The jailbirds with soft hearts for some jiving

The Blues Brothers logo

TITUS * £25.99 * 1/2 meg * Joystick * Out now

The men in dark suits and shades are back and after the success of the film and video they are now proudly rockin' and rollin' on your Amiga, thanks to Titus.

The game's story goes like this. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Once upon a time there were a couple of nice respectable chappies called Jake and Elwood Blues who'd unfortunately spent a long time in that nasty, nasty place, prison. Upn leaving the... (cut the crap I haven't got all day or else you'll be fire - Games Ed)

Gulp, right I'll start again. OK there are these two dudes called Jake and Elwood Blues - The Blues Brothers - and they were nicked and thrown in the slammer (at the end of the film, remember?). When the boys got out after a long stretch they discovered that some little tea-leaf had nicked all their musical equipment, and this is where you come in.

You have to control either Jake or Elwood - you can have them on the screen at the same time if you find a friend with a spare joystick - and guide them round several locations trying to get their equipment back. Not an easy task.

Control of the brothers is so simple that even Jools our games editor picked them up with no problem whatsoever (watch it, you - angry Games Ed).
Pulling the joystick left and right moves your brother around the screen in the respective direction. Shoving the joystick up makes your brother leap a mighty enough jump to put Wayne Sleep to shame, and pulling down makes your bro' duck.

To attack your fearsome enemies who are strategically dotted around the place, all you have to do is press Fire to pick up an object and then press Fire again to throw it at your enemy, knocking the blighter out for the count. The objects are few and far between, so use them wisely.

Each level contains one item which isn't too hard to find - all you have to do is use your brains a bit. When you find the item you have to leave via the exit, which is placed somewhere in the level.

At the bottom of the screen is your energy meter. Your energy is represented by three hearts and when you come into contact with an enemy or whatever, you lose one of those hearts. When all those are lost you lose one of your three lives.

But not to fear, because hearts can be regained by either finding a little heart - they are dotted around the level - or collecting one hundred records, which are to be found in little clusters.

You can see, you have to do a lot of dodging enemies, a lot of exploring for the essential items, and a lot of hunting for exits. I did warn you it wasn't an easy task, didn't I?

The game really does excel on the graphics and sound front. The graphics are brilliant and give a really good Blues Brothers 'feel' to the game. On the sound front, there are five funktastic tunes all taken from the movie and Titus must be applauded for these, which really do make the game for me.

After all the duff film conversions that have been released (Terminator 2, Navy Seals, Darkman, Back To The Future 3, Gremlins 2 and so on) this really is a breath of fresh air. The playability, graphics and sound are all good.

There isn't a lot I can grumble about expect maybe that the game is quite hard and definitely one for the platform beginner.
If I was Titus I would be very proud of this excellent film conversion.



The Blues Brothers logo

'Sometimes I feel, I feel a little sad inside. When my baby mistreats me, I'll probably slap in this disk to make me feel better." That's the painful, contrived and very-probably-inevitable song-related pun out of the way, so on with the review. Titus present the game of the film: and it's an excellent licence.

Did you think nothing more could be done with platforms and ladders? Well think again. Add a stonking soundtrack hysterical animation and some well-designed backgrounds that keep the pace up. It all adds up to a storming game that will delight all Jake 'n' Elwood fans, and charm the uninitiated.

The characters are animated to individual perfection and you know from the outset that this game really sings the blues. Your instrument have been stolen. You have a concert to play tonight and you're in jail.

There's only one thing to do: bust out of jail and search the city. One or two players now have to negotiate six levels of action, locate each hidden instrument and finally get to the concert hall. Each level is accompanied with a different soundtrack, gelling perfectly with the zany antics on-screen.

Respect them just a little bit...
Jake and Elwood can't just go up and hit people. Instead they must jump over their enemies (surely everyone in the city can't be after them?) or pick up a crate, hold it aloft and chuck it at them. Thus the beat-'em-up gameplay encompasses an element of strategy, because you must plan your route to coincide with potential weapons.

There are bonuses which can be found scattered around the platforms. Collect 100 records or pick-up some cool-looking shades and you've just won an extra life. A heart will restore you to full energy and a question-mark icon can do all sorts of strange things - the most annoying of which is to make Jake or Elwood groove on down for a few seconds, leaving one of them defenseless and vulnerable to attack. It's all down to luck...

Keep those wagons rolling, rolling, rolling
Well those are the good points, now let's pick a few faults (but only a few). A two-player game that allows both characters to groove on down simultaneously is a really great idea, but unfortunately it's poorly implemented. The screen-scrolling only follows player one, often leaving player number two helplessly off the screen.

OK, so you've just got to stick together? Maybe this could add an extra element to the gameplay? Sorry, though, it doesn't work.

