on the C64. [5] Commodore Format and Zero respectively praised the graphics of the C64 and Amiga versions. [1] [12] Other reviewers were critical of the graphics featured in the Atari ST and ZX Spectrum versions. [2] [6] [4] Andy Hutchinson of ST Format wrote that the game visually "fails because it doesn't make enough of the cartoon style," describing Judge Dredd's animation as "very average" and stating that he "sometimes looks as if he's moonwalking". Hutchinson, however, praised the "smooth and seamless" scrolling and the "attractive" backgrounds. [6] In a review of the CPC version, John Taylor of Amstrad Computer User praised the graphics and scrolling. [15]
Zzap!64 criticized the music, [5] and Hutchinson was critical of the sound. [6] Zero praised the "neat intro screens and music". [12]
Mercenary is a 3D action-adventure game written for the Atari 8-bit family and published by Novagen Software in 1985. It was converted to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga and Commodore 16/116/Plus/4 platforms. The game uses vector graphics renderings of vast, sparse environments and has open-ended gameplay. It was also released as Mercenary: Escape from Targ and Mercenary: A Flight Simulator Adventure.
Stunt Car Racer is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond. It was published in 1989 by MicroProse, under their MicroStyle and MicroPlay labels in the United Kingdom and in the United States, respectively. The game pits two racers on an elevated track on which they race in a head-to-head competition, with ramps they must correctly drive off as the main obstacle.
Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.
Rick Dangerous 2 is a platform game developed by Core Design for the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. It was released in 1990 and published by Micro Style as a sequel to Rick Dangerous.
RoboCop 2 is a platform shooter video game based on the 1990 film of the same name. The game was released for several platforms, including Amiga, Amstrad GX4000, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, and ZX Spectrum. Ocean Software developed and published several versions, and Data East manufactured an arcade version.
Knightmare is a video game released by Activision in 1987 for ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and Atari ST. It was written by Mev Dinc, J.P. Dean, E.M. Dean and Nick Cooke, and is based on the Anglia Television show Knightmare. Four years later, Mindscape released entirely different game based on the show, also called Knightmare, for the Atari ST and Amiga.
Total Recall is a 1990 platform game developed and published by Ocean Software that was released for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and Nintendo Entertainment System. Total Recall is based on the 1990 film of the same name.
Welltris is a puzzle video game, developed by Doca and licensed to Bullet-Proof Software. It is an official game in the Tetris series. Adaptations were made by Sphere, Inc., for Spectrum HoloByte, and by Infogrames. It was released for MS-DOS compatible operating systems in 1989. Ports for Macintosh, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST followed 1990, then ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 1991.
Short Circuit is a video game based on the 1986 film of the same name. It was developed and published by British company Ocean Software, and was released in Europe in 1987, for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum. It was published again in 1989 as a budget re-release.
Yogi's Great Escape is a 1990 platform game based on the 1987 movie of the same name. It was developed by British studio PAL Developments and published by Hi-Tec Software as a budget game. It was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Atari 8bit and ZX Spectrum.
The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East in the United States. It is loosely based on the animated series of the same name. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Ace is a combat flight simulator video game published for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Amiga, and ZX Spectrum.
Ghostbusters II is a 1989 action game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Activision for various computer platforms. British studio Foursfield developed a version for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, which also got ported to the MSX by New Frontier. It features three levels based on scenes from the film. Dynamix developed a separate version for the DOS, also based on the film. The non-DOS versions were praised for the graphics and audio, but criticized for long loading times, disk swapping, and the final level. The DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga versions were the only versions released in North America.
The Running Man is a 1989 beat 'em up video game based on the 1987 film of the same name. It was developed by Emerald Software and published by Grandslam Entertainments for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 action video game developed by Dementia and published by Ocean Software. It is based on the 1991 film of the same name, and was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, and ZX Spectrum. It is a sequel to The Terminator, itself based on the 1984 film of the same name. The game features several gameplay styles such as driving, fighting, and puzzle-solving.
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.
Tom & Jerry is a 1989 platform game developed and published by German company Magic Bytes. It is the first video game based on the cartoon of the same name, and was released in the United States and Europe, for Amiga, Atari ST, and Commodore 64 computers.
Pink Panther is a 1988 video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by German company Magic Bytes and published by Gremlin Graphics. It was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Pink Panther was criticized for its control and difficulty, although the Amiga and Atari ST versions received praise for their graphics.
Red Heat is a beat 'em up video game based on the 1988 film of the same name. It was developed by British studio Special FX and published by Ocean Software. It was released in Europe in 1989, for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 (C64), and ZX Spectrum.
Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo is a 1991 platform game developed by British studio PAL Developments and published by Hi-Tec. It is part of the Scooby-Doo franchise, and was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game received praise for its graphics.