Homebrew of the Month: Climber 5

Climber 5

Developer:  Dennis Debro

Available:  https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=261

The turn of the century truly was the Golden Age of 2600 Homebrewing.  All of the big names were active and working to break all the conceptions of what could be done on the VCS.  This was the era of Thomas Jentzsch, Andrew Davie, Manuel Rotschkar, Peiro Cavina, Paul Slocum, and Dennis Debro.  Those other guys, I have no doubt you’ve heard of.  The list of incredible games they developed is a who’s-who of amazing homebrews from that era.  Debro, on the other hand, might have snuck past you.  The only game he released, that I am aware of, in cartridge form is Climber 5.  However, there is something to be said for doing something once, nailing it, and then moving on to other projects.  And, while a few of those heavy hitters above are still producing mind blowing games for all to enjoy, most of them, including Dennis Debro, aren’t seen much around the community anymore.  And if you play Climber 5, you’ll lament that fact like the rest of us do.

What’s All This Then

In Climber 5, tragedy has struck.  During an otherwise typical baseball game, an overly zealous homerun ball left the park and came to rest atop a suspiciously nearby construction project.  Sadly, for this particular youth baseball program it seems they could only afford the one ball.  Therefore, unless the ball is retrieved, the game will be over.  What’s the logical course of action?  Send the ball boy after it of course!  What could possibly go wrong?  Clearly no grounds for any kind of serious litigation could stem from that decision, right?

That’s where you come in!  Cast in the role of the put-upon ball boy, it is your job to scale the construction site and retrieve the ball.  As if climbing up an in-process building wasn’t chancy enough, this building features moving girders (stood up vertically through some voodoo) and falling objects like hammers and lunchboxes!  Avoid the hazards, make it to the top and the ball is yours.  Take too much time and the ball might roll or fall to another part of the building.  Once you snag the wayward dinger, you’ll find yourself at the bottom of the building with a new ball at the top and faster moving girders.   Looks like it’s going to be a long day!

How’s It Play?

Beautifully.  Dennis Debro is a master at tight programming.  Climber 5 is finely tuned and plays very smoothly.  Collision detection is sharp, character movement is fluid and obstacle movement is consistent and challenging.  Best of all Climber 5 feels like a game that could have come out in 1980, so it's right at home on the VCS.  As with the best video games out there, the gameplay is simple:  scale the building, avoid the obstacles, collect power-ups and reach the goal.  It’s a formula that is tried and true and when executed properly, as with this game, it’s sheer magnificence.  Climber 5 also features 3 game variations to provide different challenges.  The “Original” variation is basically a direct port of the Atari 8-bit game that inspired this version.  Ladders are static and the girders move in one direction.  The “Normal” variation introduces variable ladder placement and random girder movement.  You also get a timer and the ball moves if not retrieved quickly enough.  The “Advanced” variation adds in dropping items; some award bonus points, others cost you a life.  For my money, the “Advanced” game is where it is at.  “Original” is great if you really want a challenge.  It’s way harder than you think it is going to be.  But the VCS version of Climber 5 surpasses it’s 8-bit predecessor with all of the new features in the “Advanced” game.

Climber 5 is extremely well balanced.  The base goal of getting the baseball at the top of the structure is simple, but the challenge of getting past the girders, using your ability to change their movement, catch falling bonus items while avoiding deadly ones keeps this game from being another other than just a "simple game.”  Player and girder speed also change to keep you on your toes.  The time limits and ball relocation help keep bonus point farming at bay and using your power to change the girder movement costs you points, so you can’t just cheese your way to the top.  

