Red Heat is based on the Walter Hill film of the same name, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi. You take control of Soviet detective Ivan Danko (played by Schwarzenegger), who travels to Chicago in pursuit of the fearsome Georgian drug lord Victor Rosta.

The game is essentially a side-scrolling beat'em up in the vein of Vigilante. As Danko, you proceed across four levels which follow the movie's original setting, where you are constantly attacked by members of the Cleanheads, a group of drug-dealers who are in business with Victor Rosta. To eliminate hostiles you can either punch them (slow but long-ranged) or head-butt them (close-ranged but faster). The only defensive move available is crouching, so as to avoid being hit - there is no jumping or any other evasive tactics. Occasionally, you can get hold of a handgun and fire six shots at the villains. Other items you can pick up will boost your health, grant you access to bonus levels, or cause you to lose control of Danko for a few seconds.

One peculiarity of Red Heat is its widescreen-like game area, and the fact that all characters are drawn from the waist up. This may find partial explanation in the first level, set in a Russian sauna where, as in the original movie scene, all characters are not wearing clothes.

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Screenshots

Red Heat Commodore 64 The motel shootout. These damn villains won't even give Danko the time to put some clothes on!

Red Heat ZX Spectrum There's more to this beat-em-up than fighting, it seems there are puzzles too

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Alternate Titles

"Double Détente" -- French title

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Critic Reviews

Commodore User	Commodore 64	Jul, 1989	82 out of 100	82
Sinclair User	ZX Spectrum	Jun, 1989	78 out of 100	78
Your Sinclair	ZX Spectrum	Aug, 1991	76 out of 100	76
Crash!	ZX Spectrum	Jun, 1989	74 out of 100	74
The Games Machine (UK)	Amiga	Oct, 1989	69 out of 100	69
Zzap!	Amiga	Sep, 1989	62 out of 100	62
The Games Machine (UK)	Commodore 64	Aug, 1989	50 out of 100	50
Lemon64	Commodore 64	Mar 18, 2002	4 out of 10	40
Commodore Format	Commodore 64	Aug, 1991	38 out of 100	38
Power Play	Amiga	Sep, 1989	27 out of 100	27