But that's it. Controlling Jake and Elwood at first feel s uncomfortable, but you soon get the hang of it. The music is fantastic and adds to the game. The animation flows smoothly, as our heroes jump, crawl, dance, and even swim (in true Man from Atlantis fashion) their way through 300 or more screens and 25 different baddies.

You've seen the movie, bought the soundtrack and been to the fancy-dress party. Now play the game?


Brothers in arms
The first screen of the game and already you can tell you're in for a treat. Move the spotlight over the character you want to play. When the light comes on, Jake or Elwood groove on down. But place the other brother in the limelight and they relax. Are these guys laid back or what?
The Blues Brothers: Active Jake
Jake goes the infamous Blues Brothers strut while Elwood picks fluff his hat.
The Blues Brothers: Inactive Jake
But now it's Elwood's chance to shine, so Jake gets on with reading his paper.


The Blues Brothers logo

Wer den Kultfilm gesehen hat, kann unmöglich vergessen haben, wie Jake und Elwood binnen weniger minuten eine halbe Stadt in Schutt und Asche legten - dank Titus toben sich die beiden Chaoten jetzt auf Euren Screens aus...

Leider scheint auch Sheriff Mc. Kenzie gelegentlich ins Kino zu gehen - und ihm hat der Film gar nicht gefallen! Zumindest kriegt er jetzt die schlimmsten Befürchtungen für seinen Wahlbezirk, denn die verrückten Bruder wollen ausgerechnet hier ihr Abschiedskonzert geben. Also hat er sich die Instrumente der beiden sympathischen Anarchos geschnappt und jedes in einem andere Teil der City versteckt. Aber mit solchen Kinkerlitzchen halt man doch die Blues Brothers nicht von der Bühne fern...

Besonders dann nicht, wenn vor dem Monitor ein virtuoser Joystick-Dirigent wie du (oder ich?) sitzt und Partei fur das coole Duo ergreift.

Und schon überhaupt nicht, wenn sich zwei Spieler zusammentun und die beiden Musik-Desperados simultan durch die fünf Platform-level scheuchen! Jeder Spielabschnitt präsentiert sich in einem anderen Design, überall wimmelt es von schießwütigen Cops, rotznasigen Rüpeln mit Baseballschlagern und tellerwerfenden Amazonen.

Die originellen Gegner sind hübsch gezeichnet und respektabel animiert, einige davon (wie z.B. die rabiate Oma in ihrem Einkaufswagen) muß man einfach liebhaben!

Jake und Elwood stehen all dem ziemlich waffenlos gegenüber, einzig ihre beächtlichen Sprunge und Kletterkünste retten sie immer wieder vor den unmusikalischen Widersachern. Das heißt, so ganz wehrlos sind unsere Helden auch wieder nicht. Herumliegende Hölzkisten können prima zu Wurfgeschößen zweckemfremder werden.

Falls die Energie mal bedänklich absackt, hilft das Sammeln von Schallplatten, aber erst für 100 Hitcontainer darf einmal aufgetankt werden.

Da sind die (seltenen) Herzen schon praktischer - einfach drüberlätschen, schon gesellt sich ein weiteres zu den ursprünglich drei Leben. Erst wenn das jeweilige Instrument gefunden ist, darf man den Level verlassen und im nächsten weitersuchen.

Damit auch wirklich jede noch so kleine Platform abgegrast werden kann, stehen neben Liften, Leitern und Treppen ein paar eher ungewöhnliche Einrichtungen zur Verfügung: Luftballons zum Fliegen, Forderbänder zum befordern oder Aquarien zum - na, wozu wohl? Ideen hat dieses "Hüpfical" also schon zu bieten, genau wie detailfreudige und bunte Grafik, astreines Scrolling und gute FX. Der absolute Hammer ist aber die Musik: Originaler Filmsoundtrack stimuliert die Tanzmuskeln, da wippt selbst der joystick mit seinem Mikroschaltern!

Alles in allem können wir die Blues Brothers den Freunden hübscher Jump & Run Games bedenkenlos an Zockerherz legen. Zumal Fans des Genres sicher auch mit den ein, zwei haarigen Stellen im Spiel zurechtkommen werden... (C. Borgmeier)



The Blues Brothers logo

They hate the Illinois Nazis, they wear shades, and they believe that everybody needs somebody. And now their getting soulful on the Amiga...

I 'm on a mission from God, too... French publishers Titus don't have the most impressive record ever, that's for sure. Crazy Cars, Fire And Forget, Dick Tracy and, um, lots of other really memorable titles have gained them something of a joke reputation among quality software fans.

