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Not just a common garden fighting game, but also a platformer. You must jump, duck and, of course, kick and punch your way through a large, maze-like playing area to locate and defeat an evil wizard. Pursuing Bruce throughout the game are Green Yamo and Ninja who will appear to impede Bruce. Points are scored by the number of laterns picked up and the laying out of opponents. There is also a useful two player mode which puts one player in control of Bruce and another in the role of Yamo.

BRUCE LEE
U.S. Gold / £7.95

Dave: Clever these Chinese - coming up with an original idea for a platform game that doesn't involve mines and has more to it than just leaping about from ladder to level. Actually, it's not Chinese at all, but it is about Bruce Lee, so that's close enough. You play Bruce, out to destroy the Evil Wizard and gain immortality and infinite wealth.
You have to face up to all the hazards of going into another man's castle, like landmines and electric bolts, before coming face to face with little Ninjas (who he? Ed.) and a distinctly off colour Green Yamo, laying into you with fists and feet flying. You can return the compliment, as well as ducking down to avoid trouble. In each room you'll find a number of lanterns: collect enough of them and a passageway will open allowing you to creep up on the Evil Wiz. But you've got to Kung Fu your way through 20 rooms before meeting him head on.
The problem is, it's just too easy - I'm no black belt but I beat the game on only my fifth attempt. There is an option to play against an opponent which will keep competitive cowards happy but in the end you'll probably long for a bit of real physical contact. 3½/5

Ross: This can't compete with the typical Chinese take-away - it left me with an empty feeling but not wanting more. 2/5

Roger: Grasshopper say, knee in groin better than poke in pocket by this oriental offering. More chop-suey than Kung Fu 2/5

Bruce Lee was published for the ZX Spectrum by US Gold and produced by Ocean Software. It was released in May of 1985 and met with a lot of praise due to it's nice mix of platform, beat em up and classic arcade action.

Both US Gold and Ocean already had good reputations within the Spectrum's games market, and Bruce Lee enhanced those reputions further.


ZX Spectrum game Bruce Lee
The premise of the arcade game was that you (as the legendary Bruce Lee) had returned to the land of your forefathers to destroy a wicked wizard. Succeeding in this would reward you with vast of amounts of treasure whilst obviously freeing the land of the evil control of the wizard.

Starting on the surface, you had to locate the secret entrance that would grant you access to the wizards underground lair. The whole game was based around collecting lanterns from the various locations - the game was of the 'flick screen' platform variety. Collecting lanterns would open up walls, doors, secret passages and so on - so collecting them was essential to progress through the screens.

Bruce could move pretty well around the screens, running left or right and jumping. You could also climb up and down certain parts of the scenery (such as ladders) and could also execute powerful punches and flying kicks. You would need to use all of these moves on a lot of the screens.

Two enemies in this classic game harrased our Bruce constantly, the 'Green Yamo' (even though he was white and not green) and the Ninja. These guys could be despatched with relative ease by repeated flying kicks or punches, but in true South Park Kenny style would reappear almost as quicky as you had taken them out.

Bruce Lee ZX Spectrum It was not only the enemies that could kill you in the game, you also had to avoid large daggers, exploding plants (?) and electric charges which added more to the game than just jumping and brawling.

To complete the game you had to fight your way through all of the screens (20 I think in total), collecting the lanterns and hit a switch to kill the wizard. After that it was back to the start to do it all again. I always wanted to fight the wizard in true enter the dragon hall of mirrors style - but maybe that's just me.

One excellent feature of the game was that the game allowed the player to compete against either the computer or other human players. Apart from the first option of playing against the computer a second option allowed an opponent to assume the role of the Green Yamo. Alternatively a third option allows two players to take turns at being Bruce, against the computer or with a third opponent as Yamo.

This nice little mix and match of characters added longevity to the game.

On Release:
Bruce Lee on the ZX Spectrum was well received when it was released, collecting a score of 91% in Crash magazine. Gamers enjoyed the frenetic action, the mixture of platform puzzle and beat em up and the colourful backgrounds. This one was fun to play, easy to get into and was interesting when your friends played as the Green Yamo.

