Trailblazer (video game)

Trailblazer

Commodore 64/128 cover art
Developer(s) Mr Chip Software
Publisher(s) Gremlin Graphics (original versions)
Mindscape, Inc.
Gizmondo Games (Gizmondo version)
Designer(s) Shaun Hollingworth, Peter M. Harrap, Chris Kerry
Platform(s) Atari 8-bit, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 16/Commodore Plus/4, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Gizmondo, MSX, ZX Spectrum
Release date(s) 1986 (original versions)
October 2, 2005 (Gizmondo version)
Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Single player
A jumping field has been hit

Trailblazer is a video game that requires the player to direct a ball along a series of suspended passages. Released originally by Gremlin Graphics for the Commodore 16/Commodore Plus/4, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit and Amstrad CPC in 1986 (there was also an enhanced version on Amstrad CPC 3" disc) it was subsequently ported in its original form to the Amiga and Atari ST.

It returned again in 2005 on the Gizmondo handheld games console.[1]

The game can be played either in time trial or arcade mode. The music in the background matches the gameplay with its electronica genre. Races are quite brief and usually last between 15 and 45 seconds. Special fields on the track let the ball jump, slow down, speed up or warp speed the ball, invert the controls or are holes.

Reception

The game was reviewed in 1990 in Dragon #158 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column, as part of the Mastertronic MEGA Pack of 10 games previously released in Europe. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars, stating "Our favorite on this disk; racing on Cosmic Causeway roads against the clock or against a robot. This one was really fun".[2]

Zzap!64's reviewers also enjoyed the game which they thought was "an excellent variation on the race game theme". The overall rating given was 93%.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Retro Gamer, issue 76. The making of Trailblazer (pages 86-89).
  2. ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (June 1990). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (158): 47–54.
  3. ↑ http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=020&page=173&magazine=zzap


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