Right from the start there is a unique high quality feel of care and attention to detail in the presentation. The windowed presentation tin holds the tape in place like a small museum display case and begs to be opened.
Inside is a single cassette with inlay and content listing, 3 Sheets of instructions and a board game sheet, 6 counters, a die and 2 denial pin badges of the Vic Screen and Denial logo. Underneath the contents is a label indicating the individual production number out of 45 limited edition units signed by the author.
The cassette is unusual in that it has been hand assembled from 2 cassettes to have a black and white side. Two sides of the album like Side Black and Side White on Queen II.
Side White ...As it Began
Game 1 is The Improbable War a steam punk themed turn based wargame. Fire, earth and water tanks battle it out. You know which resources you have but not those of the enemy until you actually engage in battle. Earth soaks up Water, Fire scorches Earth and Water douses Fire. Great fun, like scissors paper stone meets command and conquer - an expanded version is crying out to be made with resources and tank building and Vic Network play!
Game 2 is Ten Ten - a great strategy puzzle game in parallel worlds. This one messes with your head as you try to steer two players to the goals in 2 different mazes at the same time. Use the walls to stop one player moving while adjusting the other against the clock. Very nicely put together. A little like Sokoban, a lot more fun.
Game 3 is Go Left - a frenetic game of race the bunny from right to left by completing the joystick sequence. Good fun but that bunny gets very fast very quickly. I only gave this one a quick go but will be coming back to beat that level 3 bunny. I wonder does the reverse title screen indicate that the controls will flip at some point so up becomes down? If not a sequel is requested to spice this gem up further.
Game 4 is Two Two - the "Analogue" board game played in the real world. Throw the die and move and set a hot zone. If you are in the hot zone then its back to the start. e.g. if you throw a 2 and move from zone 1 to 2 you go back to the start. Even those at the finish are sent back to the start if zone 6 goes hot! My ten year old and I love this fast paced better version of Ludo. Jeff - you should contact Parker Bros.
Side Black
Game 5 is Night of the Ninja - Very slick title screen with flashing highlights before a compelling game where you play the black ninja trying to steal 8 lamps in the correct order A-H from the Japanese buildings while avoiding the white Ninja (plural - is the plural of Ninja, Ninja like with Sheep?) Gameplay is a bit like Amidar / Traxx or PacMan but without the painting or dot gobbling. The difficult bit is knowing which lamp to get first as they can only be examined close up. Higher levels offer rooms with multiple chambers and limited tunnels between them.
Game 6 is You Count - a great brain training game. Questions like how many numbers can you see? are odd? are less than 4? are fired out against a time limit. Very playable with a high one more go factor. I like the limited time span challenge to beat the high score.
Game 7 is Pillow Fight - I don't understand the title as the game refers to elements to collect that are good and some which are bad. The screen border colour determines which colour to collect. Bounce around the screen or move the joystick. A bit like Deflex by Jeff Minter with lots more twists. Bonus items such as level Warp and Prize rounds mix of the fun. The prize round allows a gamble for Nothing, Extra Life, Level warp or Death. I really enjoyed this one and cannot wait to get to level 12.
Summary
I do not recall any Vic-20 multigame collection being this good. This would easily stand up as a best of 3.5k Basic. It is more playable than many of my more modern games and the whole feel is of something very carefully crafted.
I feel privileged to have a copy of this collection and wish I had that kind of creativity to offer.
I enjoy all the games on the Collection, and they're inspiring for the presentation and aesthetic of how to create a simple, classic game on a retro computer.
