| Spycat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Designer(s) | Peter Scott (as Dylan) |
| Platform(s) | Acorn Electron, BBC Micro |
| Release | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Spycat: An Interactive Exposé of M.I.41⁄2 is an action-adventure game for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, written by Peter Scott (under the pseudonym Dylan) and published by Superior Software in 1988. The game is a parody of the scandal surrounding the Spycatcher book.
Spycat is loosely based on the then current scandal surrounding the release of Spycatcher, the memoirs of former MI5 officer and Assistant Director Peter Wright. The player takes the role of the Spycat, Peter Correct, who has worked for M.I.41⁄2 for fifty years but finds out he is to be forced to retire with a low pension. The player must collect classified research documents (among other items), then flee to Greenland to write his memoirs. Other characters found in the game include Sir Clive Amstrad (an amalgamation of Clive Sinclair and Alan Sugar) as technical expert "Q" and the Prime Minister Margo Thatch (Margaret Thatcher). [1]
The game takes the form of an arcade adventure with the player moving through a series of locations and rooms, collecting and using items to progress. The player must avoid CCTV cameras and "Q"'s electronic devices that will drain Spycat's energy. The actions in the game (e.g. picking up and using items, opening doors) are controlled using an icon panel at the top of the screen.
Author Peter Scott completed the game while still under exclusive contract to Audiogenic. Unhappy with their promotion of his games, he offered Spycat to Superior Software who wanted to publish it. Scott needed to give twelve months notice to get out of the deal with Audiogenic so Spycat (and other games he released in 1988) had to be credited only to the pseudonym Dylan. [2] It became the first of ten full price games Scott created for Superior between 1988 and 1990.
The game was released in 1988 by Superior Software on cassette for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro as well as 5.25" floppy disk for the BBC Micro and 3.5" disk for the Master Compact.
Electron User gave the game an overall score of 7/10 with reviewer Chris Nixon finding the icon control panel "tiresome" and "unwieldy" but this is his "only complaint in an otherwise excellent game". He concludes: "Spycat is an excellent arcade adventure with a strong vein of humour underlying all the action". [3]
Spycat was included on the Play It Again Sam 9 compilation in 1989 and was reissued as part of the Superior / Blue Ribbon budget range in 1990.
Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and utility packages – these included word processor VIEW and the spreadsheet ViewSheet supplied on ROM and cartridge for the BBC Micro/Acorn Electron and included as standard in the BBC Master and Acorn Business Computer.
Exile is a single-player action-adventure video game originally published for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988 by Superior Software and later ported to the Commodore 64, Amiga, CD32 and Atari ST, all published by Audiogenic. The game was designed and programmed by Peter Irvin and Jeremy Smith. It is often cited as one of the earliest examples of a Metroidvania game and featured "realistic gravity, inertia and object mass years before players understood the concept of a physics engine... an astounding level of AI, stealth-based gameplay, a logical ecosystem governing the world's creatures and a teleportation mechanic that feels startlingly like a predecessor to Portal".
Repton is a video game originally developed by 16-year-old Briton Tim Tyler for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron and released by Superior Software in 1985. The game spawned a series of follow up games which were released throughout the 1980s. The series sold around 125,000 copies between 1985 and 1990 with Repton 2 selling 35,000 itself. The games have since been remade for several modern systems, including iRepton for the iPhone / iPod Touch in 2010, and Android Repton 1, Android Repton 2 and Android Repton 3 from 2016 to 2018.
Superior Software Ltd is a video game publisher. It was one of the main publishers for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in the 1980s and early 1990s, and occasionally published software to the Commodore 64, Amiga, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. It currently releases games for Microsoft Windows, iOS and Android, mostly updates of its original games.
Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s by former accountant Bob Simpson. The company was best known as a video game publisher, originally under the name Program Power. It also sold many types of computer hardware and software through its Leeds 'showroom' or via mail order.
Ricochet is an action-adventure game for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron home computers, published by Superior Software in 1989. It was written by Neil Davidson and David Williams with some graphics work and level design by Nik Weston and Guy Burt.
Blue Ribbon was the budget computer software publishing label of CDS Micro Systems.
Spellbinder is an adventure game, released for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1987.
The Last Ninja is an action-adventure game originally developed and published by System 3 in 1987 for the Commodore 64. It was converted to the Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988, the Apple II series in 1989, the Amiga and Atari ST in 1990, and the Acorn Archimedes in 1991.
Stryker's Run is a video game designed by Chris Roberts and Philip Meller for the BBC Micro and BBC Master which was published by Superior Software in 1986. It was also later converted to the Acorn Electron. It is a 2D side-scrolling action game. It was well received, particularly for its graphics.
Overdrive is a racing game written by Peter Johnson for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro and published in 1984 by Superior Software.
Pipeline is a video game for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, originally published by Superior Software in 1988. It is an overhead view action role-playing game set on a mining platform. It was remade for Microsoft Windows as Pipeline Plus (2004).
Elixir is a video game for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro released in 1987 by Superior Software. It is a platform game in which the player takes the role of a shrunken scientist.
The Micro User was a British specialist magazine catering to users of the BBC Microcomputer series, Acorn Electron, Acorn Archimedes and, to a limited extent, the Cambridge Z88. It had a comprehensive mix of reviews of games, application software, and the latest Acorn computers; type-in programs, a correspondence page offering help with computer problems, and approachable technical articles on programming and the BBC Micro's internals.
Deathstar is multidirectional shooter for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro developed by Peter Johnson and originally published in the UK by Superior Software in 1985. It is a clone of the arcade game Sinistar.
Perplexity is a video game created by Ian Collinson for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro and published by Superior Software in 1990. It is a pseudo 3D maze game with Sokoban-style puzzles.
Galaforce is a fixed shooter video game for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, written by Kevin Edwards and published by Superior Software in 1986. It spawned a sequel, Galaforce 2 (1988), and later, Galaforce Worlds (2003).
Crazee Rider is a motorbike racing video game created by Kevin Edwards and published by Superior Software in 1987. It was released for the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro with an enhanced version for the BBC Master. The game was particularly well received for the Electron as it was the first 3D racing game with corners for that machine.