The Movie Monster Game

Last updated
The Movie Monster Game
MovieMonsterGame.jpg
Developer(s) Epyx
Publisher(s) Epyx
Platform(s) Apple II, Commodore 64
Release
Genre(s) Action
Mode(s) Single-player

The Movie Monster Game is a computer game released by Epyx for the Apple II and Commodore 64 in 1986. The game offers a variety of scenarios, playable monsters, and cities to demolish (complete with famous landmarks, such as Tokyo Tower, Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge, Saint Basil's Cathedral and Big Ben). The monsters are based on popular movie monsters such as The Blob, Mothra, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and the Transformers, and Epyx was able to officially license Godzilla.

Contents

Gameplay

The gameplay is depicted on a movie screen in front of a movie theater crowd simulating an actual monster movie. Each scenario even starts off with an advertisement, (for popcorn and "Gummi Glogs"; in the Apple II version "Godzilla Mouthwash" is also featured), and other attractions, (such as promotions for Epyx's own Summer Games ) before the "Feature Presentation" of the game begins.

The game includes 5 different scenarios for the player to play through: [1]

  1. Berserk. The player must accumulate a certain number of points by destroying as many buildings and vehicles as possible.
  2. Escape. The player must flee the city before being killed by the military.
  3. Search. The player must use the monster to rescue its offspring hidden in a building. Godzilla's son is depicted as Minilla.
  4. Destroy Landmark. The player must destroy a specific landmark within the city such as the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Tokyo Tower in Tokyo, Big Ben in London, etc.
  5. Lunch. The player must satisfy the monster's hunger by eating vehicles and civilians until the monster's hunger meter is depleted.

The monsters are Godzilla , Sphectra (a giant wasp), The Glog (a huge green blob with red eyes), Tarantus (a giant Tarantula), Mr. Meringue (a knock-off of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man), and Mechatron (a knock-off of Topspin from Transformers). [1]

The cities featured in the game are New York City, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Moscow, and Paris. [1]

Reception

In Dragon #114's "The Role of Computers" column, reviewers Hartley and Pattie Lesser stated that "this is a game that is a great deal of fun to play!" [2]

Computer Gaming World said that The Movie Monster Game "gets a little tedious after a while". [3]

Reviews

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Skate or Die!</i> 1987 video game

Skate or Die! is a skateboarding game released by Electronic Arts (EA) in 1987 for the Commodore 64. It is EA's first internally developed game. Ports for the Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum were released the following years. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) by Konami, published under the company's Ultra Games branding.

<i>International Karate</i> 1985 video game

International Karate is a fighting game developed and published by System 3 for the ZX Spectrum in 1985 and ported to various home computers over the following years. In the United States it was published by Epyx in 1986 as World Karate Championship.

<i>Spellbreaker</i> 1985 video game

Spellbreaker is an interactive fiction computer game written by Dave Lebling and published by Infocom in 1985, the third and final game in the "Enchanter Trilogy." It was released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Macintosh, and DOS. Infocom's nineteenth game, Spellbreaker is rated "Expert" difficulty.

<i>Crush, Crumble and Chomp!</i> 1981 video game

Crush, Crumble and Chomp! is a 1981 video game where the player takes control of a movie monster and attacks a major city, such as New York or San Francisco. It was published in 1981 for the TRS-80, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit family. Ports to the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and IBM PC compatibles were released later. Some versions were published under the company's original name of Automated Simulations, while the rest use Epyx.

<i>Nebulus</i> (video game) 1987 video game

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.

<i>Winter Games</i> 1985 video game

Winter Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx, based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games.

<i>Trailblazer</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Trailblazer is a racing video game developed by Mr. Chip Software and published by Gremlin Graphics for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 16/Plus/4 in 1986. It was ported to the Amiga and Atari ST.

