''Wanted: Monty Mole'' is a

platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...

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 ...

published in July 1984 for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

and

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 ...

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

s. It is the first game released by

Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited, was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established i ...

and the first game in the ''Monty Mole'' series. Monty Mole is a fictional mole created by Ian Stewart, the director of the company.

Gameplay

The player controls the titular mole who has to travel around a coal mine collecting pieces of coal and other miscellaneous objects while avoiding various nasties and the infamous crushers. The style of gameplay is typical of

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

s of the 1980s. The ZX Spectrum version is a

flip-screen Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

game while the Commodore 64 version uses scrolling. The game was inspired by the UK miners' strike of 1984–85, and even featured a character based on union leader

Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, a major event in the history o ...

Music

* The tune that plays when Monty loses a life is the hymn ''

Abide with Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847). A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is m ...

''. * The music is a downtempo cover of the

Colonel Bogey March The "Colonel Bogey March" is a British march that was composed in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881–1945) (pen name Kenneth J. Alford), a British Army bandmaster who later became the director of music for the Royal Marines at Plymout ...

Reception

''Wanted: Monty Mole'' reached number 2 in the all-formats sales charts behind ''

Daley Thompson's Decathlon ''Daley Thompson's Decathlon'' is an Olympic-themed sports video game developed and released by Ocean Software in 1984. It was released in the wake of Daley Thompson's popularity following his gold medals in the decathlon at the 1980 and 1984 ...

'' in the week up to 13 September 1984. It topped the ZX Spectrum charts in the same week before being replaced by ''Daley Thompson's Decathlon'' the following week. Gremlin Graphics reported that they had sold 20,000 copies in the first six weeks. The game received a positive reception from critics. '' Crash'' rated it 92%, describing it as a "fantastic ''

Jet Set Willy ''Jet Set Willy'' is a platform video game written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time. The game is a sequel to '' Manic Miner'' pub ...

'' type of game with excellent graphics and a good use of colour throughout". ''

Personal Computer Games ''Personal Computer Games'' was a multi-format UK computer games magazine of the early/mid-1980s published by VNU. History ''Personal Computer Games'' was launched in July 1983. The magazine was part of VNU and had its headquarters in London ...

'' gave it 80%, saying "if you can put up with a measure of frustration, Monty Mole will unearth a great deal of action for your money", while also praising the graphics. It also won '' Crash'' magazine's readers award for best platform game in 1984.

Sequels

* '' Monty Is Innocent'' (1985). In this game, Monty has been sentenced to five years in Scudmore Prison for stealing a bucket of coal. Monty's best friend, the mysterious masked weasel, Sam Stoat, is determined to set Monty free. * ''

Monty on the Run ''Monty on the Run'' is a computer game created by the software house Gremlin Graphics and released in 1985 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 16, written by Peter Harrap for the ZX Spectrum with the iconic in-game music ...

'' (1985). In this episode, Monty is on the run from the authorities after his intervention in the Miners' strike. He must escape from his house and head for the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

and freedom in Europe. * ''

Auf Wiedersehen Monty ''Auf Wiedersehen Monty'' (German for "Goodbye Monty") is a computer game for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 16. Released in 1987, it is the fourth game in the ''Wanted: Monty Mole, Monty Mole'' series. It was writt ...

'' (1987). In this instalment, Monty travels around Europe collecting money in order to buy a Greek island - Montos, where he can safely retire. * ''

Moley Christmas ''Moley Christmas'' is a platform game released in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum. It was available exclusively as a covermount cassette for ''Your Sinclair'' magazine. ''Moley Christmas'' is the fifth game in the ''Monty Mole'' series and a sequel to ...

'' (1987). Released as a covertape with ''

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, Monty is tasked with recovering the

source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...

to his latest game and getting it to the duplication plant. * ''

Impossamole ''Impossamole'' is a platform game developed by Core Design for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. It was released in 1990 and published by Gremlin Graphics. NEC Technologies published it on TurboGrafx-16 the follow ...

'' (1990), remaking Monty as a cape-clad superhero who is recruited by aliens to retrieve their sacred scrolls. * ''Monty: Revenge of the Mole'' (2013), released after it was selected as the winner of a ''Monty Mole'' game design competition held by Games Britannia in British schools; the game was developed by Steel Minions Studio, as adapted from the winning design. All proceeds from sales of the games went to the charity

SpecialEffect SpecialEffect is a charity based in the United Kingdom founded in 2007. It specialises in helping physically disabled people, specifically children, play video games. The organisation works with developers to create specialised game control d ...

, a charity aimed at helping physically disabled people play video games.

References

External links

* *
Fan remake for Windows and Linux
at LunySoft {{Monty Mole 1984 video games Commodore 64 games Europe-exclusive video games Fictional moles Gremlin Interactive games Monty Mole Platformers Video game franchises introduced in 1984 Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Political satire video games