Rick Dangerous

''Rick Dangerous'' is a platform game developed by Core Design for the Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. The game was released in 1989 and published by MicroProse on the Firebird Software label in the UK, and on the MicroPlay label in America. It was also published in Spain by Erbe Software. Later, it was released with two other games, '' Stunt Car Racer'' and '' MicroProse Soccer'', on the Commodore 64 ''Powerplay 64'' cartridge. The game was followed by a sequel, '' Rick Dangerous 2'', in 1990. Loosely based on the Indiana Jones film franchise, the game received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

The plot of ''Rick Dangerous'' is largely based on the Indiana Jones film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. Set in 1945, British agent Rick Dangerous travels to the Amazon jungle to search for the lost Goolu tribe. His plane crashes in the jungle, and Rick must escape from the enraged Goolu. When the game starts Rick finds himself in a cave running from a rolling boulder, a famous scene from the Indiana Jones film.

Armed with a pistol and dynamite, Rick must fight hostiles and evade traps in three more levels. The second level of the game is set inside a pyramid located in Egypt. In the third level, Rick must venture to the Nazi stronghold of Schwarzendumpf castle to rescue captured Allied soldiers. The rescued soldiers tell him that the Nazis are planning a missile attack on London. Therefore, in the last level, Rick must infiltrate their secret missile base.

Gameplay

Rick can jump and climb, as well as carry a limited amount of dynamite and ammunition for his gun. This gun is Rick's primary means of disposing of enemies. Most traps throughout the game that can kill Rick can also kill his enemies, which can be to the player's advantage. The dynamite sticks that Rick carries are generally used for solving puzzles, such as through exploding certain blocks (some of them fly ''towards'' the explosion, potentially killing Rick in the backfire). Rick is also armed with a pogo stick that allows him to paralyze enemies.

Many of the traps in ''Rick Dangerous'' have no visible warning, which means that a player's initial progress through the game may consist of trial and error. This was criticized by some reviewers.

Reception

''Your Sinclair'' awarded ''Rick Dangerous'' a 78% rating, while ''Computer and Video Games'' gave the Spectrum game an 87%, plus a "C+VG Hit" award, saying that it was "an excellent platform game ..."

The C64 version received an 84% from '' CU Amiga-64'' and a 73% from ''Zzap!64''. ''Zzap!64'' pointed out that the game was a playable and fun platform-style game but not much more than that. The Amstrad version also received the same response getting a 76% from ''The Games Machine'', although the game fared slightly better with ''Amstrad Action'' who rated it 83% and awarded it with an "AA Rave" accolade.

''ACE'' gave the Amiga version an 890 rating, and ''Amiga Format'' gave an 89%. ''Amiga Power'' was highly critical of both games and the reliance on pattern learning.

The Atari ST version received positive reviews; 88% and 87% from '' The One for 16-bit Games'' and ''Computer and Video Games'', respectively. ''The One'' magazine opined that ''Rick Dangerous'' was one of the best 16-bit arcade games at that time.

Game developer David Cage considers ''Rick Dangerous'' to be his favourite game.

References

External links

''Rick Dangerous''
at MobyGames
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rick Dangerous

1989 video games
Acorn Archimedes games
Amiga games
Amstrad CPC games
Atari ST games
Cancelled Game Boy Advance games
Commodore 64 games
Core Design games
DOS games
Erbe Software games
Fictional spies
Microplay Software games
Platformers
Single-player video games
Square Enix franchises
Video games about Nazi Germany
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video games set in castles
Video games set in Egypt
Video games set in Germany
Video games set in London
ZX Spectrum games