If there is one downfall to Climber 5, it’s that once you achieve a certain level, the movement of the girders, the ladder placements, and the falling objects are no longer random.  They fall into what amounts to about 6 distinct patterns and when you learn those patterns you can play the game forever (or until you roll the score).  I discovered this years ago when I first got the game and was playing it for hours on end.  My wife and I even charted the patterns, named them, and tested them repeatedly.  I have kept quiet about them for a decade because I was afraid releasing them would be a game breaker for other players and I have always felt that discovery of the patterns is part of the fun in playing.  That said, I will tell you that the key to identifying the patterns starts with paying attention to what items drop and when.  The other key is to never die.  If you die, the patterns get jumbled a bit and it takes a while to settle back into them.  But if you learn the patterns and successfully execute them, you can play the game somewhat effortlessly forever.  I have discovered, however, that in my recent replaying of the game for this review, getting back into those patterns isn’t automatic, so there is still plenty of fun to be had with this game, even if you suss out the patterns.  You can also go and try that crap on the “Original” variation and get your head smashed in.

One of the patterns called "One Switch" because you only have to switch the girders once.  Take the yellow ladders to success...

Whistles and Bells

Climber 5 is from the era before innovations like AtariVox and SaveKey so it doesn’t have some of those fancier goo-gaws, but it does have some other niceties for your appreciation.  In addition to the aforementioned gameplay variations, Climber 5 features a beautifully designed Atari Silver Era instruction manual with a full color mini-comic in the back.  It also features a really nice title/options screen that is likely the precursor to many of the title screens you see on more recent homebrews.  Finally, Climber 5 pulls off all of its graphical beauty without any flicker.  For those in the know, that's something to be proud of.  Again, Dennis Debro knows how to fine tune a game.

Final Assessment

If you like classic style arcade games, then you are going to love Climber 5.  The gameplay is pick-up-and-play simple, well balanced and engaging, and there is plenty of “just one more” replay appeal.  The three game variations provide unique play opportunities and challenge for even expert gamers.  Solid graphics and sprite work make the game bold and impressive to look at.  As I said in my store review of 14 years ago, Climber 5 is a must have for any Atari homebrew collection.  I still love it as much today as I did the day I first got it!

Tips and Tricks

(these tips are all for the “Advanced” variation, you're on your own for the "Original" variation)

Be a Switch Hitter!: Don’t be afraid to use the switch power to move those girders around.  Sure it costs points, but once you are in the flow, the small amounts of points you spend to get to the ball will pale in comparison to the points you get for completing the level.

Don’t Push It:  Just because I told you to use the switch power liberally doesn’t mean you can abuse it, particularly when a girder is flashing, indicating it is about to change direction.  Girders tend to get stubborn around this time and you will drain all of your points only to have it push right back into your face. Best to use your switch when the girder is not in a changing zone.

Ladders of Opportunity: I find I have the most success taking the first available ladder whenever possible.  This doesn’t always work, nor is it always applicable, but if you use it as a general guideline, you’ll get to the top faster.

Watch Your Head!:  When you are on the top two floors, move briskly and don’t dally.  Get to that baseball as fast as you can.  There will be absolutely no warning for a new falling item and if you are unlucky that item will be hammer.

So there you have it!  Climber 5, a more classic Atari 2600 homebrew there isn’t!  Great arcade action, tons of replayability, and enough challenge to keep you climbing to new heights!  

Homebrew of the Month: Lead

Lead

Developer: Simone Serra

Available: https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=932

Simone Serra games are completely and utterly underrated.  I said it.  I started this whole Homebrew of the Month thing off with Omicron, another really great game from Serra, and now, having played Lead for over a month, I can confirm that Serra is one of the top developers  you’ve probably never heard of in the 2600 homebrew field.  I don’t know why these two games aren’t on the tip of the tongue of anyone who answers the popular question: what are the must-have homebrews for the Atari 2600.  Both games are addictive, fun, and extremely smoothly programmed.  Since Omicron has already had its day, let’s take a look at Lead.

What’s All This Then?

Lead is an extremely fast-paced action shooter that requires quick reflexes, keen wits, and determination.  That last quality will not be an issue as “just one more” might be the subtitle to this game.  In Lead you control a ship that travels through tunnels featuring various types of obstacles.  Your only mission is to survive.  There are four distinct levels with different objectives.  Fire! requires you to shoot all incoming enemy ships (miss one and it’s GAME OVER), Dodge! requires you to avoid looming asteroids, Scramble! requires you to fly in close proximity to deadly sentinels, but avoid setting them off, and Catch! is a bonus round wherein you must try to catch as many satellites as possible.  This kind of variety is the hallmark of a Simone Serra game and it’s part of why these games are so appealing.  It is highly unlikely that you will get bored very quickly with Lead.  Each level presents a new kind of challenge and there isn’t a lot of handholding; you are expected to be pretty good from level 1 and get increasing better as you play.

