Time Bandit

The Good
This game represented the beginning of a glorious time in the 6809 machine world. Released just after another smash Trs-80 convert "Cashman", this was one of those high profile Microdeal games that signified that they were no longer interested in converting any old 8 or 16 k TRS-80 co co game. No semi graphics, no mediocre text adventures. They actually wanted the good stuff with graphics that if not quite matching those on the C64 or Spectrum were at least in the same league. The graphics are a decent example of what the 6809 machines were capable of achieving, and the sound had a lovely new effect I have not seen on any game previous- a sort of satisfying squelching that made a big change from the usual explosions and much better than that available on many contemporary machines. Game wise it is a very big enterprise by any standards. Although many of the screens are just inverted versions of others, it is still pretty huge even when you take this into account. The 6809 machines were actually really good machine for squeezing value out of- a famous example of this is the version of Jet Set Willy for the Dragon 32 which was fifteen screens larger than the Spectrum version at 48k. Time Bandit was just a game that was massive by any 1980's standards. The gameplay is nearly perfect, and considering how frenetic the game is there is still a fair chunk of strategy is required. Unusually the game looks as good in the green mode as in the black and white mode (which is artifacted into colour on the US Dragons and Co-Co). The text adventure element was not on the 6809 versions, and the game really does not need it. The shame is many people abandoned the machine without getting as far as Time Bandit when Dragon Data went bust. Those that stayed found a game full of optimism for the future.

The Bad
When the power is low the flickering makes it near impossible to continue. Simply inverting the screen colour set would have been enough.

The Bottom Line
So good it got the 16 bit treatment a couple of years later. It did more than the people who designed the machine ever intended.

The Good
The game is unique. I've never seen anything else like it. I am sure that without the bugs, this game would be a timeless classic. Right up there with S.T.U.N. Runner. I played this game as a child and it is still one of my favorites.

The Bad
The gameplay sucks, the bad guys are invincible and move way too fast. This is mostly due to some bugs, I think.

The Bottom Line
Your character may choose from a variety of different areas to loot from. Some are futuristic, and some are ancient and cryptic. It's sort of labyrinth-like and has monsters and all that good stuff, some of which are invincible to your phaser. The bugs cause just about all of the monsters to be invincible, however, which makes the game much harder than it should be. Hopefully once these bugs are fixed, the game will be as enjoyable as it was when playing it on the Atari ST.