TechnoCop (Tape)

"Step into the future... technology has overtaken society - the rich are richer, the poor are poorer - chaos, unrest, destruction...lawlessness reigns, terror rules. But this is your territory, your assignment with death. These are your streets and you have volunteered to clean out the scum, destroy the street gangs and eliminate the deviants that pollute your city. Yes you have your beloved sleek racer, but armed with only a stun gun and keep net, what skills do you possess to neutralize the many hundreds who lie in wait for you? Being a cop is always dangerous, being a cop of the future is a step into the unknown."

Notable differences on the Tape version are different title music which goes uncredited in this version and no Highscore table. The Gremlin disk version seems to have a bugged title screen displaying black as blue. This has to be one of the worst multiload games on the C64 second only to Street Fighter II with a very slow yet psychedelic loader. The level files are all spread out on side b with driving levels first, platform levels next and then some misc stuff for the platform levels. At the end of each platform section you rewind the tape and start it over. It ignores previous level data which you have to sit through or fast forward to the next level data. If the loading was left in the longplay it would have been more than 3 hours long! Annoyingly the ending did not work resulting in a blank screen on both the original and kixx re-release tape image. Even though the game says to rewind to start, the ending is actually the last file on the tape and in the correct position when finishing the final Ievel. (of course I checked if that was the issue - it wasn't) I had to find a crack version with the tape ending (no highscore table). Another bug that I noticed just once but may be others that the kill or capture assignment can change between ending part one and starting part 2. What you see on the arm screen is the important one to follow.

The C64 game seems modelled on the 16bit versions of the game which doesn't help it. The game has 11(22) levels split between a Driving Stage and a Platform stage. In the driving stage you are racing against the clock to get to a crime in progress, In your way are cars wanting to only slow you down and should be dispatched by any means necessary. As you progress in the game capturing or elimination as requested, you get turbo, ram, nuke and cannon upgrades making quick work of the opposition. Then its onto the platform stage where you need to navigate a maze like building dispatching bad guys, taking leaps of faith, taking lifts all while avoiding any mines. Some areas have evidence that can be collected for bonus points. Once you reach the major criminal you need to capture or exterminate as shown on your arm screen. Failing to do so or letting them escape will result in no car bonus or promotion. If there is any time left on the clock you can get bonus points for making it out within the limit.

Overall, its an alright action game but is the weakest of all versions. Even the spectrum puts in a good showing making good use of its 128k for extra sfx, smooth scrolling and details sprites. In the C64 game the maze levels are quite small and not to difficult to navigate. where as other versions it can be easy to get lost due to larger levels. The loading of the tape game can be maddening and may have discouraged players from completing the game. The driving section looks like an early version of crazy cars III yet quite basic overall. I think more could have been done with car details like showing the upgrades as you get them. One last thing, the sfx used when losing control of the car sounds very familiar yet i cant pin it down.

00:00:00 Title Screens
00:02:45 Level 1
00:06:06 Level 2
00:10:04 Level 3
00:14:42 Level 4
00:18:36 Level 5
00:24:16 Level 6
00:29:24 Level 7
00:35:35 Level 8
00:40:52 Level 9
00:46:50 Level 10
00:52:13 Level 11