Reviews

One of a number of early 3D games from Micromega, this takes its inspiration from the speeder bike chase in the film Return of The Jedi.

The effect of speeding through the forest is a pretty good one, all the more effective to anyone who had just seen the aforementioned film. That it ran on a 16K Spectrum was all the more remarkable as a technical achivement.

On the downside, there's not really much to the gameplay; avoiding crashing into trees, and shooting at other bikes and the occasional tank or helicopter is about all there is to it. A change of palette allows for night driving stages with lower contrast colours, but otherwise doesn't change the game.

Overall, it's a simple but effective game. It's good for a quick blast, but there's no real depth and not much of a challenge either.

Your object is to avoid the same fate as Marc Bolan, killed by crashing into a tree. You won't avoid it.
In this existential game only the inanimate trees can kill you. You can take two routes to clocking up points. You can ride your bike slowly, twisting between the trees, knowing it will soon get boring - you could go on almost forever - or you can go full tilt to hunt down the rival bikers and fire bolts through their backs.
As it is human nature we're dealing with here you will go after the thrill and ruthlessly gun down your fleeing rivals... until you misjudge your steering and crash.
Deathchase is a psycological masterpiece. You live your minimalistic biker life to the full until your inevitable death.

Crikey - these 16k games aren't half bad !

3d deathchase written by Mervyn j Escourt was the 1st ever Crash - Game of the month way back in issue 1 before the heady days of Crash Smashes .

Its a simple enough premise , executed really well , a virtual " endor bike chase scene " simulator , you are propelled foward at lightning speed , the only thing you have to avoid are the trees , hit one - lose a life , lose 3 and thats it ! Game over.

To complete a level you have to shoot the bikers which are always ahead of you , they weave in and out of the trees with ease , there's also bonus points for shooting the tanks or helicopters that occasionally pass by.

The graphics are very basic , but considering its all done to fit into less than 16k , its mighty impressive.

The controls are responsive and the game has levels / high score feature to keep you coming back for just one more go , a speccy classic .

A very exciting game, indeed !! The sense of speed is very well accomplished in this Spectrum classic .

Accelerate to the limit, and go !!

4,5 stars .

Although this was highly regarded when 16K was the state of the art, it now shows all its age, and it's not a pretty sight. After 10 minutes or so, this faux-3D chase game becomes boring and repetitive, letting you want something more varied and deep. Still, it keeps a certain charm - of the way we played when the Spectrum was young!

One of the best looking games on the Speccy! Such brilliant graphics and great gameplay! One of the best games ever released on the computer, just magnificent. The only let down is the sound, okay it was 1983 and it was 16K so we probably shouldn't have been expecting much, but most of us wear earphones in this day in age so the repeated sound effect won't go well at all. But regardless of the sound it is still an excellent game that looks and plays well today.

First person biker/shooter game, from 1983.
Great fun to play, with quite a feeling of speed as you dodge between the trees of some seemingly endless forest. There are bad guys to chase and shoot, all nice and simple, but enough to make a satisfying game.
A real Spectrum classic, and very impressive for a 16k game from 1983.

1983 Micromega (UK)
by Mervyn Estcourt and R.B.

The year: 2501, 100 years after the Great War.
The American continent is ruled by Warlords in constant fighting for every inch of territory.
You belong to the elite mercenaries, knowed as the Riders of the Big Bikes.

The storyline is great, but the game is in fact a little simpler, not that it makes it any worst, by any means, no, Deathchase is a classic in it's own right.

You basically patrol a wide territory, both by night and day, chasing enemy riders and destroying them with a guided lazer beam installed on your bike.

Again, Deathchase is a classic, an all-time classic Spectrum game, with simple but incredible game play that only fails on variety, but never lets you down on fun.

Classic game this, set the standards for many. One of the most iconic games on the Spectrum and its place in gaming history is richly deserved.

Speed through a forest on a motorbike avoiding the trees whilst shooting the other riders. Simple, yet brilliant. Twitch gaming at it's best.

Probably spectacular in 1983....it did not aged well.

A spectrum classic, that did not aged with honour...this would have been considered very poor in 84-87 and after 88 an underaverage game..


But in 1983...damm! marvellously good!

A spectrum classic

A classic game that never seems to get old. Still a joy to play today.

A splendid masterpiece for the Spectrum 16K made in 1983 by Mervyn Estcourt.

An addictive first-person arcade in which we control a rider who patrols a forest day & night chasing enemies and shooting at them. Also helicopters and tanks can be shot as bonus.

The higher the level, the denser the forest is, being almost impossible to avoid trunks at high levels (obligatory recall of the Endor forest scene in 'The Return of the Jedi'). Acceptable graphics but a great gameplay with a sound that involves you in a exciting atmosphere.