Manic Miner

Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy are without a doubt the two BEST games ever made for the Sinclair Spectrum computer in mid-1980s.

Designed by Matthew Smith and published by Bug Byte / Software Projects, these incredibly addictive platform action/adventure games are grandaddies of today's platform genre. Both games star Miner Willy, intrepid explorer who must explore 20 caverns in pursuit of treasures in Manic Miner, then clean up his own huge mansion (built from the fortunes he collected in those caverns) in Jet Set Willy.

In Manic Miner, you have to collect all the items from the cavern you are currently in, to get to the next cavern (level). You must hurry, though, as the oxygen keeps running out. Jet Set Willy makes the game much more fun with the addition of more varied locales (e.g. rooftop of your mansion, and the beach) and strange loonies who are out to ruin your day. Your task this time is to collect a given number of objects strewn about each of the mansion's rooms before Maria, your housekeeper, will let you go to bed. The games play much better than they sound, with very clever level design, user-friendly interface, and a seemingly endless variety of objects to collect and surprises to discover.

PC gamers now have a chance to try out these Spectrum classics for the first time, thanks to Andy Noble's exceptional conversion of the Spectrum originals. If you wonder where platformers come from, look no further than these 1983/1984 classics. Must-haves!

Review By HOTUD