Moonmist
(Infocom, 1986)
Your friend, Tamara Lynd, has asked you to come to Tresyllian Castle to investigate a ghost. Arriving at the castle at 7:00pm, you meet Tamara and the occupants of the castle and have dinner with them – but you also have to take part in a treasure hunt while trying to identify the ghost. Where the treasure is, what the treasure is, and who the ghost is changes in each of the four variations of this text adventure, depending on what you enter as your favourite colour (red, yellow, green or blue). Some of the variations are very interesting... This is one of the easiest of Infocom’s text adventures; it’s so easy that even I completed it quickly, and I’m not a big fan of text adventures. As a result, there’s little else to merit the game.
Moontorc
(Atlantis, 1991)
Princess Lalena has been captured by the Dark Lord, and you have to rescue her by battling through four levels of platforming action and collecting the three parts of Moontorc on each one. Each level has three shops where you can buy the parts of Moontorc, as well as keys – a lot of extra objects are hidden behind coloured doors, and making a map is almost essential since you may well have to restart the game if you don’t have the right key – very annoying! Despite this, the game is actually very good (especially the graphics) and probably the best game that Atlantis has released.
At the height of his stardom, Michael Jackson was so popular worldwide that he made a movie called Moonwalker. Later, in 1989, there was a computer game. The first two levels are top-down maze-style screens, exploring and locating objects to make up MJ’s clothing and motorcycle. The third level is a side-scrolling affair; here you must find ammo and a machine gun in order to shoot bad guys in a club. On the fourth and final level MJ morphs into a robot, shooting soldiers as well as some type of ray cannon by controlling a crosshair. Although you get heaps of lives to complete each section, it’s rather hard and very frustrating. The graphics, while colourful, are quite blocky and flicker while MJ moves. It must be noted this home computer version is not in any way like the arcade version which is rather good and fun to play.
This is Othello or Reversi by another name. If you’re not familiar with them, it’s a classic strategy game that involves placing counters to enclose your opponent’s pieces between your own. The counters are dark on one side and light on the other. A line of counters of one colour that becomes trapped between two or more counters of the opposite colour is turned over and claimed by the other player. The winner is the player with the greatest number of their colour counters exposed once the board is filled. This version is simple but effective and actually plays a decent game, although it is a bit slow.
More Than a Prison is a maze game that genuinely represents the early- to mid-1980s games. You take control of an inmate and you must guide him to escape from the prison. Fortunately for us, the gamers, it is quite challenging and entertaining trying to do this. You need to grab the keys, open the doors and avoid some enemies that look like wheels with blades, but one type of enemy homes in on the poor prisoner until it kills him. Precision is essential if you are to escape! The levels are cleverly designed and the difficulty level rises reasonably from screen to screen. Both the tune and the entire game feel like they were written 30 years ago! I think the game deserved a better rating than it received in the 2015 #CPCRetroDev Game Creation Contest because I really enjoyed its overall presentation and gameplay.
Moritz on the Autobahn
(Team Moritz, 2022)
Moritz’s cousin has invited him to come to Portugal to meet him, but instead of flying from his home in Germany, Moritz has decided to travel across Europe in his Sinclair C5. You must guide Moritz around fourteen single-screen levels and collect hearts (or gold once you reach Ireland). This is the third in a series of games featuring Moritz the dog, and the level of presentation is a significant step up from the previous two games, with excellent graphics (including a map of Europe) and several renditions of songs by the German group Kraftwerk, although this also means it will only work on CPCs with 128K of memory. However, all of this is marred by the ridiculous, rage-inducing difficulty of the third level. It’s a real shame, because I had high expectations for this game and I wanted to enjoy it.
See also: Moritz the Striker, Pink Pills: Manic Moritz and the Meds.
Moritz the Striker
(Team Moritz, 2021)
Moritz the dog has travelled to Anfield stadium to do his bit to help Liverpool Football Club win matches. On each level, Moritz must retrieve a football and aim it into the net and score a goal. However, you may have to perform one or two other tasks first, and there are various characters and objects moving around the screen to be avoided; if you touch any of them, you’ll receive a yellow card. Receive eight yellow cards (eight?) and you’ll get a red card and the game ends. There are some beautiful screens displayed before the game loads, but the in-game graphics, while colourful, aren’t of the same standard, although there is a nice rendition of the “Here We Go” tune. Gameplay is what matters, though, and this is a nice, simple platform game that is much more entertaining to play than the official Liverpool football game for the CPC!
See also: Moritz on the Autobahn, Pink Pills: Manic Moritz and the Meds.
Morris Meets the Bikers
(Automata UK, 1984)
Morris the car is in a multi-storey car park and has to get out – but the Phantom, Phreaky, Phearsome Kamikaze Bikers from the constellation of Morris Minor are driving manically around the car park! Honestly, this is the actual scenario of the game! You have to use the lifts to collect ten coins, while warding off the Bikers with your horn, and avoiding the parking fees (represented by pink boxes) and other hazards. Because of the year the game was released, the graphics and sound effects are primitive, and the gameplay is very simple. It’s OK, but all the screens are the same, so it becomes repetitive.
Mortadelo y Filemón II
(Dro Soft, 1989)
One of Professor Bacterio’s experiments has gone wrong and the offices of TIA have been overrun with chickens! It’s up to the bungling duo of Mortadelo and Filemón (also known as Clever and Smart) to get rid of the chickens. In the first part of this wacky game, you control Filemón, and you must run around the building collecting chickens and bringing them to the roof, where Mortadelo will cook them. You have to avoid touching the flying eggs that the chickens lay and watch out for pigs who will knock you down. In the second part, Mortadelo is being chased by his boss, El Súper, and you must use your powers of disguise to transform into a variety of creatures (a ghost, a frog and a snake) to avoid walls, cars and flying objects. The first part is dull and plodding, and it takes place in total silence, but the second part is much better, with gorgeous, colourful graphics, a really pleasant tune, and entertaining gameplay.
See also: Clever and Smart.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
jgonza (part 1),
jgonza (part 2),
Retro Danuart.
Mot
(Opera Soft, 1989)
Mot is a monster who lives with a boy called Leo, and he has the ability to teleport to other worlds. This game consists of three parts, the first of which sees you as Leo in his house, attempting to lead Mot around the house to the portal that will take you and him to Mot’s world while trying not to annoy Leo’s parents too much. In the second and third parts, you control Mot in a vertically scrolling beat-’em-up where you must fend off all sorts of weird and wonderful enemies. The graphics are beautifully drawn and very well animated; the reactions of Leo’s parents in the first part are particularly amusing! Unfortunately the first part is quite frustrating to play, although thankfully the other two parts can be played without having to complete the first one.
Watch YouTube videos of this game by:
jgonza (introduction),
jgonza (part 1),
jgonza (part 2),
jgonza (part 3).