Montezuma’s Revenge
1984 retro games Atari gamesApple gamesZX Spectrum gamesPC gamesCommodore 64 games
Platform game set in an Aztec pyramids, where dangers await Panama Joe, the main character.
The player controls a character called Panama Joe (hence the title of the ZX Spectrum version), through the chambers of underground Aztec pyramids. Of course, the pyramid is filled with obstacles and enemies, some of the rooms could be quite challenging on their own, but the creators of Montezuma’s Revenge were kind enough to provide additional difficulty levels, so everyone could get frustrated while playing the game.
The higher difficulty level were made in an interesting way - not only some of the enemies were more deadly, but also the layout of the rooms was slightly altered, some useful item was relocated, etc. But also there was another layer to the game difficulty - while some of the room were challenging enough (to say the least), others were given an added nice detail - darkness. Of course it was not a complete darkness, but dark enough to make it even harder to get through. There were torches that would lit the rooms, but with higher difficulty they were becoming a rarity.
Another interesting detail was the inventory, a detail not that common in the platform games of the era - you were able to collect items, like f.e. keys, but the number of slots available was limited.
Overall Montezuma’s Revenge was what a good platform game should be - challenging to the verge of being frustrating and adaptable to progress of the player.
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Montezuma’s Revenge trivia
Montezuma’s Revenge
The title Montezuma’s Revenge is a reference to colloquial term for traveler’s diarrhea, an infection that could be quite common in hot environment (like Mexico or India). The term derives from Aztec emperor Montezuma II, who was defeated by the Spanish conquistadors in 16th century.
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