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This review
will probably be the nostalgia trip of a lifetime for those
of you who (like myself) happened to own a Commodore 64
back in the 80s. For anyone who needs reminding, the C64
was the brown(ish) chunky looking computer that followed
hot on the heals of other legendary mean machines like the
old Atari and the Colecovision.
One
of the good things about the C64 was the fact that there
was a MASSIVE supply of games available for the thing.
We're talking games of every genre you could possibly
think of! And if you happened to be a martial arts fan
AND the proud owner of a C64, you were made! There were
more martial arts games available for the C64 than there
are available for today's Xbox, Gamecube and Playstation
COMBINED!!!
"Bruce Lee" was one of the more early releases
for the C64 and is fondly remembered by many as being
one of the original and best platform games of all time.
One of my happiest childhood memories is staying off
school with a flu and playing Bruce Lee all day long!
Now,
(at last!!!) a computer guru by the name of Mark Rosten
has produced a virtually identical remake of the classic
game that can be played on a modern PC.
In the game your goal, as Bruce Lee, is simply to collect
as many lanterns as you possibly can and therefore progress
through the various scenes as you do so. In order to
collect the lanterns you must leap across platforms,
avoid deadly spikes, steer clear of electrical impulses
(which travel across the floor), climb up errrr…
things, dodge strange flying lobsters(?!) and generally
run around like a madman! But
just in case you think that sounds easy, THANK AGAIN-
for in this game lurks 2 immortal bad guys, both of
whom are intent on chasing and generally harassing you
everywhere you go! |
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One of
the baddies is a ninja whose very appearance strikes
fear into the heart of all who cross his path... 
He appears to only have one move which is to prod
you with his tiny little sword. He is also admittedly
a tiny bit disadvantaged in the sense that he cannot
climb or jump. So, the next time you're being assaulted
by a ninja, it seems the best defence is to simply
climb one or two rungs of a ladder (or other climbable
object) and you'll be safely out of harm's way! But
beware(!)- for when you kill this ninja (3 punches
or 2 kicks will do the trick), his body simply vanishes
and after 10 seconds or so he reappears!
The
other baddie is even more terrifying than the ninja.
He is the deadly "Yamo"... 
Yamo is a somewhat overweight green guy who, like
the ninja, seems obsessed with the idea of chasing
you around and doing everything he can to stop you
from getting your hands on those precious lanterns.
Like the ninja, he also has one or two weaknesses.
For one thing, he doesn't appear to be able to duck
or even bend down (probably cos he's so fat!). This
means that when you are being assaulted by Yamo- all
you have to do is simply lie down on the ground beside
him and laugh with glee as his punches travel harmlessly
over your head!
But for
all his faults, Yamo has one or two minor advantages
over his ninja friend. For one thing he has not one
but two moves- a punch and a kick. The other
advantage he has over his ninja friend is that he
can take more of a beating (for example, you only
need to kick the ninja twice to kill him, but to kill
Yamo you need to kick him 3 times).
Together
these two form what must be considered the Commodore
64's answer to Laurel and Hardy. The list of cock-ups
that the they get involved in is ridiculous! They
are constantly and repeatedly falling into electric
fields, getting trapped in nooks and crannies, running
into explosions and of course the old chestnut of
them all- the platform gag (where one guy jumps off
a platform then stands around doing nothing until
eventually the other guy jumps off the same platform
and crushes him!)
But let's not forget
our hero of the moment, Bruce Lee... 
The original
makers of this game felt that Bruce needed more of
a macho image for this particular venture, so as you
can see, they gave him a pair of black gloves to match
his black trousers. As we all know, the real Bruce
Lee was obsessed with idea of stripping down what
was not essential in field of martial arts and creating
a fighting method that was both efficient and direct.
The developers of Bruce Lee- the game, took this concept
to the extreme by limiting Bruce Lee to having merely
two moves at his disposal. Like Yamo, Bruce is only
capable of doing flying kicks and a straight punches.
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| Playing
this game recently (for the first time in about 15 years!)
