Base Jumpers logo Amiga Computing Silver Award

Forget bungee jumping, paragliding and snow boarding. There's a new craze in town! Tina Hackett dons her parachute to investigate what this Base Jumping lark is all about.

INTRODUCTION

Rasputin Software has got its head in the clouds quite literally! Well, at least its game has. Given the curious name Base Jumpers, it’s basically a sports game – but with a difference. In fact, it involves climbing to the top of a high building and then throwing yourself off the top. It’s not most people’s idea of ‘sport’, but to the East Beckinsdale Pigeon Fanciers Association this is their favourite hobby.

The game is divided into two main sections, a platformer where you have to get to the top of the building, and the jumping off part – you have to race your opponents to the ground, avoiding the various obstacles and deciding just when you should open your parachute.


 

SOUND

The intro tune that starts the game is typical lively game music and works well enough. Sound effects are good and are mainly there to create humour. For example there is the horrible squelch noise that occurs when your limbs fly off if you hit a drainpipe, or the good "Yeehar!" sound as all the jumpers throw themselves off the building. Other effects like springs, bombs and crashes add to the fun.

58%

 

GRAPHICS

Base Jumpers doesn’t look the most wonderful of games. There are no 3D rendered graphics, no ray-traced effects, no futuristic backgrounds but hey, we’ve seen what happens to playability when you do have all these things (mentioning no games in particular!) So luckily, Rasputin has concentrated on things that really matter like gameplay.

The graphics aren’t bad, by any standards, They do their job well enough and the cartoon-style sprites are quite charming. The background for the platform section is designed around the puzzle elements like using stairs, springs and laser beams, rather than an intention to prettify the game. More functional than fancy.

50%

 

OPINION70%

At first it’s easy to pass this game off without so much as a second glance. You may even scorn at its simplistic graphics, but play it and play it again with one, two or three friends and you’ll find it a really fun game.

Rasputin has done a fine job in mixing as many possible types of game into one. First you have the platform section where you’ll have to negotiate all the spikes, lasers and springs to get to the top of building, then billions of sub-games like beat-’em-ups and Portal Wombat, where you need to bash your opponent up a bit. And finally, the Base Jumping itself where you try and race your three opponents to the ground, opening your parachute at the last possible moment.

There are some classic comedy moments in this game, such as in Mortal Wombat where the death move is a falling sheep (you had to be there) or when you barge your opponent into a drainpipe, resulting in a rather gory squelch and their bloody limbs falling off! The cartoon speech bubbles are also a nice touch, like the odd "Oops" or "Yikes" as you head towards the ground too fast.

Base Jumpers is a great game. It’s original, which instantly earns it extra Brownie points, it’s fun and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I don’t know how long the game would last you but it really does come into its own when you have the multi-player option on, and for a competitive game with a bit of humour you can’t go far wrong!


Base Jumpers logo

Steve Bradley revels in the simplicity of a game featuring little folk and lots of ladders. But, he asks, is Base Jumpers really a step in the right direction?

There is one major problem with Base Jumpers and it is this. When you are playing in two, three, or four (human) player mode, and one (or two, or three) perishes, they are forever out of the game. Until you start again. This considerably decreases the fun (and there is a great deal on offer) because, of course, you want to tackle your friends for a length of time.

Much of the joy disappears when your mates die and you have to continue on your lonesome, for then you can’t leave the flailing as you mount ladders at pace, collecting letters and jumping on the heads of roaming security guards, vampires and their ilk. Oh, and the other problem is the price of the game.

Let me explain. Base Jumpers is a game where you climb to the peak of a level on ladders – occasionally utilizing the extra bounce of a spring. Upon reaching the summit, the screen switches to a fiendishly daring parachute mode where, after hurtling off of a roof, you attempt to impale your opponents on pipes and the odd protruding flagpole before opening your shute as late as you dare. That’s it. It’s completely fab, in a rather limited and unsophisticated way.

En route, there are letters to collect, arrows and explosives to avoid, magnets to shy from, chasms to traverse and spiky pits to hop over. Simply fare, indeed. The combinations of letters can swoop you into one of 11 sub-games as well as reward you with a points bonus. Actually, the letter combinations can change the game in a pile of ways, most of which your correspondent has yet to discover.

Base Jumpers is somewhat tedious in one-player mode, lacking in depth and in variety of play, but when friends are involved it can be a gas, particularly when four are fighting it out on screen. Layers who scroll off the bottom of the screen shoot forward, losing points in the process and the subsequent parachute shoot-out is more involving because the computer’s ‘shutists avoid argy bargy.

