Bruce Lee
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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The late martial arts hero features in this platform game, with the aim of reaching a wizard in an underground lair, defeat of whom can offer him untold wealth. 

In each area you must collect the many strategically-placed lanterns before exiting through the newly-revealed passageway. Some rooms also have escalator-type sections to run along, and the standard (although slightly illogical in this context) ladders. 

On the way, you'll fight two enemies - a ninja and a green sumo warrior named Yamo. You can defeat them by punching, kicking, dropping on their heads or luring them into hazardous terrain, or even by making them accidentally hit each other. Even after they are killed, however, they keep coming back for more after a few seconds. Since they can move pretty intelligently (they even climb ladders), you should watch out for them. 

There are lots of hazards to avoid by either walking round or jumping - walls of electrical charge and exploding bushes for example.

Trivia

Bruce Lee was voted #18 in the "Top 25 Platformers of All Time" poll in Retro Gamer Magazine (Issue 37).

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Versions

1 player: You are Bruce and you fight against Yamo and the Ninja.

2 players against computer: You are Bruce and you fight against Yamo and the Ninja. If you lose a life, player two is next.

2 players against each other: one player is Bruce and the other is Yamo. If Bruce loses a life the roles are swapped.

Joystick operation

Joystick left left = walk to the left
Joystick right right = walk to the right
Joystick backwards down = lie flat on the floor or climb downward
Joystick forwards up = jump or climb upward
Joystick left forwards up + left = jump to the left
Joystick right forwards up + right = jump to the right

press fire button fire button while standing still = punch in the direction of sight

Joystick left and press fire button / Joystick right and press fire button fire button while running = kick in the running direction

Table of points

50	Landing on Ninja or on Yamo
75	Kick at Ninja or Yamo
100	Punch on Ninja or Yamo
125	Collecting lanterns
200	Victory over Ninja
450	Victory over Yamo
2000	Enter new room
3000	Victory over sorcerer

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Review

When Bruce Lee was released in 1984, designers were just starting to get creative with gameplay as specific genres had only been established for a relatively short time, and crossing them together wasn't something that had been done very much. Designer Ron Fortier was a pioneer in this respect. First and foremost, he designed Bruce Lee as a platform game. What made it particularly unique was its heavy beat 'em up elements, and the collection tasks. Although compared to most beat 'em up games at the time it was somewhat weak, the other elements of the game more than made up for it, really creating a perfect cocktail of different genres into one nearly perfect package. 

This was one of my favorite C64 games growing up. The graphics weren't particularly great in quality, but it had an art style that really fit the game well somehow. The upper level "city" screens had a real foreign feel to them, and as you move deeper into the lower levels of the game, it begins to change to a more futuristic fantasy-like setting. Although the game lacks any solid storyline, the change in artwork had a way of creating a story of its own as things became stranger and stranger. 

The lack of music is a bit of a downer, but there are still sound effects and some strange ambient noises in some rooms. I think a soundtrack would have been a great improvement if done right, but somehow the lack of music wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps this is only because I'm simply used to it being that way from my countless hours of gameplay as a kid. 

The gameplay itself was excellent. Bruce Lee moves with a great deal of speed, giving you the feel of a real karate master. The high speed running allows the player to preform fast jump kicks, which are particularly fun when being charged by an enemy. Compared to most other karate games of the time (and even today), you really felt like you had a lot of skill, always being able to one up the enemy either by escaping quickly, or by out fighting him. This is a great plus considering the fact that all moves are done with a single button and a joystick. 

The game begins to get progressively harder as you go. Later levels take several tries, and with limited lives to spare, the game can be replayed quite a bit until mastered completely. Most of the rooms are fairly easy to figure out. There are a few places where you tend to get confused as to what will kill you and what you can jump on, but for the most part this isn't a real issue. 

All in all, I have to say this was one of my most played C64 games at the time, and we had a LOT of games. Plenty of replayability, high fun factor, and a great multiplayer mode. If you haven't played it yet, its still extremely fun to this day. I definitely recommend giving it a try!



http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/Bruce_Lee
http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/bruce-lee
http://www.lemon64.com/?mainurl=http%3A//www.lemon64.com/reviews/
