Fred

The Good
Digging trough the Atari 8-bit computer's game library, there is a disappointing lack of scrolling platformer games. There is even less that is playable. Spelunker is great but archaic, Cavernia and Wlockij or what are difficult beyond belief, and there is that new homebrew one whose name escapes me and requires an expanded machine.

Then there is Fred, which is... quite okay! The graphics look good enough for an early 90s 8-bit game, the design is straightforward, the music is nice, and the difficulty is reasonably challenging. There are various upgrades to pick up like invincibility, various weapons.

The Bad
I don't find it very inviting to play as a crazy old hermit (you might say, how ironic :D) whose biggest concern are bugs and other small animals. Throwing rocks and spraying bugs in style to techno music!

Or jumping over pits with ponds of white stuff. By the way, what is that? Milk? Or... something more obscene? Ugh, I would die too if I would fall into that!

The walking speed is slow and the jumping physics are a bit weird.

The Bottom Line
A makeshift game for your Atari cave.