Reviews

Quite probably isometric gaming at its best. The puzzles are really well designed, the graphics are silly but draw you in and the map itself is huge so you'll be playing it for ages. There really isn't anything wrong with this game at all.

There's not much to say about this game that hasn't been said before. It's huge, it looks and sounds beautiful and it's the pinnacle of isometric 8-bit arcade-adventure gaming.

The influence of the Ultimate games such as Knight Lore is obvious, although Head Over Heels improves on their game mechanics in several subtle fashions; there's little evidence of slowdown in busy rooms and intelligent use of depth cues makes it less likely to completely misjudge the position of objects in 3D space.

Jon Ritman's excellent programming and game design is perfectly complemented by Bernie Drummond graphics which managed to achieve the unique feat of out-cuting Ultimate with some superb design work. It's a big game, and requires much mapping and practice to complete, but it's largely a fair one and well worth the effort.

Head Over Heels represents the plateau of isometric arcade adventures started by Ant Attack four years earlier. That its achievements are largely evolutionary rather than revolutionary shouldn't take anything away from that.

The absolute pinnacle of isometric gameplay and also a massive playing map with logical progression between zones. Witty and well-designed and certainly one of the best ever Spectrum games.

I never really liked isometric games back in the day and still don't now, but there was something about Head over Heels that stood out. Neat gameplay, cute graphics, great music and hours of fun. One of the finest games ever made in the 8-bit era that put some of the newer platform games to shame.

Good isometric game. A lot of people think it's the best speccy game, but I find it too similar to most isometric games, just like Knight Lore but lacks the WOW factor of this one had when it was released.

In fact, it's a 3D platform/action more than a true adventure game. That's probably the problem with me and HoH, I think the isometric engine suites better to adventures (ala WTSS) where you get involved in the atmosphere and don't have to simply get over one screen after another collecting items and avoiding badies.

But if you like this kind of games, this is probably the best in its genre (personally I prefer Batman).

The first full price game I ever bought.

Admittedly it took me over 20 years to finally complete the game without cheats. But still what a masterpiece.

For me the appeal of these isometric games was having a 3d world to explore inside your spectrum. This game goes much further than that - there are 5 different planets to liberate. Each of these worlds has it's own style and the can be explored in the order you choose.

Other gamers liked the puzzles of these 3d games. Well no problems here either. The 2 different characters can team up or be separated ensuring a far greater variety of puzzles than most isometric games. There are some great rooms in this game to try and get your head around.

Then of course there are those players who liked a bit of action with their puzzling. Head over Heals plays very well here. There are some jumping and dodging skills to be learned, as well as a bit of shooting. Often knowing what to do is half the battle but the game never feels unfair.

Obviously you also need to make the graphics appealing. Here again Head over Heels scores. It is by far the most gorgeous looking of the room based isometric games. There are brilliant flashes of humour in the design of both head and heels and the inhabitants of the strange places you visit.

It's not perfect. There are a few cases of slowdown where there are many baddies or movable blocks on screen at once. These are rare enough to be forgiveable and don't detract much from the experience. I also didn't like the 128K music - much prefering the 48k beeper effects, but each to their own.

So a great looking game that appeals to the explorer, puzzler or actioner in you.

1987 Ocean Software (UK)
by Jon Ritman, Bernie Drummond, Guy Stevens and F.D. Thorpe (loading screen)

Like user 'apenao' says I also find this game too similar to most isometric games, and for that alone I would never consider this the best Speccy game, specially when there are other great games outhere that fulfill almost all requirements to be the best game.
Anyway this is ONE (not number one) of the best games ever produced for the spectrum and the best in its style.
I would rate it with a 4,5+ if possible, cant do that so I'll give it a 4.

By far my favourite isometric game on the speccy. Excellent "themed" areas with distinctive styles and intricate graphics. For me, oddly reminiscent of the zones of "The Crystal Maze" or some similar TV show.

Certainly the game can be difficult, but in a good way and by no means impossible.

The defining feature of this game has to be when you unite Head and Heels and they have to work together to jointly solve some simple puzzles.

It also spawned an excellent Windows-based remake which I also had the pleasure of completing, quite some time ago now. (Think it even appeared on a "Retro Gamer" cover CD back when they had them.)

I've played a few other isometric titles, but none of them could grab me quite in the same way that HoH did.

For me, one of my all-time favourite games on any platform. Quite unexpected too, as when I fired it up for the first time, I had no idea what the game was about or the huge scale of the in-game universe awaiting my explorations. It's just one of those games that sucks you in until you see it through to the very end.