I suddenly noticed that there was another deep and meaningful
thing going on (that until now I had never been aware
of). Believe it or not, it is possible to complete the
entire game without ever throwing a single move or getting
involved in one fight!!! It's quite easy really- all
you have to do is simply avoid the two villains as much
as possible and if you ever find yourself standing within
their striking range, you simply duck, climb a ladder
or run past them. Thanks to this game, I feel as though
I finally understand what Bruce Lee meant when he spoke
about "the art of fighting without fighting". |
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Anyone who is
revisiting the Bruce Lee game after a long absence will
be shocked at how Lego-like the graphics are. On the other
hand, people who decide to check out the game for the very
first time will undoubtedly be left in a state of bewilderment
as they try to figure out:
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and
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A-
What has this game got to do with Bruce Lee?
B- Where does Bruce store all those lanterns?
C- Why is he so obsessed with collecting lanterns in
the first place?
D- How on Earth could anyone become addicted to this??? |
But whatever
you may think, it cannot be denied that there is a certain
magic about Bruce Lee- the game. And it's a magic that today's
game developers seem to have forgotten all about.
Some would argue
that the beauty of this game is the smooth game play. Others
would argue that it's the game's sheer simplicity that makes
it so magical. My own interpretation would be to say that
the factor which really makes this game special is the scenery.
The scenery in this game is bizarre. The backdrops on each
of the different levels range from being predominantly grey
to being vibrant colourful, psychedelic explorations into
an uncharted realm of insanity. There are strange looking
objects everywhere! Sometimes you can look on a wall and
see something that resembles a Yin Yang symbol. Other times
you can be glancing at something else that looks a bit like
a Christmas tree, but a closer look reveals it's a strange
looking... errrrr... "thing" with 4 arms that
doesn't move or do anything! There is also a statue of a
bull which comes to life and starts making strange noises
as it beckons you deeper into the depths of this strange
and forbidding universe! Even on the very last scene, when
you eventually win and enter the room of treasure, you inevitably
find yourself looking around wondering "what IS this
place????"
Unlike many
C64 games, "Bruce Lee" features no music at all.
This gives the game a slightly eerie atmosphere. If there
was going to be backing music for the game then an
ideal choice would have been to use the Beatles hit "Lucy
in the Sky with Diamonds". Either that or perhaps "Purple
Haze" by Jimi Hendrix- any of those would have been
definite winners.
Bruce Lee for
C64 is a game that demands your respect and attention. Sure,
there are some among us who will laugh when they see the
poor graphics. There are some who will feel let down at
the lack of martial arts content. But whatever category
you may fall into, the overwhelming chances are that if
try this game out (even just once!), then you will not be
able to live in peace again until you have completed it
in its entirety!
But you may be wondering, "Just how close to the
original classic is Mark Rosten's new remake?"
Well, from the word "go" I would say the remake
gets a definite thumbs up. For one thing, it works! You
do not need to be a computer geek to get this game working-
you simply download the thing and a couple of clicks later
you'll be ready for action! It's also a surprizingly small
file size and should you choose to download it, you'll be
up and running within a few minutes. The other great piece
of news is that you don't need any other emulation software
in order for the game to work. This is a major plus!
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Mark Rosten's website he outlines a very rough description
of how he made the game. His talk of "grabbing"
graphics and such like all seemed rather crude and I
must confess that I had low expectations when I first
installed the thing. That was a week ago and since then
I have being playing the game constantly. Even now,
I find it virtually impossible to tell the difference
between this and the old C64 original! The handling
is perfect, the graphics are spot on, the characters
behave just the same and the sounds are also perfectly
cloned and well balanced. |
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I have been
trying really hard to spot differences between this and
the original since I got it. Mark tells us of one difference
on his website which is that Yamo now has the ability to
climb and jump. But make no mistake, this is a definite
improvement- not a flaw! On his website, Mark also hints
that there are one or two other minor things and this morning,
(after 7 long days!) I think I finally spotted one very
subtle difference (to do with the ninja), but it was so
minor that I'm not sure if it's even worth mentioning. Bare
in mind, I am a person who spent literally years
playing Bruce Lee and I still feel as though I know the
original C64 version inside out.
So, to the designer I would like to extend a warm thank
you for reminding me of the reason why I spent most of my
childhood stuck indoors. And yes... it was worth it!
Gaming
Legends of Yesteryear...
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First
came the Atari
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...then
the Colecovision
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...and
finally, the awesome C64!
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Special
thanks go to Mark Rosten for giving us permission to use
material from his website!
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