But Base Jumpers shouldn’t be a full-price game. Knock a tenner off and recommendation is forthcoming. Too pricey for simple pleasures.


THE SUB-GAMES

Base Jumpers: Warlords sub-game
Destroy your opponent's platform afore they do yours.

Base Jumpers: Pac Man sub-game
Comparisons with PacMan are almost inevitable.

Base Jumpers: Pong sub-game
As are comparisons with the mighty fine Pong.

Base Jumpers: Pong sub-game
This one is nowt more than posh Pong.

Base Jumpers: Joust sub-game
Hit them with your lance or suffocate them with exhaust.

Base Jumpers: Shoot-em-up sub-game
Jet-packed shoot-em-up madness and mayhem.


Base Jumpers logo

Originelle Spielideen haben längst Seltenheitswert, und die vorliegende ist allemal ungewöhlich: Wer hätte je zuvor von einer Art Actiongame für Bungeespringer gehört?

Daß dieses sehr spielbare Programm ausgerechnet den Jungs von Rasputin (also den Machern des unsäglichen "Jet Strike" eingefallen ist, macht die Sache vielleicht noch exotischer. So frönen die titelgebenden Base Jumpers einem ganz besonderen Hobby: Sie klettern auf Gebäude und springen dann runter, wer als ersten oben und unten ankommt, ist Sieger!

Dabei hat man sich den Aufstieg jeweils als Jump & Run vorzustellen, wo man über Leitern und Treppen an Höhe gewinnt, während man herabfallenden Bomben ausweicht und herumlaufende Gegner platthüpft.

Manchmal müssen auch Wánde durchbrochen werden, dann wieder gilt es, Schalter umzulegen und andere kleine Rätsel zu knacken. Und das alles bereits im Solomodus unter erheblichem Zeitdruck, dal man nie hinter den scrollenden Bereich zurückfallen darf.

So richtig geht die Post dann mit bis zu drei Freunden ab, weil in der Gruppe auf dem Weg nach oben um herumliegende Bonusbuchstaben gebalgt wird und man dann im freien Fall die Konkurrenz abdrängen oder gegen Hindernisse drücken kann – auf daß die Ärmsten zwar als erste den Boden berühren, nur eben leider in Einzelteilen. Was übrigens jedem passiert, der nicht rechtzeitig seinen Fallschirm öffnet.

Das hört sich doch richtig nett an, oder? Ebenfalls sehr nett fanden wir es, daß die behelmten Stunt-Sprites sich darüber hinaus in einem runden Dutzend Subgames betätigen, u.a. Breakout- und Pong-Varianten. Auch Levels mit veränderter Schwerkraft oder sonstigen Gimmicks sind vorhanden, und damit man nicht jedesmal von vorne anfangen muß, gibt‘s Paßwörter.

Nein, an durchdachten Features und Abwechslung mangelt es hier gewiß nicht, wohl aber an Komfort bzw. Chancengleichheit. Solange nämlich kein Vier-Spieler-Adapter und ein entsprechendes Joystick-Kneeblatt vorhanden sind, müssen im Quartett zwei der Luftikusse auf die Tastatur ausweichen – was dank der starren und nicht unbedingt glücklichen Tastenbelegung ein grober Nachteil ist.

Und wer ein Joypad besitzt, sollte es lieber in der Schublade lassen, weil Unterstützung dafür zwar angeboten, aber nicht in vollen Umfang gewährt wird.

Hinzu kommt eine doch recht bescheidene Grafik; selbst solche Oldies wie "Rainbow Islands", "Rick Dangerous" oder gar "Bomberman" wußten optisch besser zu gefallen. Zumal hier Spiel und Zwischensequenzen selbst auf einem 1200er noch ruckeln.

Von der Musik im Intro einmal abgehört, ist der Sound ebenfalls nichts Berühmtes, für die angekündigte CD-Version bleibt also noch einiges zu tun. Den Hit lassen wir daher dieses Mal noch stecken, auch wenn die Spielidee allein ihn durchaus verdient hätte! (mm)



Base Jumpers logo

Climb tall buildings and throw ourselves off without caution? Yes.

At the magic words "four-player", AMIGA power STOPPED. Keyboards feel silent. Joysticks clattered to the floor. Even Steve’s Roger Whittaker tape came to an end, knowing somehow. There was a pause. And then we sprinted into position around the Amiga, seamlessly falling into formation – Jonathan and Steve in front of the keyboard, and Cam and me behind with joysticks. And We Had Fun.