How Does it Play?

Ridiculously well.  The animations are smooth, the collision detection is pretty much spot-on, and the level design is very smart.  The challenge each level brings is well balanced by the brevity of the the levels.  Sure, when you’re playing level 3 Fire! it feels like the level lasts forever, but the actual play time is only around a minute.  This helps keep the frustration low and the replay value high.  Since you basically get one life per game, you’ll see the GAME OVER screen a lot, however the ability to continue on any given level means you can still practice and make a high score run after you’ve mastered all four levels.  Keeping the levels short and having a continue feature prevents the inevitable controller throw that usually comes with games that demand perfection.  

The game also features a unique power-up system.  You can collect one smart bomb per level that can be used to wipe the screen of obstacles, or you can stockpile smart bombs and trade them in for even better power-ups like shields, more powerful lasers, and bonus points.  While I’m not quite good enough yet to write a testimonial for each power-up, I can say this adds a layer of depth and strategy that makes the game even more addictive.

Visually, the game features the same colorful gradient graphics that are typical of a Simone Serra game.  While spartan, the contrast of the colorful game elements against a sea of black gives a classic arcade feel and creates an almost hypnotic effect during game play.  I love it!

Individual games of Lead will be rather short, but play sessions of Lead will likely tick up into the hours.  It’s just that much fun.

Whistles and Bells

TONS.  For a game that is mostly straightforward, Lead features a lot of great bonus features.  There is an entire menu that allows you to customize your sound settings.  (great music and SFX are another signature Serra feature).  You can also play proto versions of Lead that include just the Fire! (1K) and Fire! and Dodge! (4K) levels.  These are great for sharpening your skills and practicing for a high score run on the main game.  There is even talk of the game having  two possible endings based on which difficulty level you play on.  I’m yet to see either, but the fact that they exist is plenty cool!

As with most games of its era, Lead features AtariVox and SaveKey support to save your high scores and audio settings.

Final Assessment

Simore Serra strikes again with yet another sharply programmed and addictive shooter.  Lead will demand perfection, dexterity, and concentration, but the pay-off is a real and immediate sense of accomplishment when you reach the end of the tunnel.  This is a “pick-up-and-play” game that will eat up hours of your day and deftly avoid the kind of rage-quitting frustration that similar games induce.  Smart level design and sharp graphics combine to make up one of the most underrated shooters in the modern homebrew catalog.   Whether you lead or are lead, Lead should be in your collection.

Tips and Tricks

Don’t Be a (Dead) Hero:  Use those smart bombs!  Especially early on when you are learning.  Sure, it’s cool to save up for those power-ups, but don’t hesitate to use a smart bomb to get out of jam.  Since you only get one life, you really can’t take them with you when you go.

Like a Garden Hose on High:  The Fire! levels pretty much want you to hold down the button to shoot.  I like to use this like spraying a garden hose to just carpet as much of the screen as I can.  When I see a stubborn enemy that requires more attention, I focus the stream on it, but otherwise, I’m waving that beam in the air like I just don’t care.

Ever Vigilant:  The Scramble levels get pretty tight with Sentinels.  It is best to avoid the walls entirely and stay toward the center when possible.  It’s far too easy to get crushed between a wall and a Sentinel.

So there you have it!  One of the best, underrated homebrew shooters available.  It’s been flying under your (and my) radar for ten years.  I’ve rectified that mistake on my end, now it’s your turn.

