Impossible Mission

Impossible Mission is one of the best games to date on the Sega. The graphics are bright, robust and colourful, and extremely well animated - 4125 runs, leaps and somersaults like an Olympic champion. The sound fits the bill perfectly, with buzzing robots, Atombender's taunts and the nerve-shattering scream as 4125 plummets to his doom. Overall, IM has just the right mixture of arcade action and puzzle-solving elements to ensure that once you start, you won't put it down until you've completed it. An essential purchase, and recommended without hesitation.

The graphics and sound are both completely terrific. The animation on all the sprites is as faultless as the brilliant backdrops, whilst the sound is ace with decent effects and even speech (who said the Sega's sound is useless?). But it's the gameplay that counts, and US Gold have managed to capture all the tense excitement of the classic C64 game and then some! What impresses me about Impossible Mission is that it truly is a test of skill, both in the arcade and puzzle stakes. If you are going to spend your Christmas money on a Sega game, put this one at the top of the list.

This is the type of game that I could really get into. I love games where you have to use your mind as well as your reflexes. There is a unique sense of satisfaction when at long last you reach the end. Especially, an ending that rewards you with a special animation. It is like you are seeing Mount Everest from the summit or something forbidden. Something few people will ever get to see. Unfortunately, this game is an exercise in futility and that's a shame because this is a decent game with a lot of variety. Just a little more play testing could have turned up the problems. I have given low marks for sound due the fact that it gets irritating after awhile. Because of this I usually play with the sound low.

COMMODE lovers thought it was great, apparently, but we weren't so sure - on the lovable old C64 you get brilliant music. That's not possible with the Spectrum. Nevertheless, Impossible Mission holds up as a good game even without the frills.

Mein Fazit lautet: Die ehemals unlösbare Aufgabe ist nun kein Problem mehr, sei es in der modernen oder der alten Fassung. Ob es an der mittlerweile größeren Spielerfahrung liegt? "Impossible Mission" steht aber auch 24 Jahre nach seinem Release immer noch für gute kurzweilige Unterhaltung, sowohl in der alten C-64- wie auch der neuen Nintendo DS-Fassung. Ich zähle es zu den Klassikern, die jeder Spielinteressierte kennen sollte, und wenn es nur wegen des Todesschreies des Agenten ist.

Trotz seines Alters ist Impossible Mission ein wirklich gutes Plattformspiel, das lange Zeit Spaß macht. Die Umsetzung ist sauber programmiert und gut gelungen: Vom Digi-Schrei bis zum letzten Butzel-Roboter ist alles da, was Elvins Herz begehrt; grafische Sensationen oder Soundorgien darf man natürlich nicht erwarten. Mir macht der Nachfolger "Impossible Mission II" zwar noch etwas mehr Spaß; doch da Impossible Mission erstens ein grundsolides Spiel ist und zweitens Software-Hits auf dem Master System immer seltener werden, sollte man sich den Kauf des Oldies überlegen. Bei dem Saltomortale...

You owe yourself to play this classic. Even in the unlikely case you don't like it, you'll at least be able to honestly claim you've tried it - because otherwise, nobody will take you seriously anymore. Oh, you wanted that job? Well, you shouldn't have confessed you don't know Impossible Mission then! Bwahahahahahahahaha!