Base Jumpers is based on a truly fantastic idea. You start off inside a tower, on the bottom floor. And you’ve got to sprint madly to the top. The screen scrolls to follow the leader, with anyone who falls off the bottom losing points. In the way are baddies, tricky arrangements of platforms, guns, force-fields, trampolines and so on. And the first person to reach the top gets a bonus.

’CHUTE
And then – then – you all jump off the roof. As you freefall down you can attempt to jostle each other into flagpoles and things sticking out from the building. Anyone unfortunate enough to hit one goes ‘splat’, and bits of him tumble down the screen.

Then everyone starts to get tense as the ground approaches. You see, the last person to pull their ripcord lands first and gets a bonus. But leave it too late and the results are teribly unpleasant.

We loved it, inevitably. The alternating mad scrambles to the tops of the towers and tense descents make a perfect mixture, and the proliferation of dismembered bodies made us chuckle disturbingly. And, following the success of the druids and UFOs in Jetstrike, Rasputin have let rip with a devastating range of secret bits and bonus things. By collecting letters in the right order as you run around, you can gain access to "at least 11" bonus games – things like Joust, Kung Fu, an excellent four-player variation on Breakout and a curious Invisible Space Invaders.

The graphics, meanwhile, are cheery and colourful, if a little sloppily animated and the sound effects are entirely appropriate.


Sticking out from the building

STRAPS
But Base Jumpers is flawed. It just doesn’t work at all as a one-player game – it’s a bit like going bungee jumping with no-one watching to see how brave you are. And you run out of lives too quickly in multi-player games. Pretty soon there’s only one player left, and he’s not going to want to continue on his own after he knows he’s won.

And despite all the bonus bits and pieces packed into it, it feels too flimsy to justify the £26 being asked.

So although Base Jumpers filled our hearts with joy for a couple of hours, pretty soon we were beginning to get disgruntled. We liked it a lot, and it’s made us laugh more than any other game this month, and there are secret recesses of it that we’ve yet to explore. But it’s not a game we’ll be returning to all that often.



Base Jumpers logo

█ Price: £25.99 █ Publisher: Rasputin Software 01689 850770

He's a few biscuits short of a family assortment, but even Rik Skews wouldn't consider leaping off buildings like the characters in Rasputin's bizarre base jumping game.

For the uninitiated, base jumping is a sport for would-be nutters. It simply involves leaping off something tall, usually a building or bridge, and pulling the parachute ripcord at the last possible moment to avoid a hideously messy death. The base jumpers of the game’s title are representatives from a rock hard fighting organisation who like to base jump in recreational time in order to keep their adrenaline levels topped up.

Gameplay is divided up into two distinct areas. Firstly the building, or whatever must be climbed as quickly as possible as the player is racing against the times of three other competitors. Reach the top first and a hefty points bonus is awarded. It’s not that simple however, as numerous Lemmings-like hazards attempt to slow the player down. These include roving security guards, simple puzzles, explosions and walls which have to be smashed through.

Baddies can be dispensed with in the time honoured manner of leaping on their heads and doing so results in a letter being released. Collect these in the right order and a number of three letter words can be formed, such as MAC. Forming these words usually results in a bonus, though some can be nasty and cause an anti-bonus, like the reversal of the player’s controls.

On reaching the top of the level, the game switches to the players earthbound descent. All four jumpers are shown here and in multiplayer mode can be controlled via a parallel interface (available from specialist computer shops and which you might even have if you bought Dynablaster).

This is definitely the most fun part of the game, as opposition players can be rammed into body-splitting obstacles during the descent. As well as ramming opponents, the obstacles have to be avoided by yourself and the best time to open the parachute has to be judged, as big points are awarded for landing first. Open it too late and your man will splat into the ground. Opening it too early will result in the player slowing down and landing last.

It’s worthwhile getting some friends together as the computer players are usually happy to drift down avoiding the obstacles and ignoring you. There’s no denying that Base Jumpers’ sick sense of humour is appealing, but its lack of gameplay variety and basic audiovisual presentation means that its £29.99 asking price is too high. At a more reasonable price I would have no hesitation in recommending it, but as it stands I’d advise you wait for a budget re-release.


Base Jumpers logo CD32

Reviewed by Tina Hackett

Base Jumpers arrived on the Amiga not so long ago and at first glance you could be forgiven for thinking it was an old Spectrum game from aeons ago. However, beneath the rather average graphics there’s some very entertaining gameplay.