Homebrew of the Month: Oystron

Oystron

Developer: Piero Cavina

Available: Atariage

Let’s go back, way back to the dawn age of modern Homebrewing.  A time when sitting down and punching out code for a new Atari 2600 video game was more than just a labor of love, it was an act of self-sacrifice and skill.  These were the days of the Stellalist: a small, cloistered corner of the internet where those few who possessed the knowledge and talent for writing in a coding language more obsolete than Latin is to human languages swapped secrets and mined the VCS library for whatever wisdom could be gleamed from it’s hallowed halls.  At this time you could count the number of homebrew games without taking off your shoes.  Games like Edtris and Dark Mage were dipping their toes in the water to see if it was deep enough to swim.  From that primordial homebrew soup would soon come incredible games, games like Qb and this month’s selection:  Oystron.  I had not yet entered the classic gaming scene when Oystron began forming, but it, and I, burst onto the scene at about the same time.  I remember hearing about it, and others like it, but had no real clue what homebrews really were, or if they were anything to pay attention to.  No, I was too busy trying to track down copies of H.E.R.O and Pitfall II; desperately chasing those nostalgic nuggets of my past unable to see the future of VCS gaming jogging along side me.  So now, nearly twenty years later, I aim to catch up!  I’m probably the last person on earth to play Oystron for the first time, but maybe not.  Maybe you too are saying, “Hey! I just got here!  You mean there were homebrews before Draconian?”  There sure were.

What’s All This Then?

Oystron is a space shooter with some interesting twists.  You are in space harvesting pearls from space oysters.  As you harvest them you drop them in the collection zone.  When you have collected a full row of pearls they become powerful bombs and clear room for more harvesting.  This would likely be a tedious job excepting that you are not alone.  Space seems to be occupied by a bevy of creatures like yourself, that find these space pearls enthralling.  As such, these other space creatures will do whatever they can to steal your pearls.  So while you are busy harvesting you must also fight off your rival creatures to keep them from stealing or outright destroying your crop.  If you can hang around long enough, you will enter the Oystron phase.  It is during this phase that space goes absolutely mad as the mysterious Oystron appears.  Oddly enough the Oystron isn’t really hostile, he just seems to dance around a bunch during which time you can blow him up with bombs or you can just wait until he gets tired and mutates into a space oyster.  Yeah, maybe the most bizarre boss fight I’ve ever seen.  Either way, after the Oystron has done whatever it is it has set out to do, you’ll enter the Warp phase, during which everything speeds up dramatically and the risk of death is greatly increased.  Survive the Warp phase and new level will begin.  Repeat until dead or 100K points, which ever comes first.  Spoiler alert: it’s most likely death.

How’s It Play

Pretty damn solid for a game from the Homebrew Stone Age.  Ship movement is smooth (mostly, more later) and collision detection is solid.  The game starts out pretty difficult, but once you get the hang of the action things settle down and you can really get into the gameplay.  Difficulty definitely ramps as the levels progress and you’ll find particular challenge during the Warp phases when the speed goes completely out of control.  

However, it’s not all good news.  While the main part of the level is great and the action is well executed, once you enter the Oystron phase, the wheels start to come of.  Perhaps in an attempt to ratchet up the excitement and create a sense of disorientation, during the Oystron phase the screen begins to flash with a level of seizure inducing flash that only the most rigid mind can possibly tolerate.  Everything is blinking or flashing or moving or all three at the same time.  If the effect is to throw you off your game, it succeeds beyond what is reasonable.  Sadly it is so distracting and so busy that it totally breaks your concentration and makes this part of the game extremely difficult to play and enjoy if you can keep from writhing on the floor.  Somewhere during all of that screen vomit, the Oystron makes his appearance and you have an absurdly short amount of time to regain your senses, find him, and plant your bombs without being hit by the rest of the crap flying around.  It’s a mess, and not in a good way. 

Things calm down a little bit once you enter the Warp phase, and you’ll only have to deal with a change in screen color and a dramatic shift in enemy speed.  Gameplay remains the same as in the normal level, things are just much, much faster.  I found, that I was still suffering from the effects of the Oystron phase and generally spent the Warp phase bleeding lives and crashing into stuff hoping the madness would stop.

If you have any lives left, you get to start level 2.

So overall, 80% of the game is really fun space shooting action, and the other 20% runs the risk of causing vertigo.  The 80% that is fun is really great and that’s what I keep coming back for.  I find that I just grit my teeth and do my best to survive the other 20%.

