Blue Max Longplay (C64) [50 FPS]
68Developed and published by Synapse Software in 1983.
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I remember getting Blue Max on a Commodore Format Power Pack tape many years after the game was originally released, and I remember thinking what a fantastic little game it was. Playing the game again today, my opinion hasn't changed.
Blue Max is set during the First World War, back when aerial combat was in it's infancy. As a flying ace, you must pilot your biplane over hostile terrain on a mission to destroy key targets behind enemy lines. Marked targets either flash, or have a target symbol painted on them to make identification easy.
Your plane is equipped with a machine gun, which can be used to shoot down enemy planes and can also be used to strafe ground targets if you're feeling brave enough. Strafing can rack up some impressive points, although getting hit by one of the many flak emplacements is much more likely. Alternatively, your plane also has a finite supply of bombs which can be dropped on targets, although you will have to account for inertia and height if you want to hit your target.
Getting hit by flak won't necessarily destroy your plane outright, but it will damage parts of the plane. For example, if your fuel line gets damaged then your plane will start to leak fuel and the fuel counter will tick down at a faster rate, while damage to your bomb bay will prevent you from dropping bombs until you can repair your plane.
The ending of each level is denoted by a warning at the bottom of the screen to indicate that you are approaching an airfield. Landing will refuel your plane, resupply bombs and repair a portion of any damage currently sustained; it's quite possible to miss the airfield altogether and this means that you'll have to hope that you can survive on whatever resources you have available.
If you destroyed enough marked targets, you progress to the next level. However, in a novel twist, this is completely seamless and the only indication that you have progressed at all is the difference in level layout and additional elements to the battle field. The game's finale involves a bombing run down a corridor of tall buildings where the objective is to bomb a series of white government buildings, each surrounded by a dense cluster of flak emplacements. Survive this ordeal and make it to the next airfield and the day is won, upon which you will be awarded a flying ribbon and title.
Perhaps the main reason why the game is such a gem is the attention to detail. The isometric perspective affords and inclusion of elevation, which means some frantic dogfighting with enemy planes as you try to find the correct height from which they can be shot down. Wind also affects your flight handling and can push or pull your plane in a given direction, including up and down and is a great addition.
Dropping a bomb on a building will result in a massive explosion with impressive explosion sound effects. Bombing tanks will result in a small mushroom cloud appearing, whilst dropping bombs in the river will create ripples; utterly fantastic!
The game could potentially go on for hours if you missed key targets, but part of the fun was to see just how long you could stay in the air and how high a score you could get. Added to this was the fact that there was no multi-load, which made it all the sweeter for us mere mortals who could only afford games on cassette!
So, put on your flying scarf, don your flying goggles and and take to the skies in this genuine classic for the C64.
Tally ho chaps!
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