♫ C64 Remix Music Game (2011): Panther (Theme Remix by DNL) | Original by David Whittaker
A very simple spin on the Zaxxon/Blue Max style isometric shooter with fantastic music from great Whittaker.
Designed and written by Peter Adams for the Commodore 64, and published by Mastertronic in 1986.
Converted for the Atari 8-bit computers by Chuck Peavey for Sculptured Software, and published by Mastertronic in 1987.
Music and sound effects for the Commodore 64 and Atari 400/800 versions by David Whittaker.
Converted for Sinclair ZX Spectrum by Tom Lanigan and Ed Knight for MC Lothlorien Ltd., and published by Mastertronic in 1989.
One of the most striking or memorable features in Panther is its theme tune by David Whittaker. Oddly, the SPECTRUM version being officially only released as a 48k version, you might have expected at least a single-channel beeper tune for the options screen, but it doesn't have any music in it at all. There are some scarce beeper sound effects, which do their job well enough, but hardly replace a good theme tune.
Both the C64 and ATARI versions were programmed to feature music and sound effects simultaneously. There are enough of sound effects in the game to be effective in that regard, such as "ding" sounds whenever you pick up a rescuee, and a couple of different kinds of gunshots and explosions. Although there are some obvious characteristic differences between the C64 and ATARI sound chips, the only real difference of import is the way the sound effects interrupt the music. In the C64 version, the sound effects have a way of replacing some of the less important channels, such as the bass line or the percussive track, so they very rarely get in the way of the real musical content. In the ATARI version, it's the other way round, and the sound effects tend to replace the main melody line at any given time, and that's enough to force it to take the second place.