The game is divided into two parts. One is a rather basic platformer, the other – by far the most entertaining part – is a sports event of sorts. Players become the members of a group called the East Beckinsdale Pigeon Fanciers Association who all take part in the strange pastime of Base Jumping.

This involves climbing to the top of a tall building and then jumping off – the first to the ground wins. You have a parachute to aid the fall but the first to pull the ripcord will be the last to land. However, the later you risk it, the more chance you have of ending up flattened.

During these events you will uncover bonus letters. They can score you extra points and by discovering a certain combination you can then access sub-games. A wide variety are on offer, although they are quite amateur looking, and can be anything from a game of Pac Dude to Portal Wombat – a beat-‘em-up.


As a one-player game Base Jumpers is unexceptional, but get some friends involved and the title really comes to life

Different locations are provided for you to dive off such as Egyptian tombs and castles, and there are the usual platformer obstacles to overcome. Ladders should be climbed, crumbly walls busted down, and inhabitants of the buildings avoided.

This CD32 version comes with extra enhancements and additional levels. The music has been tweaked and a bit of culture added with some opera (dubious!). Sound effects provide humour such as grim squelches when you collide with an object.

Additional levels include ‘Kung Foo’ and ‘The Therapeutic Event’, and there are more sub games too such as Jet Fighters, Racing Cars and Ballroom Dancing. The existing levels have also been tuned up and have new graphics.


Final word

Although there are many sub-games available in this one title, they are mainly there for novelty value and comic effect rather than providing in-depth gameplay. This really applies to the game overall too. The multi-player mode allows up to four players to compete (two on each joypad) and this sort of game really lends itself well to this. As a one-player game, Base Jumpers is unexceptional but get some friends involved and the title really comes to life.



Base Jumpers logo CD32

He runs to the top of a tall building, he straps on a parachute and he jumps. Steve Bradley finds out whether this really is as much fun as it sounds...

It’s grand when the software companies send us games with a host of cheats and level codes, the details of which we couldn’t possibly reveal to you, our beloved readers. And if it weren’t for Grandslam jotting down all the sub-game codes – and there are plenty – your correspondent would have difficulty in describing the ballroom dancing game, where the participants shuffle around a dance floor to a choice piece of classic music.

He’d have a terrible time explaining how, when the music stops, the players all dive for the spotlight until the last one’s out, rather like musical chairs. It really is one of the most unusual spectacles we’ve ever seen in a computer game. So, thanks Grandslam, for that.

Base Jumpers is a platform game, but if you’ve read the previous paragraph, you will ascertain that it has more to it than simply jumping around ledges. The title refers to an activity which takes place when you reach the summit of the leel ou are tackling. Upon reaching the apex, you hurl yourself off the top of the building with a parachute strapped firmly on yur back.

The aim is to be the last of the four players to pull the rip cord, acquiring points in the process. And on the way down, you can shove your opponents on to flagpoles and chimneys. Yes, it really is rather fun, especially if you’re playing three human opponents, two on each joypad – one using the directional controller, the other the buttons.

Happily, we can announce that the CD32 version is both larger and cheaper than its floppy counterpart. More levels, more sub-games, including jet and bi-plane bashes, a car race and a tank battle.

The two new levels are smashing; the Kung Foo stage is a beat-’em-up-the-ladders affair, while the Therapeutic level looks like cutesy Rodland, but you get a machine and rockets to blast at the heinous fluffy bunnies. And a water pistol!

Base Jumpers doesn’t set the world alight, nor boundaries does it break. The sprite can be difficult to control and some of the sub-games are incredibly difficult, particularly the bi-planer.

However, get four friends huddled around a CD32 and it’s spanking fun, the only disappointment being that once you’re out, you don’t come back – frustrating when you’re left on your own.

But congrats to Grandslam for knocking six quid off the floppy price. Way to go, as they say abroad. No, don’t go expecting the world from BJ, but as a multi-player-platform-games-with-loads-of-sub-games go, it’s a rollicking, er, roller coaster.

The words fast, furious and fun have been banned at AF, so I won’t use it.



Base Jumpers logo CD32

Originelle Spielideen sind mittlerweile wirklich selten geworden, insbesondere am CD32 - um so erfreulicher, daß Rasputin jetzt eine so schöne Silberversion dieses witzigen Spiels vorlegt!

So wurde der digitale Extremsport hier um einen irren Soundtrack bereichert, wir trauten unseren Ohren kaum, als da u.a. Opern-arien, die vier Jahreszeiten von Vivaldi und ein vokales Rockstück aus den Boxen schallten.

