Commodore User
1st April 1985
Publisher: Interceptor Micros
Machine: Commodore 64
Published in Commodore User #19
Breakdance
For this game you've got to put on the Sergio Tacchini tracksuits, hood up, mind; on with the basketball boots as well. Right, now we're ready to break, and you've got to be a bit sharp if you want to be one of the crew in Epyx's four game contest.
The loading picture of a graffitied New York subway train lets you know this game takes itself a bit seriously, which is a bit of a shame because it's impossible to emulate any kind of physical action with a bunch of pixels and a joystick. Never mind, Epyx have got round the problem by making their game along puzzle lines.
In the first option you have to mirror the moves of the local ace, 'Hot Feet'. This man is bad! It's easy to begin with, then it ends up like that game you play when you're bored; 'in my grandmother's suitcase' where you have to remember everything everyone else has put into it.
In stage two you're battling with a load of breakers who've invaded your turf. Same thing applies, emulate their moves and you're safe. They explode. If you fail, they're driving you towards a jetty all the time, and it's an early bath for you.
Stage three is the 'Perfections Dance Puzzle'. This option is more along the lines of Mastermind. You must put a sequence of moves, each framed in a window, in the right order as shown by a dancer at the beginning. Time is against you. A good tip here is to do it a couple of moves at a time. Return to the windows to check if you've got it right (a ghettoblaster appears in the frames you have correct).
The only creative and realistic option is the fourth. In this you have to build up a sequence of steps there are fourteen possible moves including the moonwalk, head spin and suicide. The last of these is particularly aptly named because your man (no women here!) does a forward flip and lands flat on his back.
Finally, you get to do all of the first three options to make it into the 'Breakdance Hall of Fame'. The music isn't exactly hard core hip-hop stuff, although one of the tunes is quite pleasant.
Break Fever
Break Fever is the second of the dance-craze games hoping to capitalise on the most popular playground pastime since smoking behind the bike sheds became untrendy.
Interceptor's version offers six different routines - some of them street-authentic like the Turtle, head spinning, and the back slam and some entirely new ideas such as 'The Shuttle'.
Each time you attempt a dance step you are given a jive-talkin' assessment of how you performed. The language is amusing for the first few goes. Words like 'slack', 'crucial', 'stylo' and 'awesome' have a certain fascination for an aging hippy like me.
The novelty soon wears off though - especially when, on your umpteenth failed attempt at a head-spin, you get told that 'you is bad news'. It tends to be reach for the off-switch time.
Some of the routines are extremely difficult to master. The idea is to keep spinning, flipping, or donkey kicking. The control required from the joystick, however, is just too finnicky. The dancer is quite small on screen which also makes it difficult to tell whether or not you are doing what you are supposed to be doing.
On the plus side, the graphics and music set the scene for the game excellently. There is an authentic hip-hop soundtrack that plays through several different versions to avoid monotony.
Despite this smooth presentation, the whole package does not provide an entertaining computer game. If you want to break with your C64, we advise you to check out Breakdance instead - now available on cassette.