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QUASIMODO has returned to the computer screen in Hunchback II from Ocean to rescue the beautiful Esmerelda who is imprisoned in a tower.

The game is set in arcade style, with Quasimodo battling against all odds every step of the way. He has to jump and duck flying arrows, climb ropes, ring bells, leap stretches of water and generally have the agility of an acrobat coupled with the patience of a monk to overcome the insurmountable problems set him.

There are seven screens in all, each progressively more difficult - you have to collect all the bells on each screen before moving to the next level. Movement is fast, leaving no room for hesitant players. Working out the correct route can only be done by trial and error - timing is the key.

You have five lives in which to fulfil your task - no easy job. There are, however, one or two nice touches. Quasimodo can leap and change direction in mid-air - a great help when dodging cannon balls.

The game falls down on its graphics especially when compared to classics such as Knight Lore which shows exactly what can be squeezed out of the Spectrum.



Clare Edgeley

HUNCHBACK II Ocean Software Memory: 48K Price: £6.95 Joystick: Kempston, Protek, Sinclair Gilbert Factor: 5

Well ZX Spectrum gamers loved Hunchback by Ocean Software - which is strange because it was, in the main pretty much crap.

With it being popular a sequel was on the cards, and out came this follow up platform game in late 1984. Was this incarnation any better and would it contain any decent arcade action?

Hunchback 2 ZX Spectrum
Well sort of. Once again poor Esmerelda had been captured and was impisoned in a castle stronghold - so you would play out your rescue over seven screens.

The game was of the classic platform game variety, with our hero having to collect bells in order to progress to the next screen. As well as being able to jump your game character could also grab onto moving ropes and use them to travel upwards and downwards.

There were the usual items to avoid such as arrows flying across the screen, bouncing fireballs, bats, large rats and moving platforms atop pulleys had to be negotiated with care.

The menu screen was quite nice
The menu screen was quite nicely presented and had a synthesised version of the William Tell Overture (which was quite good before the advent of plip plop music). It certainly had that 'Ocean' feel to it anyway.

You began the game with five lives - and you needed them. The game was all about timing your jumps and waiting for the right moment to move upwards or downwards.

You had to collect all of the small bells (by walking over them) on each screen before making your way to the big bell (usually at the top of the playing area) where you would be transported to the following screen.

It would take a while to master, but once you knew the pattern it was easy to work your way through the current level you were on.

The worst part was that if you were killed at any point the current screen was re-set and you had to do it all again - as in re-collect all of the items. A bit of a bummer that.
The bells! The bells! They made me f*ckin' furious...
All in all Hunchback II was an improvement on the first game, and it was a decent enough platform / arcade game. The traversing and climbing of ropes was a nice feature that made it stand out from other platformers a litte. Even so, it was never in the same league as the likes of Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy or Chuckie Egg.

On Release:
This game was highly anticipated due to the popularity of the first title. I reckon it was a big improvement on the first offering and was more playable. The graphics were improved also - although the main character could have been animated better (especially when he jumps). Still, this game was playable enough and sold plenty of copies.

The Test Of Time:
It hasn't aged at all well. I just can't get into it and can't be bothered to re-learn the patterns to each screen. It all get's pretty frustrating due to some dodgy collision detection and having to re-do each screen from scratch every time you lose a life. I'd rather play many other arcade games of this type - even the uber difficult Fahrenheit 3000 grabs me more than this. I do like the high score table entry though. Not bad - but not one of the best.

Producer: Ocean
Memory required: 48K
Retail price: £6.95
Language: machine code
Author: Paul Owens, Mike Webb, scenic graphics by Dave Thorpe


The splendid loading screen from HUNCHBACK II
CRASH got smartly wrapped over the knuckles by the success of Hunchback, as we hadn’t thought it that marvellous. But because of its popularity, the follow up, Hunchback 2, is bound to do well. Subtitled Quasimodo’s Revenge, you again play the endearing hunchback in a quest to rescue Esmerelda who has once again been imprisoned in the Castle Stronghold (poor old thing). There are seven screens to battle through, each quite different from the others, and indeed the game style is quite different from its predecessor.

On the first six screens Quasimodo must collect bonus bells to reach the following screen. On the first, a simple platform arrangement, the bells are set into the floor and walking over them will collect them. Each level of the platform screen is connected by the bell ropes at either end which go up and down. Hazards include arrows and fireballs which must be ducked or jumped, while on subsequent screens there are bats, birds and axes. On the seventh screen, which is inside the castle belfry, the working mechanisms of the clock threaten him. On completing the seventh screen, the game returns to screen one with an increased level of difficulty.

CRITICISM
‘Two months ago I was looking forward to the new version of Hunchback, Hunchback 2, and it has since arrived, only a couple of months late — not bad for the software industry. Hoping that Hunchback 2 would be a damned sight more playable than its predecessor, I eagerly loaded it. I was met by a rather jolly synthesised tune. It soon became apparent that Hunchback 2 was not any easier than the first one, if anything a lot more difficult; although the first screen is fairly kind and quite playable. Moving onto the second screen though — extremely difficult, and it took me quite a bit of time to work out how to achieve my objective. I have since played this game for a couple of hours, not getting past the second screen. It isn’t the tricky timing needed as in the first one but more so that all the moving items on the screen are linked together and you only have the slightest chance on some occasions to collect a bell. I wish Ocean could have had two or three skill levels to ease you into the game, and this would have made it much more playable, and definitely more addictive. Those who liked Hunchback will probably take to Hunchback 2 very quickly, and seeing as the graphics are quite a bit better, this will add to the qualities of an exceptionally difficult game.’

‘Sequels never seem to be as good as originals, but Hunchback 2 has more than surpassed the original. The graphics are great and Quasi is a much better character than he was in Hunchback. In fact (I know Spectrum owners hate hearing about the Commodore but) the Spectrum version of this game is, in my opinion, much the better of the two, and it’s a tougher game to play as well. It’s very playable and addictive, but it is the sort of game that’s more fun to play in groups where you’ve got others cheering you on! The seventh screen is particularly good as far as graphics go, using greys in a way seldom seen on the Spectrum, and (once again the dreaded words) it actually looks like the sort of graphics you might expect to see on the CBM 64. As it gets increasingly difficult I think this game will have a pretty long life in terms of appeal.’




The starting screen of Ocean’s HUNCHBACK II. It looks deceptively easy, but proves to be a meanly timed game.
Much later on, and Quasimodo is still leaping, clinging and ducking as Esmerelda cries for help and awaits her rescue.




‘Straight off, this is so much better than Hunchback because the graphics are better and more fun. Also there’s a great deal more to do than leaping to the right constantly while jumping in different rhythms because the screens are quite varied, demanding a different skill each time. That said, this is still primarily