Head over Heels (video game)
| Head Over Heels | |
|---|---|
Cover art of Head Over Heels
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| Developer(s) | Ocean Software |
| Publisher(s) | Ocean Software |
| Designer(s) | F. David Thorpe (loading screen) |
| Programmer(s) | Jon Ritman |
| Artist(s) | Bernie Drummond |
| Composer(s) | Guy Stevens |
| Platform(s) | Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga, MSX, ZX Spectrum |
| Release date(s) | 1987, 1988, 1989 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game, Puzzle game, Arcade adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Score |
| Amstrad Action | 95% |
| CVG | 34/40 |
| Crash | 97% |
| Sinclair User | 9/10 |
| Your Sinclair | 9/10 |
| Zzap!64 | 98% |
| Awards | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Award |
| Crash | Crash Smash |
| Sinclair User | SU Classic |
| Zzap!64 | Gold Medal |
| CVG | CVG Hit! |
| Amstrad Action | 10th best game of all time |
| Amiga Power | 24th best game of all time |
Head Over Heels is an arcade adventure video game, released in 1987 for several 8-bit home computers, and subsequently ported to a wide range of formats. It was completely remade in 2003 for the PC, Mac and Linux by Retrospec. The working title for the game was Foot and Mouth. Visually, Head Over Heels bears a number of similarities to Ultimate Play The Game's Knight Lore and Alien 8. It uses an isometric engine that is similar to the Filmation technique first developed by Ultimate.
Head Over Heels is the second isometric game by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond, after their earlier Batman computer game released in 1986. In 1994 another isometric video game by Ritman and Drummond, Monster Max, was released for the Nintendo Game Boy.
The player controls two characters instead of just one, each with different abilities. Head can jump higher than Heels, control himself in the air, and fire doughnuts from a hooter to paralyze enemies; while Heels can run twice as fast as Head, climb certain staircases that Head cannot, and carry objects around a room in a bag. These abilities become complementary when the player combines them together after completing roughly a sixth of the game. Compared to its predecessors, the game offers unique and revolutionary gameplay, complex puzzles, and more than 300 rooms to explore.
Drummond contributed some famously surreal touches, including robots (controlled by push switches) that bore a remarkable resemblance to the head of Prince Charles on the body of a Dalek. Other surreal touches include enemies with the heads of elephants and staircases made of dogs that teleport themselves away as soon as Head enters the room.
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Wikipedia