There are a couple of game variations to keep you interested and challenged if the base game is too easy.  There are novice, medium, and hard options as well as an option to make your spacecraft “bounce” when it gets near the edge of the screen instead of just stopping.  It’s the best I can do to play the novice difficulty level, but I am willing to bet expert players enjoy the challenge of the other two.  I found the “bounce” option for the ship movement to be more annoying than anything else and honestly made the game feel sloppy and broken rather than more challenging.  Keep those difficulty switches on B, kids.

Whistles and Bells

Being from the early days of homebrewing, Oystron is its own Whistle and Bell.  The fact that it existed was super special for its day.  This is long before AtariVox or SaveKey were anything other than “wouldn’t it be cools.”  Oystron does come with a nicely designed full color manual, however the manual is riddled with typos and mislabeled images.  For instance, the space oysters and space creatures are mislabeled, and the manual says Difficulty setting B will cause your ship to bounce, when it is in fact the A setting that causes this.  There are some other inaccuracies in the manual that might simply smack of coming from a time when video game manuals weren’t being written or scrutinized as much as they are today.  There are also some things the manual leaves out, like how you must line up pearls to obtain the bombs with which to defeat the Oystron, or that lining up pearls causes them to disappear.  After 20 years I think the manual is due a rewrite.

Final Assessment

Oystron is a fun and engaging space shooter for the Atari 2600.  It features a novel concept with intriguing and challenging gameplay.  It takes a few minutes to fully comprehend what is going on, but once you get the hang of collecting pearls and fending off the bad guys, you’ll be having fun in no time.  Just be forewarned about the completely disorienting and psychologically jarring Oystron phase.  If you are even slightly set off by flashing lights, you may want to give this game a pass.  What happens during the Oystron phase is very similar to what happens to Alex in A Clockwork Orange.  But if you can make it through that with your wits intact there is much to enjoy about Oystron.  Don’t be wary just because it’s one of the earliest homebrews out there!

Tips and Tricks

Rapid Fire:  You can rapid fire by holding down the fire button.  This is nice not only because you keep shooting, but because you automatically drop off any pearls you pick up.  Early on you don’t have enough to worry about placement, so just grab and drop.  Later in the level once the collection area gets fuller, you can start being more judicious about where you place your oysters.

Play It Safer:  Enemies come from the right and they spawn on screen.  So while you can venture outside the collection zone, there is really little reason to ever do so.  If you keep left you can get a clearer sense of the action and intercept the space creatures before they can steal your horde.

The Best Offense is a Great Defense:  I know you want to get out there and just grab all the pearls you can, but the space creatures need to be your top priority.  Wait until a new wave spawns, locate and destroy the space creatures first, then harvest as many oysters as you can before the next wave starts.

Space Zoology 101:  Know your space creatures.  Some just come and take pearls, others will obliterate them.  Some cannot be killed and some can only be killed from behind.  Some space oysters have harder shells than others.  All of this goes to show that you will be best served learning the special characteristics of each kind of space creature, so that you better understand how to survive their onslaught.  This isn’t just a shoot ‘em up.

These arrow looking guys can only be shot from behind

Oystron Phase:  I don’t know what to tell you.  As soon as your screen goes completely berserk, try to regain your composure and look for the Oystron.  He usually dances about mid-screen and bounces between rows.  Set bombs in the rows he’s dancing in and just get out of the way.  Do your best not to die, because if you do, you’ll have to do the Oystron phase again.

Warp Phase:  This phase is just wicked fast.  It doesn’t last forever, so my best strategy is to stay in one row and shoot until it’s over.  If you are brave enough to stick your nose out and try to harvest pearls, that’s all you.

So there you have it!  One of the, ahem, pearls of the early Atari 2600 Homebrew library dusted off and shined up, ready for action again.  It’s nice when an older game like this can hold up against some of the extremely impressive games that are coming out today.  Oystron’s not going to blow anybody’s socks off these days, but it is still fun to play and still provides plenty of good solid action and challenge.  If, like me, you’ve been passing over it for a while, it might be time to go back and see what you’ve been missing.

