''Bee 52'' is an unlicensed

side-scrolling video game A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling grap ...

published by

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...

for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

in 1992. A

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

version was completed in 1993, but was not published due to Codemasters withdrawing from the C64 market. After reaching an agreement with Codemasters, the programmer sold the game himself via

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

Gameplay

The player controls Bee 52, a

honeybee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the c ...

with large eyes and a fly-like sucker for a mouth, through which it can spit projectiles at enemies. The game is played through 12 levels, the first four in a

backyard A backyard, or back yard (known in the United Kingdom as a back garden or just garden), is a Yard (land), yard at the back of a house, common in suburban developments in the Western world. It is typically a residential garden located at the ...

, the next four in a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

, and the last four inside a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

. There are traps and enemies added for each level, from

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

s, and even

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

and "

venus flytraps The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to the temperate and subtropical wetlands of North Carolina and South Carolina, on the East Coast of the United States. Although various modern hybrids have been created i ...

" in the later levels. The player must find and collect from many flowers scattered all over the sidescrolling level and return to the hive after three flowers are visited to add honey to the jar. The level is complete when the jar is full, in the case of levels 3-12, this requires every flower to be visited. ''Bee 52'' is a flying side scroller. The bee is maneuvered by the control pad up down left and right over enemies, and through holes. The player can shoot at enemies straight ahead with the A button, or use the B button to sting enemies from above. Bee 52 can find add ons such as a super stinger with a longer reach, or more powerful projectiles either by killing a special lightning bug whose appearance is random, or visiting certain secret holes. There is also a small insect called Junior that, when found, will orbit Bee 52 indefinitely. If the bee is struck, Junior will be sacrificed rather than losing a life. Without Junior, a single hit will kill Bee 52, and lose all weapons found.

Reception

AllGame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...

editor Skyler Miller described Bee 52 as a "fascinating game", giving it "high marks both for its creative premise and the strength of its execution".

References

External links

*
Bee 52
at

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{{Camerica 1992 video games Camerica games Commodore 64 games Nintendo Entertainment System games North America-exclusive video games Single-player video games Unauthorized video games Video games about bees Video games developed in the United Kingdom