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MobyRank
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
3.7
MobyScore
5 point score based on user ratings.

Description

Billy "Commander Keen" Blaze, an eight-year-old genius, has flied to Mars in his Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket build out of common household objects. But while Keen was exploring Mars, the alien Vorticons stole vital parts from his ship and hid them in the Martian cities. Now Keen must find the stolen parts if he wants to return to Earth.

Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars is the first in a series of platform games. Your objective is to find the 4 missing parts to your ship.

The game begins with a top-down map of Mars. This is the level select screen, where you can walk around and choose the next level you want to enter. On each level, you have to find the exit, and possibly grab a missing rocket part which may be on the level. Once you reach the exit, you're back on the map of Mars.

The levels are typically full of enemy creatures. Most numerous are Yorps, which are mostly harmless, if annoying, but other creatures are a genuine danger. If Keen gets shot or touched, or falls into a pit or some hazardous object, he dies, and you're booted out of the level back to the map of Mars and lose one of the lives.

Thankfully, Keen can defeat some of the enemies with his raygun. He can also find a pogo stick which allows him to jump very high. Other items to find include keycards that open locked doors and bonus items which give score (Keen gets an extra life if he collects enough score).

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User Reviews

The first game in a great series Black Wolf (37232) 2.75 Stars2.75 Stars2.75 Stars2.75 Stars2.75 Stars
Who said side-scrolling platform games were not possible on PC's?! Rensch (165) 3.75 Stars3.75 Stars3.75 Stars3.75 Stars3.75 Stars
One of the first scrolling platform games for our beloved PC Xa4 (257) unrated
A definitive shareware classic. Zovni (9139) 4.25 Stars4.25 Stars4.25 Stars4.25 Stars4.25 Stars
Console-quality graphics and gameplay on a regular PC! Trixter Bronze Star Contributing Member (8866) 3.25 Stars3.25 Stars3.25 Stars3.25 Stars3.25 Stars
Over-rated platform game that suffered in comparison to concurrent games on other platforms. Robert Morgan (882) 1.75 Stars1.75 Stars1.75 Stars1.75 Stars1.75 Stars
The first Keen game Steve Hall Bronze Star Contributing Member (322) 3.75 Stars3.75 Stars3.75 Stars3.75 Stars3.75 Stars
A Definative Platformer. Definitely one of the Best of All Time Plix (209) 4.75 Stars4.75 Stars4.75 Stars4.75 Stars4.75 Stars

The Press Says

The Good Old Days Nov 29, 2007 6 out of 6 100
Abandonia Reloaded Feb 23, 2008 4.6 out of 5 92
Christ Centered Game Reviews Jun 01, 2005 4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars 80

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Trivia

Commander Keen is one of the most successful shareware games ever, and spawned no less than 6 games in the series.

Marooned on Mars is the first of three episodes of the series Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons. The other two are "The Earth Explodes" and "Keen Must Die!".


This entry to the MobyGames database was contributed by Tomer Gabel Bronze Star Contributing Member (4476) on Aug 14, 1999.
 

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