Homebrew of the Month: Drive!

Drive!

Developer: Nick Wilson

Available: https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1095

In the Big Atariage Homebrew Release of 2017 there were heavy hitters like Assembloids and Scramble that made everyone ooo and aaah.  There were also unassuming games that flew right under everyone’s radar.  Games that you really shouldn’t overlook.  Previously for the HotM I examined one such game:  The Gizzle Wap and the Strange Red Tree.  This week we take a look at another hidden gem:  Drive!

What’s All This Then?

You’ve plundered the treasure from an ancient temple in the year 2050, but now the structure is crumbling around you.  There’s only one way out:  DRIVE!  As you race to escape, you’ll want to nab any additional treasures you come across.  Survive to a score of 99,999 and you win.  Crash three times and you’re history, future history perhaps.

Drive! is a fast-paced, obstacle-dodging endurance game that pits you against a random assortment of walls you must navigate on your way to the finish!  Best of all, Drive! is one of the few homebrew games developed for the use of the Paddle Controllers!  The game play is simple and straightforward, but there is a lot to like about this game.  The basic idea is to navigate your vehicle through gaps in the walls at breakneck speed.  As you zoom through you will find different treasures.  You can carry a maximum of five, but hoard them at your own peril.  You see, you can “burn” a treasure in order to jump over a wall if you find yourself in a tough spot.  This becomes very helpful when things start to speed up.  In addition to giving you jump boosts, the treasures are also imbued with special powers.  Some allow you to pass through walls like a ghost, others give you unlimited jumping ability or even extra “lives.”   

That’s it.  Jump in your car and hit the gas!

Please excuse the crappy screenshots.  Is not easy to get good screen shots of a fast paced paddle game off your tv... 

How’s it Play?

Really well.   Taking into account that my paddles are really, really jittery until you play a dozen or so games and warm them up, Drive! plays really well right out of the gate.  The player moves smoothly through the obstacle course and the collision detection is sharp.  There are no cheap crashes.  Because of this you’ll want to be precise with your jumps, because even landing part of your car on a wall is crash time.

But don’t let your mad driving skills fool you.  Playing the base game with both difficulty switches on B is for old ladies and children.  What you want to do is switch both difficulty switches to A.  The left switch makes the gaps in the walls smaller and the right switch causes some of the walls to move.  Not so smart now, are ya?  Oh, still cocky?  Ok wise guy, now hit SELECT.  This will turn the title screen red and let you know you are entering the Speed Freak Mode.  Speed Freak Mode starts the game at the top possible speed.  If you survive long enough you might even enter that zen-like zone where everything just slows down.  If…

Whistles and Bells

Well the first and most obvious Whistle and Bell for me is the fact that this game was developed for paddles. (I've only mentioned it like 3 time so far)  I don’t know why more games do not utilize this controller (or other controllers like the Keyboard or Driving Controllers).  Just having a new paddle game is a pretty special thing.  Drive! also supports AtariVox/SaveKey so you can hold on to your high scores and comes with the now pretty much standard high quality, full color manual.

Final Assessment

Drive! is a great twitch-esque game that might seem really simple at first, but once you start implementing some of the game variations, you’ll soon find there is plenty of fun and challenge to be had.  Those endowed with great paddle skills will find it easy to jump right into the driver’s seat and race for that perfect score.  Those, like me, who are paddle-challenged will not be put off as the game variations give you plenty of opportunity to warm up to the task at hand.  The action is fast-paced and fun and will keep you coming back for more.  Finally, a new paddle game for the VCS!

Tips and Tricks

Practice!  Don’t discount the value of playing the Difficulty B variations to warm yourself up before going for Speed Freak Mode.  Even I was able to get 80K points in just a couple of runs on the dual B setting.  This will help familiarize you with the fundamentals before things get out of control.

Burn Baby, Burn!  You can only keep 5 treasures at a time, so do not hesitate to burn one here and there when things get tight.  It’s better to have jumped and lost a treasure than to never have jumped at all.  You treasure tally is only taken when the game is over, so until then use as needed.