The test of time:
Well we here in the land of Spectrum games reckon that this easy yet classic game is worth another look. It is very simple, but running and jumping across the platforms and collecting the lanterns still holds some appeal. Doling out a good kicking to the two enemies is good for a laugh too. Easy to play, Bruce Lee is a good way to fill a spare 20 minutes. Not a bad little retro game at all.

We recommend getting hold of the real hardware but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download Bruce Lee for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online. Chop chop!

GENRE: Beat em up arcade game
RELEASE DATE: May of1985
RELEASED BY: Ocean Software (Released by US Gold)
DEVELOPER(S): Ron Fortier and Kelly Day
PRICE: £7.95 - UK

Producer: US Gold
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £7.95
Author: Ron Fortier and Kelly Day
Ah so! Another platform game but this time based on the antics of the worldly hero of the east, Bruce Lee. Bruce has returned to the land of his forefathers to destroy a wicked wizard, should he succeed he will be rewarded with treasure beyond the capacity of his knap-sack which seems a bit of a shame.

Bruce’s first task will be to find his way into the underground chamber by discovering the secret entrance. I won’t be giving much away when I tell you that this can be found in the floor of the middle entrance hall but it will not open until Bruce has collected all of the lanterns from all three rooms, that’s just to get into the underworld where the real work starts. As Bruce makes his way across the other screens he will face many bizarre dangers which include electric charges that shoot across the gaps between platforms, or the awesome exploding t’sing-lin (bushes) that appear from nowhere.


The most persistent and annoying of Bruce’s problems go by the name of Green Yamo and the Ninja. These two characters devote themselves to Bruce’s downfall. No matter where he is in the game he will always be pursued by these two. For Bruce to be successful the player must guide him through the fights as well as the maze. By giving the appropriate commands Bruce can be made to duck, thump or kick — his flying kick is the most devastating. The other characters have the same ability except they are unable to duck, Hard luck Yamo. Bruce will survive three blows before he loses a life his, opponents will lose consciousness after two or three blows which gives Bruce a brief respite to gather the lanterns and be on his way to find the button and kill the wizard.

Points are awarded for collecting lanterns and laying out any of the opponents, 2000 points are to be had simply for entering a new room. With every 30,000 points a new life is given free. he total points scored for each player are shown at the top of the screen together with the current high score and the number of falls remaining before the game is over.

One rather useful feature of Bruce Lee is that the game allows allows the player to compete against either the computer or other players. Apart from the first option of playing against the computer a second option allows an opponent to assume the role of Yamo. Alternatively a third option allows two players to take turns in being Bruce, against the computer or with a third opponent as Yamo.


CRITICISM
‘Bruce Lee is one of the best action packed animated games on the market. The graphics are very detailed, lively and good looking, they add a bit of zest to the game. What makes this game different is that you play a key character actually fighting against your enemies who are ace Kung Fu artists. The way that Bruce punches, kicks and ducks is exceptionally good and terrific fun simply to knock the stuffing out of your opponent. One of the strange things about this game is that when you leap he looks like a trained ballet dancer. As the game progresses it gets considerably more difficult. I must say that I found this game terrific fun, US Gold have really got the ingredients right this time.

‘There’s something about this game that makes me come back to it for more, in fact it’s one of the few games that I have ever bothered to complete and the novelty still hasn’t worn off. I think that Bruce Lee must be one of the most original games I’ve seen. It has well drawn and animated graphics which make up for the poor sound. I loved the way that you actually make physical contact with your enemy (eg a punch on the nose or a kick in the ribs) instead of just zapping with a photon lazer phaser, the game gets a certain feel to it (I know, I’m a sadist). Another nice touch is the way the two opponents get into a fight if they get in each other’s ways. I really enjoyed playing Bruce Lee and although it was easy to complete I will keep playing it just because I like beating up the nasties.

‘Although Bruce Lee does not