Brian Bloodaxe
| Brian Bloodaxe | |
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Cover art
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| Developer(s) | Charles Bystram |
| Publisher(s) | The Edge Software |
| Platforms | ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 by Trevor Inns, Amstrad CPC 464 by Trevor Inns |
| Release date(s) | 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Brian Bloodaxe is a British platform game written by Charles Bystram and released by The Edge Software in 1985. It was published for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC 464 (the latter two converted by Trevor Inns).
Plot
In Brian Bloodaxe, our Viking hero wakes from an ice block in which he has been trapped for hundreds of years. Upon discovering that the year is now 1983 he decides to do what he originally set out to achieve - the conquering of Britain. Working his way through more than 100 screens of platform mayhem, Brian's ultimate goal is to steal the British Crown Jewels and seat himself upon the British throne.
Gameplay
Brian Bloodaxe plays as a platform game with some very simple "collect and drop objects" aspects. Although Brian has to dodge most of the game's varied and often surreal enemies, some of them can be killed if he headbutts them thereby stabbing them with the horns of his helmet.
The game is notable for its esoteric humour which was strongly influenced by the humour of sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, its in-game music (The "Liberty Bell March" by John Philip Sousa, better known to most as the Flying Circus theme tune), and colourful graphics.
Criticism
It impressed many critics (scoring 86% in CRASH, 3 "hits" out of 3 in Your Spectrum and 8/10 in Sinclair User), especially given the graphical limitations of the Spectrum.
Zzap!64 were unimpressed by the Commodore 64 conversion which they felt had not been altered sufficiently from the original version to take advantage of the machine's technical abilities. It was awarded an 18% overall rating and described as "very disappointing".[1]