Sneak in Some Rest.  This is an endurance game.  You’ll not get to 99K in a couple of minutes, so I use the invincible power-up to give my hand a break.  This power-up also gives you a change to test out some riskier maneuvers consequence free, if you are all rested up and just want to try some new tricks.

So there you have it, a cool new paddle game for your Atari that probably slipped past you when you weren’t looking!  It may not be as flashy as some of the heavy hitters released last year, but Drive! definitely deserves your attention!

Homebrew of the Month: Gingerbread Man

Gingerbread Man

Developer:  Fred Quimby

Available:  https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=867

I had not intended for this review to coincide with any cookie appropriate holidays, however it timed out so that I was playing Gingerbread Man during the Christmas season, so I’ll let you decide if that’s timely or trite, whichever suits your fancy.  There was considerable hype around this game when it came out and it still gets a nod now and then as a top notch platformer for the system so I was long overdue in checking it out.

What’s All This Then?

Gingerbread Man is a video game interpretation of the famous fable about a baked good that sprang to life and attempted to elude those that would eat him.  In this version you must navigate five treacherous screens evading enemies and collecting items to help make good your escape.  You take control of the enlivened unleavened cookie while he is still in the oven and flames are dancing all about.  Once freed from the oven you must make your way out of the house and as far away from danger as possible, yet somehow trouble always finds you!  And if you succeed in completing all five screens, it’s back in the oven for you to do all over again, only this time harder.  Much harder.  If you can battle through all 19 levels, you will come face-to-face with the final boss and perhaps win your actual release.

How Does it Play?

Hard.  Really Hard.  Gingerbread Man features all of your platforming standards: tricky jumps, relentless foes, and fast-paced action.  Controls are smooth and despite a few awkward playfield collisions the physics are solid.  Where the game separates itself from the pack is in its difficulty.  Gingerbread Man is a very difficulty game.  The jumps are unforgiving and the enemies are strategically placed to create the most problems.  While the collision detection with the playfield can be a little fast and loose, the collision detection with the enemies is crisp.  You’ll not be able to get by barely grazing a cat’s ear or bird’s wing.  If you even think you’ve made contact with an enemy, you’re dead.  To compound all of that there is a time limit for each level and you are awarded no extra lives.  Hard.

One of Gingerbread Man’s strongest assets, however, is level design.  Each screen features a totally unique game mechanic and win device.  In the first level you must collect bits of burnt cookie to vanquish fire balls while dodging fire jets. (oh!  What an oven!)  Level 2 requires you to collect balloons with which to float out of the house while a cat and dog prowl the area trying to eat you.  In level 3 you must avoid two cats and a bird while collecting roof tiles to build a bridge to a nearby tree.  The fourth level is truly unique in that the goal of the level is to obtain a worm resting on a tree branch and then feed it to the baby bird high in the tree tops.  To reach the worm you have to increase your weight by gathering falling leaves and lowering trampoline-like tree roots to the appropriate height for a well-timed jump. The final level might be the easiest.  You have to jump about the cave and collect loose stones and throw them at the bird and cat.  Three successful hits and you’ve won!

If surviving those five levels wasn’t hard enough, once you succeed you are cast back into the oven and the difficulty ramps dramatically.  There are more fires in the oven, more balloons to collect in the dining room, and so on.  I have not been able to survive all 19 levels to get to the final boss, but if the rest of the game is any indication, he’s no treat either.

Whistles and Bells:

Not much.  Like most modern homebrew games, Gingerbread Man features a nicely illustrated full color manual.  Graphically the game is simple, but honestly that all this game really wants.  There is a CONTINUE feature to give you an opportunity to practice higher levels and there are three game variations (a feature far too infrequent in modern homebrews) including a version for children, or perhaps more appropriately, first time players.  One nice little feature is that when you continue, your score turns black instead of the default white to indicate that you have used the feature.  This keeps non-continued scores pure.  That’s a smart feature that more games should employ.

