Blue Max: C64 Sundays Rank 94
13Ranked number 94 (as of August 31st 2014) on the lemon64 top 100 is BLUE MAX.
In this game you take the role of a fighter pilot in World War I with the nickname Blue Max which is the name of a metal the axis awarded to pilots who downed 8 enemy aircraft. However we are such a threat to the Axis army that the'll award the metal to anyone who takes us out.
In a zaxxoneque 3/4 scrolling game we are attacking everything on screen while trying to dodge bullets and trees. Well...really the trees are only really a danger if you fly way way too low.
The real kicker in this game is the way the damage works. If the damage you take isn't fatal just one of your planes components dates damage and you receive different sorts of penalties, for example if your gun or bomb bay is damaged your shots become intermittent and could fail you at a crustal time, of if your fuel tank is damaged you leak fuel constantly.
One can land any a friendly Air Field to get repaired but they are far between and the random nature of the game keeps you guessing as to when they will show up. And they have a hidden danger. If you land too late you won't have enough runway to build up the speed you need for take off!
Developed by Synapse Software (Synsoft elsewhere) and published in North America by US GOLD, this game was designed by Bob Polin and Programmed and Graphix'd by Peter Adams. The musician was Stephen C. Biggs.