Trailblazer (video game)
| Trailblazer | |
|---|---|
 Commodore 64/128 cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Mr. Chip |
| Publisher(s) | Gremlin Graphics Mindscape Gizmondo |
| Designer(s) | Shaun Hollingworth, Peter M. Harrap, Chris Kerry |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit, Amstrad CPC, C64, Amiga, Atari ST, Gizmondo, PlayStation Portable, PS Vita, PS3, PlayStation TV, MSX, ZX Spectrum, C16 and plus/4 |
| Release | 1986 (original) October 2, 2005 (Gizmondo) 2011 (Sony PS Mini) |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
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 ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family, Amstrad CPC and C16/plus/4 in 1986 (there was also an enhanced version on Amstrad CPC 3" disc). It was ported to the Amiga and Atari ST.
In 2005 a port to the Gizmondo handheld games console was released,[1] and it was also adapted in 2011 for the PS3, PlayStation Portable, PS Vita and PlayStation TV as part of the Playstation Mini series.
Gameplay
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 (blue), slow down (red), speed up (green) or warp speed the ball (white), invert the controls (cyan/light blue), bounce it backwards (purple) or are holes (black).
In the Sony console versions, the player controls an armoured wheel rather than a ball.
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%, qualifying the C64 version for the magazine's Sizzler award.[3]
Steve Panak, reviewing the Atari 8-bit version for ANALOG Computing, concluded "the game is the most original arcade action wristbuster to come down the pike in a long time, and one of the best two-player competition games I've seen."[4]
References
- ^ Retro Gamer, issue 76. The making of Trailblazer (pages 86-89).
- ^ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (June 1990). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (158): 47–54.
- ^ Trailblazer review in Zzap! issue 20, dec. 1986, pp. 172-173, ISSN 0954-867X here
- ^ Panak, Steve (April 1988). "Panak Strikes". ANALOG Computing (59): 55.
External links
- Trailblazer Hands-On at GameSpot
- Trailblazer at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
- Trailblazer at Lemon 64
- Trailblazer on thelegacy.de
- Trailblazer game on M-Fórum