''Impossible Mission'' is a
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
written for the
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 ...
by Dennis Caswell and published by
Epyx
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and video game publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded in 1978 as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, publishing a series of tactical combat games. The Epyx ...
in 1984. The game features a variety of gameplay mechanics from
platform and
adventure game
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
s, and includes
digitized speech. ''Impossible Mission'', which casts the player in the role of a
secret agent
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
infiltrating an enemy stronghold, is considered one of the best games for several platforms.
From 1985 to 1990, the game was released for the
Apple II
Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...
, Atari 7800, ZX Spectrum, Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, and Master System.
Gameplay
The player takes the role of a
secret agent
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
who must stop an
evil genius, Professor Elvin Atombender, who is believed to be tampering with national security computers. The player races against the clock to reassemble and decrypt the password to Atombender's control room while avoiding deadly robots. Password pieces are found by searching furniture in the rooms. When searching, the player can also reset all moveable platforms and freeze enemy robots for a limited time. The game also features similar rewards for completing bonus puzzles. ''Impossible Mission'' enemies include two types of enemies. The first are the robots. These have a cylindrical main body. Their bodies are electrified, and some are able to use a short-range
death ray
The death ray or death beam is a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon first theorized around the 1920s and 1930s. Around that time, notable inventors such as Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, Harry Grindell Matthews, Edwin R. Scott ...
. Some are stationary; others move in patterns, and others specifically hunt the player. Some have to actually see the player, and others know where the player is at all times. The second enemy is a hovering, electrified ball. Most of these chase the player.
The player has six hours of game time to collect 36 puzzle pieces. Every time the player dies, 10 minutes are deducted from the total time. The puzzle pieces are assembled in groups of four. The puzzle pieces overlap so that three pieces can be assembled before the player realizes he must start over. Pieces may be in the wrong orientation, and the player may have to use the horizontal or vertical mirror images. Additionally, the puzzle pieces are randomized in every game. A completed puzzle forms a nine-letter password which lets the player reach Professor Atombender.
Development
The first element of the game to be created was the player character's animations, which designer Dennis Caswell lifted from a library book about athletics. Caswell recalled, "I animated the
somersault
A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatics, acrobatic exercise in which a person's body Rotation#Sports, rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the Human head, head. A somersau ...
before I had any clear idea how it would be used. I included it because the animations were there for the taking ..."
Caswell cites ''
Rogue'' as his inspiration for the randomised room layouts, and the
electronic game
An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other commo ...
Simon as his inspiration for the musical checkerboard puzzles.
[Edge issue 167, October 2006; "The making of Impossible Mission"] The hovering balls were inspired by the
Rover
Rover may refer to:
People Name
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Stage name
* Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...
"security guard" from the ''
Prisoner
A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...
''
TV series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...
.
The Commodore 64 version features early use of digitized speech: ''"Another visitor. Stay a while... stay forever!"'', ''"Destroy him, my robots!"'', and a lengthy scream - later also heard in ''
Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes Back'' - when the player falls down a shaft. The digitized speech was provided by the company
Electronic Speech Systems,
[Dennis Caswell interviewed by Mat "Mayhem" Allen](_blank)
from ''Mayhem's homepage'' who drastically raised their prices after ''Impossible Mission'' became a successful test case. Epyx did not deal with ESS again as a result.
Caswell recounted:
The game's title was one of the last elements to be finished. According to Caswell, "The choice of a name was delayed as long as possible, and ''Impossible Mission'' was more resorted to than chosen. It was, at least, somewhat descriptive, and the obvious allusion to ''
Mission: Impossible'' was expedient, to the extent that both the game and the TV show involved high-tech intrigue."
Reception
In March 1985, ''
Computer & Video Games'' rated the Commodore 64 version 38 out of 40 and awarded it Game of the Month.
In May 1985, ''
Zzap!64
''Zzap!64'' is a computer games magazine covering games for computers manufactured by Commodore International, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact.
The magazi ...
'' editors ranked ''Impossible Mission'' second in their list of the best Commodore 64 games, while readers ranked it first, with 26% of votes.
Citing ''Impossible Mission'' as example, ''
Compute!'s Gazette'' in 1986 praised Caswell as "one of those rare people who has all the skills necessary to create and design an outstanding game" while software development teams were becoming more common.
''
COMPUTE!
''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', is an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET. ...
'' listed the game in May 1988 as one of "Our Favorite Games", writing that the sound effects of the character committing suicide was one of their guilty pleasures.
''
Console XS'' rated the Sega Master System version 89% in 1992. The ZX Spectrum version was voted the 28th best game of all time in a special issue of ''
Your Sinclair
''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993.
History
The magazine was la ...
'' magazine in 2004.
Editors have praised it as "the first game that scared me" thanks to its early use of digitized voice and mood setting audio effects. Stuff magazine listed it as one of the 10 best games for the Commodore 64 in their Commodore 64 at 40 article.
Legacy
A sequel, ''
Impossible Mission II'', followed in 1988. It further complicated the quest with new traps and items. Elvin's stronghold also grew in size, divided into a number of towers which the player had to traverse, all the while picking up pieces of the password.
The game ''
Electrocop'' was rumored to have started as a sequel to ''Impossible Mission'', but this has not been substantiated. In 1994, ''
Impossible Mission 2025'' was released for the
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
. It kept the same idea as the previous games, and mainly featured updated graphics and audio, also allowing the player to choose among three different characters. The game also contains the Commodore 64 version of ''Impossible Mission''.
Developers
System 3 System 3, System/3 or System III may refer to:
Computing and electronics
*Acorn System 3, a home computer produced by Acorn Computers from 1980
*Cromemco System Three, a home computer produced by Cromemco from 1978
*IBM System/3, a low-end business ...
revamped ''Impossible Mission''
[System 3 official website of the revamped game](_blank)
/ref> for the Sony PSP, Nintendo DS
The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
and Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
. In the US, the Nintendo DS version was released exclusively at GameStop
GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer, headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). The brand is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operated 3,203 stor ...
stores 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 ...
(which, similar to the Amiga sequel, included a filter for graphics and audio to recreate the C64 original of ''Impossible Mission'' in terms of look and sound, albeit slightly remastered) and the Wii version was released in March 2008. This revamped version was later ported to the Nintendo Switch
The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
in 2019.
In late 2022, it was announced that an officially licensed sequel is being developed by Icon64.
References
External links
*
*
*A full playthrough of the Commodore 64 game can be watched on th
Internet Archive
Review
in GAMES Magazine
{{Authority control
1984 video games
Amstrad CPC games
Apple II games
Atari 7800 games
BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games
Commodore 64 games
Epyx games
Master System games
Platformers
PlayStation Network games
Roguelike video games
Single-player video games
Spy video games
U.S. Gold games
Video games developed in the United States
Video games scored by Yannis Brown
Video games with rotoscoped graphics
Virtual Console games
ZX Spectrum games