When they announced the acquisition of the Blues Brothers licence, then, game lovers divided into two distinct camps - those who hated the Blues Brothers and didn't care a hoot who got the rights, and those who loved them and were absolutely horrified at the prospect of Titus getting their grubby hands anywhere near their heroes. Me, I can take Jake and Elwood or leave them, which makes me ideal for an objective review of this game. Probably.

PLOT? WHO THE HELL NEEDS IT?
The Blues Brothers - The Game owes almost nothing in storyline to the legendary film, but the plot will still sound strangely familiar to movie devotees.

Jake and Elwood have a gig to play, but the local sheriff, mindful of the repercussions of the boys' last show (the one in the film), has had their equipment stolen and hidden all over town by gangs of homicidal thugs. Said gentlemen will also stop at nothing to postpone the Brothers' show by less than subtle means (i.e putting Jake or Elwood in hospital for the duration), which leaves our heroes faced with the proverbial mountain to climb.

They have to run, jump and crawl their way thoguh si levels retrieving their vital pieces of kit, while simultaneously avoiding the sheriff's crazed hordes and... well, that's about it, as it happens.

The basic concept of the game is a straightforward console-esque cartoony platforms-and-ladders escapade, of the type frequently attempted without much success by Ocean with their movie licence games, and particularly reminiscent of the new effort (see review elsewhere in this issue).

Complicated strategy isn't the name of the game here, it's 'Dash About Madly And Hope For The Best'.
Okay, so enough detail, it's about time we got down to whether, against all expectations, Titus have succeeded where so many have failed before them and turned a popular film into a great game. There's a first time for everything, I suppose...

THIS COULD BE THE FIRST TIME
...and this is it! The Blues Brothers is, without a shadow of a doubt, the finest character licence game ever seen on the Amiga. Now that might seem like rather a lofty claim, but it's true and that's all there is to it. It's not all that big, it's not especially hard, it's not very clever and it's certainly not even slightly grown-up, but what this game is is the most fun I've had all month.

There's nothing particularly original in the design, but it's so well put together and full of character that it's a total joy to play.

Not that you'd have thought that if you'd wandered into the office while I was playing it for this review, as I screamed and swore and hit things violently in frustration, but believe me, I was having fun.


The finest character licence game ever seen on the Amiga

None of the levels in the game are dramatically large, especially given the frantic pace the whle thing's played at, but they're just long (and hard) enough that you never quite manage to get to the end of them as easily as you think you should do. So you slam the joystick down in anger, kick yourself for your carelessness, say 'Right, I'll have you this time, you horrible little game' (or words to that effect), and pick the stick up again and dive right back in. And get killed again (of course). Yes, what I'm trying rather long-windedly to say here is that this game's addictive as hell, and if you don't believe me, ask our security guard.

Addiction is far from all The Blues Brothers has got going for it, though. The graphics are nothing less than lovely, both in look and movement. Jake and Elwood have different characters, and as they career incompetently across the right pin-sharp cartoon backdrops the effect is similar to watching a particularly good Marx Brothers film (except in colour).

The animation suits the almost-slapstick feel perfectly, and if you don't laugh when you see Jake and Elwood inadvertently collect a 'dance bonus' token and bop ludicrously on the spot for five seconds then you're either dead or ought to be.

Sound is excellent too, with one of several top tunes from the movie soundtrack playing throughout each level on top of some ordinary by sweet effects. (You can switch either or both off at any time if their bouncy cheerfulness begins to annoy you on your nineteenth attempt at level three, luckily).

The clincher, though, is the playability. Everything feels just right, all the controls are simple and instinctive, and there's just a tiny bit of inertia on the boys' movement for that complete Super Mario Brothers-type experience. When you mess up this game, you've got nothing to blame but your own lack of co-ordination.

THE SUPERFLIES IN THE OINTMENT
Traditionally though, there are a few bugbears. In two-player mode, the scrolling only follows one of the characters, so in two player mode the other player can easily disappear offscreen and get hopelessly lost. It's difficult to see how it could have worked any other way without losing the pace of the action, but it's a shame all the same. Also, with only three lives (three 'energy hearts' per life) and only one restart point per level (about half-way through, logically enough), some players may find it all just a little too frustrating.

Then again, it's nowhere near as annoying as, say, Rick Dangerous, and that sold millions so it shouldn't be too big a problem. At least in The Blues Brothers you always see what's going to kill you before you die.

In any case, the relative smallness of the levels means that you've never got too much ground to cover to regain your position. Whatever, these are embarrassingly picky points, and you really shouldn't let them stop you from buying this game. If you ever like fun arcade platform games (i.e. if you thought Magic Pockets was a load of tedious old crap, as anyone with an ounce of taste did), you'll love The Blues Brothers to death.


