6 /10 1 Votes
Composer(s) Robert Westgate Mode(s) 1 or 2 players Genre Action game | Release date(s) NA: 1987
EU: 1987 Initial release date 1987 Developers Elite Systems, M.C. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Publishers Hit-Pak, Elite Systems, Dennis Publishing Platforms ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC Similar Elite Systems games, Breakout clones, Other games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batty is a bat-and-ball, Breakout clone-style video game, published by Elite in 1987 and available for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. The game was initially released in late 1987, both as part of the "6-Pak Vol. 2" compilation and as a free cover-mounted cassette with the October 1987 issue of "Your Sinclair" magazine. It later reached cult status and received a standalone commercial release in its own right, albeit on Elite's budget "Encore" label.
Summary
The basic premise is the same as that of Arkanoid and similar games: destroying square blocks by hitting them with a ball, which is controlled by deflecting it with a player-controlled bat. The process is made harder by "Aliens" in the shape of a UFO or a bird which hover over the screen, dropping bombs. Although the aliens can be dispatched by striking them with the ball or even, if they work their way down the screen, by running them over with the bat, they can deflect the ball and present an extra challenge for the player who has to dodge their bombs while trying to keep the ball going.
Some blocks, when struck, contained special power-ups which would fall and could be collected by the player's bat to give certain abilities.
The special power-ups available included:
The game allowed three modes of play, one and two player "turn-taking" and a two-player simultaneous play by allowing each player's bat to only move in "their half" of the screen, which required co-operation between the two players to keep the ball going, especially if Aliens were present as then even the idle player (the one who does not have the ball on their side) had to avoid any dropped bombs and the aliens themselves.
Different levels presented different obstacles through which the ball had to be navigated to destroy all the breakable blocks, and some incorporated a "gravity" device which altered the path of a ball if it strayed near while it was activated.