Reviews

1985 Mirrorsoft (UK)
by Rod Bowkett

You could call Dynamite Dan a Jet Set Willy clone, after all, most of the original elements are here, but that would be a tad unfair. Dynamite Dan is probably the best use of the JSW idea there is, true, but there is more to the game than what meets the eye. In fact it's filled with much more content than the assumed inspiration.

Instead of just collecting items, for example, DD forces you to run around screens, while collecting sticks of dynamite to blow up the safe where your girlfriend is trapped (the main goal). You can also catch weapons to destroy some evildoers on your way or food to help you in your quest. There are lots of features like teleports, trampolines, elevators, tightropes and even a river where you can navigate using a raft.

It's not an easy game, au contraire, I think it's even harder than JSW (maybe good news for die hard JSW fans), and there is always the infinite lives pokes option available. Difficult or not, original or not, in the end it's a highly playable and great fun game. One of the best I've seen and played on the Speccy.

This plays very similar to Jet Set Willy only with better graphics. It's also a lot harder. In fact it's practically impossible and because of this it's just no fun to play.
There's always infinite lives pokes but if you have to cheat to make a game playable then what's the point?

Seems pretty good, but rather difficult. The sequel is much more playable.
Beautiful to look at.

Dynamite Dan by Rod Bowkett for Mirrorsoft is an excellent plattform game that can be considered as an 'enhanced' Jet Set Willy. Detailed and colourful graphics, sounds, different tunes and a high difficulty level define this game.

Dynamite Dan, top agent, must enter evil Dr. Blitzen's mansion and steal his plans of a new and terrific weapon. To do this, Dan must find the 8 dynamite sticks (randomly located in every game) to blow the safe where the plans are hidden.

The mansion consists of 48 very detailed screens, also full of enemies. Dan arrives at the top of the building in a zepellin. He can use weapons, food, and even an oxygen bottle to survive in the river at the bottom of the mansion. A raft is an option to cross it. There are other features that make this game a cool adventure: teleports, tightropes, trampolines, ...

In short, a great plattform game with lots of nice features, hard to play though, and a sequel with the same quality.

Dynamite Dan achieved what very few games were capable of, it was a game that got the attention even of those who were not interested in video games. And it did not lack merits to achieve it: its graphic appearance was detailed but clear, thanks to its careful animations all the characters had their own personality. But the best thing was the interaction between the graphic and the sound aspect. I don't know how they did it but being a 48K title it was capable of simultaneously combining different sound effects and not very long musical melodies.
It was like a dream come true, that for a game so dynamic and full of action there would be a sound section so careful, polished and above all integrated with the rest without causing slowdown.



This historical title deserves to be remembered as one of the friendliest and funniest.

In this game, exploration is important but perhaps not as important as in others because it is full of details and puzzles and therefore memory can't manage a large number of screens


Actually, what counts here is skill and speed. It is a frenzied platform. Impossible to rest for a moment.
As if all this were not enough, the sound is ubiquitous (and excellent).
An adorable creation full of amazing details that make you wonder if you're looking at an old spectrum game.

One of the best mad scientists ever represented
Game that is capable of being shown to any child today and fulfilling



When you're bored don't hesitate, play Dynamite Dan