The Last V8
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The Last V8
(1986 on
Commodore 128)
Description official description
Seven years have passed since world war III, and only now dare you leave your shelter in order to investigate what has become of the surface world. You drive out in your specially-equipped vehicle, the Last V8, only to discover that the outside world is more hostile than you would have expected. Your task is now (as commended by a digitised voice at the beginning of each level) simply to get back to the base in as short time as possible.
The Last V8 is an over-head driving game where you must drive through narrow roads without crashing into anything, and with a strict deadline for your arrival at the base. This is somewhat complicated by the fact that you have only a narrow stripe of screen space to see where you're driving; two thirds of the screen is dedicated to instruments (speed readout, radiation level and mission objectives). The steering method is not the usual Sprint one; instead you simply pull the joystick in whichever direction you want to go, pulling it in the opposite direction in case you need to decelerate.
All versions except the C128 version have two levels. The first one takes place in an almost pastoral landscape where you must reach the scientific base, after which you must find your way back to your own base while avoiding radiation sources. A distance readout will help you find the correct route.
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Screenshots
Credits (Commodore 64 version)
4 People
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 68% (based on 8 ratings)
Players
Average score: 2.5 out of 5 (based on 8 ratings with 1 reviews)
A classic... a horrible classic...
The Good
It probably doesn't deserve to be called a classic, but I call it that because every C64 user I know had it, and we enthusiastically struggled with it. Why wouldn't we have? Going with the World's last V8-engined car after the nuclear apocalypse sounds cool in concept. You know, Mad Max and stuff.
The graphics for the first level is good (the second one is a bit blocky). The car is made of high resolution sprites and looks neat.
It's got Rob Hubbard's musical blessing on it, somehow composed from irritating noises into an awesome soundtrack! There are also a few digitized speech sound effects. Crude ones, but hey it's the C64!
The demo mode sometimes manages to play trough the entire first level. That's way much more than we ever will see from the game (without cheating or watching the longplay).
The Bad
One thing to criticise is that the playfield is just 1/3rd of the screen, the rest is filled up with a static image.
The main problem with this game that IT IS INSANELY, IMPOSSIBLY DIFFICULT!!!
You are driving the most fragile car on the narrowest roads ever, accompanied with very confusing controls. One small mistake and the car goes boom! Immediate game over. Immediate? I mean, drawn out with a long traumatizing game over jingle. I probably heard that jingle more than the soundtrack.
This would make a very challenging but still okay game, if there weren't those darn time limits. Not just one, TWO TIME LIMITS! First there is a timer for each level. Then, there is a second time limit disguised as a fuel bar. This is basically a time limit for the entire game. There is no refuelling.
The second level is even more difficult than the first one. You are in a city and you have to find the right path. You also have to watch your shield meter to avoid places with high radiation level.
Once I have beaten the game by cheating. And I have found out that it has just two levels. Disappointing. Way to cover the lack of content by ramping up the difficulty.
The Bottom Line
One of the hardest, most unforgiving games ever, that just punishes you without satisfaction or reward.
Commodore 64 · by 1xWertzui (1135) · 2017
Trivia
Sales
According to the magazine Retro Gamer (issue #1), the game was Mastertronic's #26 best selling game (139.946 copies).
Unreleased Apple port
According to The One (issue #1), Paul Blythe worked on a port for the Apple computer for Mastertronic, but this was never released.
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Игги Друге.
Additional contributors: Patrick Bregger, Jo ST.
Game added December 20, 2006. Last modified November 4, 2023.