Impossible Mission
Impossible Mission | |
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Platform | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Impossible Mission is a
From 1985 to 1988, the game was released for the Apple II, Atari 7800, ZX Spectrum, Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, and Master System.
Gameplay
The player takes the role of a
The player has six hours of game time to collect 36 puzzle pieces. Every time the player dies, 10 minutes are deducted from the total time. The puzzle pieces are assembled in groups of four. The puzzle pieces overlap so that three pieces can be assembled before the player realizes he must start over. Pieces may be in the wrong orientation, and the player may have to use the horizontal or vertical mirror images. Additionally, the puzzle pieces are randomized in every game. A completed puzzle forms a nine-letter password which lets the player reach Professor Atombender.[citation needed]
Development
The first element of the game to be created was the player character's animations, which designer Dennis Caswell lifted from a library book about athletics. Caswell recalled, "I animated the
The Commodore 64 version features early use of digitized speech: "Another visitor. Stay a while... stay forever!" and "Destroy him, my robots!" The digitized speech was provided by the company
I never met the performer but, when I supplied the script to the representative from ESS, I told him I had in mind a "50-ish English guy", thinking of the sort of arch-villain James Bond might encounter. I was told that they happened to have just such a person on their staff. When I was given the initial recordings, the ESS guy was apologetic about them being a touch hammy, but I thought the over-acting was amusing and appropriate, and they were left as is ...[5]
The game's title was one of the last elements to be finished. According to Caswell, "The choice of a name was delayed as long as possible, and Impossible Mission was more resorted to than chosen. It was, at least, somewhat descriptive, and the obvious allusion to Mission: Impossible was expedient, to the extent that both the game and the TV show involved high-tech intrigue."[5]
Reception
In March 1985,
Editors have praised it as "the first game that scared me"[13] thanks to its early use of digitized voice and mood setting audio effects. Stuff magazine listed it as one of the 10 best games for the Commodore 64 in their Commodore 64 at 40 article.[14]
Legacy
The sequel, Impossible Mission II, followed in 1988. It further complicated the quest with new traps and items. Elvin's stronghold also grew in size, divided into a number of towers which the player had to traverse, all the while picking up pieces of the password.[citation needed]
The game Electrocop was rumored to have started as a sequel to Impossible Mission, but this has not been substantiated.[15] In 1994, Impossible Mission 2025 was released for the Amiga. It kept the same idea as the previous games, and mainly featured updated graphics and audio, also allowing the player to choose among three different characters. The game also contains the Commodore 64 version of Impossible Mission.[5]
Developers System 3 revamped Impossible Mission[16] for the Sony PSP, Nintendo DS and Wii.[17][18] In the US, the Nintendo DS version was released exclusively at GameStop stores by Codemasters[19] (which, similar to the Amiga sequel, included a filter for graphics and audio to recreate the C64 original of Impossible Mission in terms of look and sound, albeit slightly remastered) and the Wii version was released in March 2008. This revamped version was later ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2019.[20]
In late 2022 it was announced that an officially licensed sequel is being developed by Icon64.[21]
References
- ^ Computer & Video Games. No. 42 (April 1985). 16 March 1985. pp. 29–35.
- ^ "Year-End Index" (PDF). Computer Entertainer. Vol. 3, no. 10. January 1985. p. 156.
- ^ "1985 Index" (PDF). Computer Entertainer. Vol. 4, no. 10. January 1986. p. 6.
- ^ Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ^ a b c d e f Bevan, Mike (December 2013). "The History of ... Impossible Mission". Retro Gamer. No. 122. Imagine Publishing. pp. 44–49.
- ^ a b c Edge issue 167, October 2006; "The making of Impossible Mission"
- ^ Dennis Caswell interviewed by Mat "Mayhem" Allen from Mayhem's homepage
- ^ "YOUR top 64!". Zzap!64. No. 2 (June 1985). 9 May 1985. pp. 83–86. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Yakal, Kathy (June 1986). "The Evolution of Commodore Graphics". Compute!'s Gazette. pp. 34–42. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ "Our Favorite Games". COMPUTE!. May 1988. p. 12. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- Console XS. No. 1 (June/July 1992). United Kingdom: Paragon Publishing. 23 April 1992. pp. 137–47.
- ^ "Top 50 Games of All Time". Your Sinclair. Imagine Publishing. November 2004.
- ^ Kelly, Andy (2022-11-03). "Impossible Mission Was The First Game That Ever Scared Me". TheGamer. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ Grannell, Craig (2022-08-01). "The Commodore 64 at 40 – and 10 of the best C64 games". Stuff. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ Bevan, Mike (December 2013). "The Electrocop Connection". Retro Gamer. No. 122. Imagine Publishing. p. 45.
- ^ System 3 official website of the revamped game
- ^ Epyx returns on Wii, PSP, DS Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved from GameSpot UK
- ^ "System 3 website of revamped Wii game". Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
- ^ Gamestop's Impossible Mission Page. Archived 2008-04-09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on April 22, 2008.
- ^ "Impossible Mission for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
- ^ Indie Retro News
External links
- The Impossible Mission series at MobyGames
- Impossible Mission at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
- A full playthrough of the Commodore 64 game can be watched on the Internet Archive.
- Review in GAMES Magazine