Review by Pegaz on 14 Apr 2009 (Rating: 5)
My all time favourite Spectrum game, with fantastic graphics and animation.
Great story too, based on well known comic book, becomes classic Spectrum game.
Also, this version is far better than the other computers, especially designed to use full capacity of the machine.
I was never a huge fan of Dan Dare when I was a kid, even though they tried to keep him going for way, way longer than his welcome, he was pretty much dying a death in the 1980's. Suffering from the typical situation of Sci-Fi characters from previous decades falling into that cheesy 50's Sci-Fi type affair, and already being considerably outdated at the time. It's kind of like Marvel now, why when exposed to all that Gamma Radiation didn't Bruce Banner just die a horrible slow agonizing death like most humans would?
Anyway I kind of lost it for a second.....
Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future, and it's sequels soon after in the following years actually managed to breathe a little bit of life back into the old Space Colonel as it were. I don't need to explain that really, I can just let the game speak for itself.
So the story goes the Mekon has hollowed out an Asteroid, and set it on a propelled course to collide with Earth unless the Earth government bend to his will it will destroy the planet. Well Dan's not gonna stand for that shit so him and Digby jump in the Anastasia and off they go towards the Asteroid!
After a rather nice cinematic intro which may I add was not something particularly common in 1986, Dan is beamed down to the surface of the Asteroid by Digby, and the game begins proper. The game could best be described as an arcade adventure, as there is some mild puzzling to be solved, and there are items to pick up. There is a jump function as well as the usual run, duck, and shoot, but this game doesn't have a great deal of platforming really.
The goal of the game is to find the 5 SOS keys for the self destruct sequence of the Asteroid, and escape after priming it. However you only have 2 hours to do it, and although Dan cannot actually be physically killed during the game, if his energy runs out, not only do the Treens put him in jail, but it takes a good chunk of your 2 hours away from you as well. This is explained as the Treens knocking Dan over the head and him taking time to recover from the ordeal. Fair enough I suppose.
The sound is functional I'll give it that, but the games visuals are where it shines. The Sprites are all green, but the backgrounds, playfield upon which the characters move, and foregrounds, are very nicely detailed, and also very nicely coloured. Also to add a nice effect at points during the game when Dan is captured, or performs a key action that is integral to progression, comic book style boxes appear on screen. This is a really nice touch, and shows that the programmers at Virgin at the time really tried to focus on the games Comic Book origins, and try to keep the game in spirit with that.
That's about all I really need to say, the game is extremely playable, extemely well presented with so much extra polish that wasn't really a necessity at the time of the games release but infinitely adds to the atmosphere because of it, and even if it wasn't there the game would still be pretty good if it was a bare bones experience.
Also I'd like to add that the Speccy version is the best version of this game out there. Much better than the weird condensed and orange, and purple mess that is the CPC version, and INFINITELY better than the crapfest that is the weird Commode 64 version. Where I might add Dan wanders round at a snails pace, the Treens look like they have fish bowls or lighbulbs on their heads, and for some reason Dan is followed round by a really annoying Aardvark like creature. It has more of an actual comic book intro, but the colours on it are awful. Dan Looks like he's been nursing a burger, and pie addiction, the Mekon looks like Barry Norman, and Digby looks like Rodney Dangerfield.....Sometimes less is more I think.
Speccy version for the win, and this game wins it's max point score with great ease. A true classic!
£9.95 at release was quite a bit, but it's a licensed game nonetheless, and may have just been worth that. It's budget re-release a year or so later at £1.99 was an absolute steal Ricochet Software got some really good licenses early on and this gem along with classics like Way of the Exploding Fist, and Aliens, just so happens to be one of them.
A very cool game by the Gang of Five for Virgin Games, based on the famous comic character by Frank Hampson published in Eagle magazine.
The Mekon threatens the Earth with an artificial asteroid that dangerously approaches it. Dan Dare and his mate Digby must fly to the asteroid, where our hero must, in a limited time, find five scattered pieces of a self-destruct mechanism and assemble them -one at a time- in the control room while Digby awaits in the spaceship.
The asteroids consists of 120-130 coloured and detailed screens. Re-chargers for the laser gun and energy booters pills are spread along the asteroid. The lifts to reach upper/lower floors are a good and original feature.
The game has a frenetic rhythm; dozens of enemies, robots and cannon turrets will try to fire you and send to prison, where you'll lose vital minutes.
Dan Dare is an enjoyable adventure that follows a cool 50's comics aesthetic both in graphics and texts.