Head over Heels is one of the few isometric games I actually enjoy. It's not without it's share of problems though. The perspectives makes it hard to judge jumps and some of the platforms you have to jump on are obscured making the game more difficult than it need be. Unlike most games of it's ilk, there's actually something to do on most screens. It's hard not to love the 2 main protagonists and it's a great feeling when you finally get them together. The fact that they each have their own individual strengths lends itself to some great puzzles as you figure out how best to solve each screen. The best game of it's genre.

Where to start? After reading and rereading the preview in Your Sinclair my expectations were sky high for this game. To think decades and 100's of games later, Head Over Heels is still hands down my favourite game of all time. I still own my original copy and those YS magazines that covered it and have returned to this game more than any other, I'm playing through the Amstrad cpc version now. After that I have completing Monster Max on the GameBoy in my sights. HoH is not only a classic, but for me, has never been surpassed and I suspect never will be.

What to say about this title that has already not been said? In my opinion, it is the finest isometric 3D game available for the Spectrum (and other systems as well, I guess; I also played it on the C64 and Atari ST) bar none. Join the eponymous characters in their quest to liberate the galaxy from the evil Blacktooth empire. The different strenghts and weaknesses of both of them and the large, varied worlds you will have to negotiate, where almost every screen is a challenge requiring brains and precision as well as fast reflexes, ensure a whole lot of taxing fun even nowadays.

You may have heard about this one.
4,75/5

I didn't really see as much appeal to this as others did but I will agree that it's a fun game, it looks great and will probably keep you entertained for quite a while. I just never got far with it and lack the patience to do so.

When We thought that in 1987 all the good isometric adventures had already come out and no new other will reach their quality, Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond pulled this game out of their hat.

Knight Lore, Alien 8, Fairlight, Movie, Batman, ... and now this funny game with an original touch: You can control either Head or Heels separately or Both. Each one has his own abilities: Head can fly high and Heels can jump his own height.

Both are symbiotic partners, two spies with a dangerous mission: escape from the Blacktooh prison where they are imprisoned and help the planets taken over by the evil Blacktooth empire reach freedom.

As usual, there are some objects that will help you in your adventure.

A good game with excellent graphics, movements, sounds & tune and all the ingredients that makes Head Over Heels one of the Spectrum classics.

And if that's not enough, a great loading screen by F. David Thorpe and an amazing artwork by Bob Wakelin.

Probably the most iconic ZX game. Surely (or almost) the absolute pinnacle, not only for the Speccy, but for the totality of the 80's software. Yes. it's a dare affirmation, but HoH it's too much.
Note that the technical aspects are not always able to make a game immortal, in the case of the "chosen ones", there must be, not a balance, but rather an outstanding feat for all purposes; i.e. every aspect of the game must be Superb. This is the case.

turn for the best:


What can be said that it has not already been said of the probably more time-proof game in the history of the humble grey machine?

Well I'll try to elaborate the most weird factory defect that comes to my head:
The loading screen is almost the best in history... and that breaks the not-so-written-or-verified rule that the best the game, the worst the loading screen.

and winter finally came. And with it the conjunction of the planets...Jupiter and Saturn aligned like never before
... and with all them the Covid third wave ??? ...

Blow, blow, thou winter wind

as in Shakespeare's poem ...

And what better activity for such dark times than to explore the vast places of one of the best adventure maps ever?

Head over Heels should deserve a separate chapter in the history of the Spectrum
-And a good proof of his immortality is the appearance years later on the Nintendo Game Boy of Monster Max, a clone of the same authors, Ritman and Drummond

Puzzles and tests of all kinds, a display of fun, technical excellence and quality. As I said, an immortal game for you to rediscover it in these troubled times.

I read very good reviews for Head over Heels and Skool Daze. No wonder they are among the most acclaimed. Good fun and surprising. Let's focus on HoH, one of my historical favorites.
Its appearance was not as novel as perhaps others (saturated market perhaps?) But it was groundbreaking. It's great to alternately handle your 2 characters. Different qualities (jump). When they come together it is the best.The graphics of the rest of the characters and the decoration are sooo beautiful. And they also have a great balance between what they want to show and the detail with which they show it.
The sound is 10/10. It's amazing how well it works more than 3 decades later.

In addition to everything mentioned before me [1], I'd like to comment that in addition to the great technical section this game shines in its puzzles. So I love puzzles and still have them in some way in this great arcade adventure!


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[1] By the way, very few games have so much consensus about their level