<i>Tass Times in Tonetown</i> 1986 video game

Tass Times in Tonetown is an adventure game published by Activision in 1986. It was designed by Michael Berlyn and Muffy McClung Berlyn and programmed by Rebecca Heineman of Interplay in cooperation with Brainwave Creations.

<i>Spindizzy</i> 1986 video game

Spindizzy is an isometric video game released for several 8-bit home computer formats in 1986 by Electric Dreams Software. It combines action and puzzle game elements. Players must navigate a series of screens to explore a landscape suspended in a three-dimensional space. Development was headed by Paul Shirley, who drew inspiration from Ultimate Play the Game games that feature an isometric projection.

<i>Sanxion</i> 1986 video game

Sanxion is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Stavros Fasoulas for the Commodore 64 and published in 1986 by Thalamus Ltd. It was the first game released by Thalamus. A ZX Spectrum port followed in 1989. Fasoulas also wrote Delta and Quedex.

<i>The Last Ninja</i> 1987 video game

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.

<i>World Games</i> (video game) 1986 video game

World Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx for the Commodore 64 in 1986. Versions for the Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Master System and other contemporary systems were also released. The NES version was released by Milton Bradley, and ported by Software Creations on behalf of producer Rare.

<i>Moebius: The Orb of Celestial Harmony</i> 1985 video game

Moebius: The Orb of Celestial Harmony is a video game produced by Origin Systems and designed by Greg Malone. It was originally released in 1985 for the Apple II. Versions were also released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Macintosh, and MS-DOS. The game is primarily a top-down view tile-based role-playing video game, but it has action-based combat sequences which use a side view, roughly similar to games such as Karateka.

<i>Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes Back</i> 1985 video game

Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes Back is a 1985 video game for the Commodore 64, a sequel to Beach Head, developed and published by Access Software. It was designed by Bruce Carver and his brother, Roger, and was released for the Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Street Sports Basketball</i> 1987 video game

Street Sports Basketball is a 1987 computer basketball game for the IBM PC, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Apple II, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. It was developed by Epyx and published by U.S. Gold.

<i>GBA Championship Basketball: Two-on-Two</i> 1986 video game

GBA Championship Basketball: Two-on-Two is a 1986 computer basketball game for the PC, Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. It was developed by Dynamix and published by Activision.

<i>Temple of Apshai Trilogy</i> 1985 video game collection

Temple of Apshai Trilogy is a remake of three games from the Dunjonquest series, Temple of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Curse of Ra.

<i>On-Court Tennis</i> 1984 video game

On-Court Tennis is a computer game developed by Activision's Gamestar division and published in 1984 for the Commodore 64.

<i>Boulder Dash Construction Kit</i> 1986 video game

Boulder Dash Construction Kit is the fourth game in the Boulder Dash series. It published for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family in 1986 by Epyx. Ports were released for the Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and MS-DOS. The Spectrum version was rereleased as Boulder Dash IV: The Game. Boulder Dash Construction Kit includes new levels and a level editor.

<i>Hot Wheels</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Hot Wheels is a racing video game developed by A. Eddy Goldfarb & Associates, and published by Epyx for the Commodore 64. The game was unveiled in June 1984, at Chicago's Summer Consumer Electronics Show, and was released later that year. Hot Wheels is the first video game to be based on the Hot Wheels toyline, and was marketed by Epyx as part of their Computer Activity Toys series, consisting of video games based on popular toylines.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Commodore 64 version manual. Epyx. 1984 – via archive.org.
  2. ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Pattie (October 1986). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (114): 72–76.
  3. ↑ Ardai, Charles (April 1987). "Titans of the Computer Gaming World / Part 1 of V: Ardai on Epyx". Computer Gaming World. p. 12.
  4. ↑ "Zzap! 64 Issue 020 (HQ)".
  5. ↑ "Kultpower.de - die Powerplay und ASM Fan Site".
  6. ↑ "Commodore User Magazine Issue 39". December 1986.
  7. ↑ "Computer Gamer - Issue 22 (1987-01) (Argus Press) (GB)". January 1987.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.