The Great Escape (Ocean Software, 1986)

Designed and written for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum by John Heap.

Amstrad CPC version by James Software Ltd.

Commodore 64 version by Denton Designs:
Programming by Trevor Inns; Graphics by Trevor Inns and Steve Wahid.

All the above versions released in Europe by Ocean Software in 1986, and the C64 version released in North America by Thunder Mountain in 1986. Also released as "Escape" in Germany.

Enterprise 128 version also released by Ocean Software in 1986, but no details are known.

IBM-PC conversion by Malcolm J. Herd for Denton Designs, and published by Ocean and Thunder Mountain in 1987.

Unofficial Atari 400/800 conversion based on the C64 release written and released to
public domain in 2015.
Programming by Mariusz Wojcieszek
Loading screen and graphics by José Pereira
Title screen by Filippo Santellocco
Music by Marek Pešout
Sound effects by Bartlomiej Wieczorkowski

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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS

In further attempt at bringing more balance out of the C64 reign on this blog, I decided to take a deeper look at The Great Escape, which was among the first games I ever had for my own C64. Because at the time, I was disappointed in the game being black-and-white, slow and almost soundless, I never really got to enjoy the game for what it does offer. Later on, I have become to appreciate the design choices, but I have yet to fully understand what makes The Great Escape tick. So, this is also an attempt at finally getting my head around and into the game that is considered a classic by many.

Mr. Wimpy: The Hamburger Game (Ocean Software, 1983)

Acorn BBC Micro version written by Richard Kay.
Sinclair ZX Spectrum version written by Paul Owens.
The BBC Micro and Spectrum versions were published by Ocean in 1983.

Commodore 64 version written by David Selwood.
Tangerine Oric 1/Atmos version written by John Woods.
C64 and Oric versions were published by Ocean in 1984.

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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS

It's time for another Ocean-themed October, and because the previous entry went so badly awry in terms of bringing balance to the blog, I decided to bring in another game from the early 80's with Mr. Wimpy - a game largely based on Data East's classic BurgerTime, acting as a promotional device for the Wimpy fast-food restaurant chain. Whether this might actually bring more balance or not, remains to be seen.