Noch verrückter als dieser Akustik-Mix war und ist das Spiel selbst: Ein bis vier Teilnehmer sollen in einem Gebäude möglichst schnell die Plattformen bis hin zum Dach erklimmen, um sich dann per Fallschirm in die Tiefe zu stürzen. Tja, das gehört laut Anleitung bei den Mitgliedern des Taubenzüchtervereins von Ostbeckinsale halt einfach zum guten Ton...

Das Gameplay vereint bekannte Elemente aus Klassikern wie "Super Mario", "Rick Dangerous" oder "Rainbow Islands", denn es müssen Gegner platt-gehüpft und Schalter umgelegt werden, während der Bildschirm langsam, aber sicher nach oben scrollt – wer da beim Buchstaben-Aufsammeln nicht schnell genug ist, wird mit Punktabzug bestraft, wer sich von Pfeilen oder anderen Gefahren die Energie absaugen läßt, mit dem Tod.

Nach dem Sprung vom Dach ist die Übung aber noch längst nicht gegessen, denn im freien Fall wird heftig gedrängelt, und wer deshalb ein hartes Hindernis rammt, kommt in Einzelteilen am Boden an.

Aufgelockert wird der stete Auf- und Abstieg durch ein knappes Dutzend Bonusspiele wie Breakout-Varianten, Pongschlachten oder Snowboard-Rennen; dazu kommt gelegentlich veränderte Gravitation im regulären Sprungbetrieb.

Am besten sind die umfangreichen, vielfach unterteilten und paßwortgesicherten Levels nach wie vor mit einem Joystick zu bewältigen, der auch am CD32 dem etwas schwammig reagierenden Pad vorzuziehen ist – gerade im Vier-Spieler-Betrieb kommt ansonsten nicht so viele Freude auf, obwohl die unterhaltsame Anleitung erklärt, wie je zwei Spieler mit einem Steuerknochen klarkommen.

Am besten haben es daher Base Jumper mit A1200 und CD-ROM, zumal dann mit einer Speichererweiterung auch das leichte Ruckeln wegfällt. Ein A4000/40 ist leider nicht teilnahmeberechtigt, aber Besitzer einer solchen Highend-Maschine wären von der arg hausbackenen Grafik und den mageren Sound-Effekten wohl ohnehin wenig begeistert.

Trotz der aufgepeppten Musikuntermalung und dem Preisnachlaß von zehn Märkern muß die CD-Fassung wegen der kaum adäquaten Optik also mit der gleichen Note vorliebnehmen wie die Floppy-Version vor einige Monaten.

Aber witzig ist Base Jumpers auch und gerade am CD32, und daß man bei Rasputin auch bessere Präsentation zu schätzen weiß, soll im Dezember dann "Limbo of the Lost" beweisen: Die ersten Grafiken dieses Adventures sahen so phänomenal aus, daß sie das kürzlich für den Amiga gestrichene "Lost Eden" vergessen machen! (mm)


Base Jumpers logo CD32

█ Price: £19.99 █ Publisher: Grandslam 0181 680 7044

This is definitely an original idea as, unless I’m greatly mistaken, this type of game has never been seen before. A base jumper is basically one of those loonies who decides that the only decent sort of sport is one that is likely to endanger their lives.

The object of the game is to make your way to the top of a structure and in the process kill the security guards, ninja and fluffy bunnies which try to impede you. Once you’ve reached the top then jump off and freefall or snowboard (on the mountain levels) back down again.

On the way down you have to dodge obstacles such as flagpoles and piping while on the snow-boarding level there are trees to avoid too. You also have the added bonus of being able to push your opponents in to these obstacles and then watch their body parts hurtle to the ground.

Within the game there are many sublevels which are accessed by jumping on to the heads of the guardians. Doing this releases letters which you can collect. For each bonus level there is a three letter code which is accessed by various combinations of these letters. The games that are included in these bonus stages are classic like Pong, Pac Man, Breakout and E-type, real pillars of the computer games world!

The platform part of the game is nothing new, and Rasputin really could have made more effort to spice this part up a bit more. It plays very smoothly though and there are some nice easy puzzles along the way. The platform stages are really just there to ease you up to the base jump and don’t do a lot for the game.

Base Jumpers also has a four player mode and many of the bonus rounds have been upgraded so that they can be played in 4-player mode. The game also includes a very good soundtrack and you can choose which kind of music you want to listen to: Rock, Classical or Opera.

Apart from the platform stages this game is good and should keep you busy. If you’re a fan of the old school games and fancy something different, try this.