Final Assessment: 

If you have ever used the term “guide game” in something other than a derogatory fashion, Gingerbread Man is probably not the game for you.  It’s difficult, very difficult.  In about three dedicated hours of playing I only managed to make it to level 7, and only then by exploiting the CONTINUE feature.  This is platforming at its most challenging.  You must be precise with your jumps, you must give enemies a wide berth, and your timing must be impeccable.  There is no way to slop your way through this game.  That means you are going to be playing the first three levels many, many times.  With enough practice you will get good at Gingerbread Man, but no one is going to hold your hand along the way.  The game’s strength lies in its varied level design and gameplay.  While each level is based on the “collect and avoid” game mechanic, that device is never used the same way twice.  This makes for a fun play and helps you overcome the frustration that can result from the heightened difficulty.

Tips and Tricks:

Let’s take this screen-by-screen:

The Oven:  Work from the bottom up.  The lower flames are the hardest to kill because when you throw the cookie bits, you throw them in an arc like a basketball shot.  This makes attacking the higher ones from underneath very easy (you also get less points), but taking out the lower ones, a challenge.  Since the last remaining fireball doubles in speed, you don’t want the bottom fireball to be that guy.  So take out the lower ones first and then work your way up.

The Dining Room:  This is perhaps the game’s weakest screen.  Timing with the dog and cat is rigidly precise and there is little room for error.  You are best to let the dog make a full transit of the room and jump over his head twice before you leave the chair you start on.  Once you get past the dog, don’t dally on the tabletop, get up on the light fixture and plot out how to gather the balloons most effectively.  One of the reasons I feel this is the weakest level in the game is due to the fact that some of the balloons are completely obscured by the playfield and the only way to obtain them is to jump from precisely the right spot and collide in just the right way with the playfield to register that you have collected the balloon.  This seems unnecessary as the balloons could easily be placed in challenging positions on the screen that are not obstructed by playfield.  You’ll want to figure out exactly where to stand and when and where to jump to force the collection of the balloons.  I recommend saving balloons that require you to land on the floor for last.  Typically I work the left side of the screen and then finish with the balloons on the right.

I still have not figured out how to collect this balloon on Level 7

The Roof:  This is a great screen.  Roof tiles will appear at random all over the roof and the bird and cats will provide plenty of interference in collecting them, however I strongly recommend staying on top of the roof until you see where the roof tile appears.  Sometimes you will get lucky and be able to avoid the cats altogether if the tiles appear on the upper half of the screen.  Each time you place a tile on your bridge wait to see if you can easily collect the next one without too much peril.  This is also the screen where it is essential that you learn the “duck jump.”  Thankfully, in this game you can jump from the ducking position.  This means you can squeeze between the top and bottom cats without being absolutely perfect in your timing.  You will use this a lot in this level and in the dining room to avoid cats above you.

The Forest:  And now for something completely different.  The basic tip from the roof works here as well.  Stay high in the tree tops while you wait for the leaves to fall.  Snag them as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary trips to the forest floor and encounters with the cat.  Work the roots consistently until they are low enough for you to bounce and get the worm.  There really isn’t much cause to aggravate the baby bird, so the mother bird’s wanderings should only provide minor difficulty.

The Cave:  Jumping here is tricky as the stones in the wall are spaced just far enough apart that an imprecise leap will find you on the floor.  Take advantage of the rising air currents whenever possible instead of attempting finicky jumps.  Loose stones appear just about everywhere so try to stay high on the screen (seeing a pattern in the later levels?) so you can collect them without bothering the cat too much.  You throw in an arc again so hitting the bird will be easier than hitting the cat.

Final Tip:  Take advantage of the CONTINUE feature to practice harder levels before you try playing for score.  In Game Variation 1 you can continue up to level 14 and in Game Variation 2 (SUPER HARD) you can continue indefinitely, but lose all progress in a level when you die.  Trust me, you want the chance to familiarize yourself with the later screens before you make an honest run at the boss.

So there you have it.  An extremely challenging platforming game the likes of which I have not played since Hunchy II.  Gingerbread Man isn’t going to be for everyone, but for those of us who love a brutal platformer, this one will always scratch that itch.