LEVEL ONE - THE DEPARTMENT STORE
Jake and/or Elwood begin their quest for all things musical in and around this store. They're on a mission from God.
The Blues Brothers: Level One - The Department Store
  1. Umbrellas let you jump higher, and also slow your descent.
  2. Can't be bothered waiting for the lift? Try a balloon flight, but take care not to pop it on the ceiling.
  3. Take this little diversion and you'll be rewarded with an extra life heart.
  4. I don't know what a department store's doing with these two huge water tanks, but they're no problem anyway. Swim on through, but be careful to avoid the icon.
  5. These clouds are more solid than you'd expect, which is handy as they're your only means of reaching the end of the level.
  6. Conveyor belts. Guess what they do?
  7. Float down here gently and you'll find enough records for an extra life heart - but watch out for the broken ones, which'll cost you 10 out of your current total!
  8. The first thing you'll come across are the crates. Pick 'em up and get ready for action.
  9. In the window of this music shop you'll find this level's goal - your guitar.
  10. All these shops and so on can be entered, but this is the first to contain anything useful - free records.
  11. Pick up this bonus and you'll see Jake or Elwood strut their funky thang.
  12. Watch out for the little guy chucking plates on the other side of this lift shaft.


The Blues Brothers logo CU Screenstar

They're back! Ten years after Jake and Elwood Blues packed 'em in at the Palace Hotel Ballroom, the legendary Blues Brothers finally make their home computer debut courtesy of French outfit, Titus. Unfortunately, though, the Gallic softco have only picked up the license to the Blues Brothers characters and not the movie license itself. So, what could have been a brilliant car racing game based on some of the spectacular car chases from the cult movie has turned, instead, into an action-packed platform affair.

The game begins with Jake and Elwood's release from Calmut County Jail. With the urge to sing the blues still as strong as ever, the bluesome twosome have arranged a big comeback gig but someone has swiped their equipment. Not to be outdone, the boys set off across Chicago to retrieve their stolen instruments and reach the gig on time.

The first level involves a bit of window shopping as the boys visit the local shopping mall in search of a missing guitar which is hidden in one of the shops. Hazards to watch out for are kamikaze grannies who try and mow you down with their shopping trollies, trigger-happy security guards who shoot first and ask questions later, and plate-throwing waitresses who think it's fun to wallop you over the head with ceramic frisbees.

To fend off their attacks you can either leg it in the opposite direction or pick up one of the numerous boxes scattered around each level and hurl them at the oncoming nasties. There's also a bit of tree-climbing and cloud hopping involved in the later stages as well as pitch-fork carrying yokels who want to punch you full of holes - don't ask me why, but it's good fun nonetheless. The assorted shops are either stuffed full of energy-giving records or patrolled by security guards and villains armed with coshes.

Once you've found the requisite item and located the exit, it's onto level two which takes place in a chemical factory. Patrolling the corridors are Blob-like creatures and more guards as well as the usual platform-packed obstacles to overcome. The third level takes place at the State Penitentiary which is patrolled by the riot police in full body armour, ferocious-looking dogs resembling Butch in the Tom & Jerry cartoons, and assorted hoods and villains.

The fourth level revolves around a building site and is definitely the best with lots of scaffolding to shin up as well as various lifts, overhead gantries and pulleys to access different parts of the stage. Watch out for welders who fire white-hot rivets in all directions and angry building bosses who run around in a constant rage. This is a huge level packed with all sorts of obstacles, including razor-sharp girders and swinging cranes, all of which are deadly to the touch.

The penultimate level is set in the local sewage works, which is patrolled by underworld creatures and manic miners and is full of tunnels and hidden caves.

After collecting all the necessary equipment and completing the first five levels it's onto the final stage which involves a mad dash across the city's rooftops to the concert hall and the game's finale.

With more than 300 screens, the Blues Brothers is certainly a large game and, thanks to some inspired gameplay, it's also a brilliant platform romp. You can chose to play either Elwood or Jake, the two distinguishable by Jake's bulging waist line or Elwood's lanky stick-like figure - Elwood seems slightly faster, too. Both characters don't have to be on-screen at once, either, which avoids having to wait around for the other player to catch up but means you can't see what's happening to your own character once he's left the screen.

You start the game with three lives, but every time you come into contact with an enemy sprite you lose a third of your energy. After three such encounters a life is lost and you either return to the start of he level or at a point further into the game if you've managed to get quite a way in the level. My only quibble here is that some dodgy sprite detection and hazardous traps make it fairly difficult to get very far into the game without coming to grief. Still, it only adds to the challenge and longevity of the game.

More than 40 frames of animation have gone into the design of each character. Watch out for Jake holding on to his hat when making a particularly long jump. Elwood's mincing walk and the Brothers' manic dancing styles when they hit an unexpected dancing bonus which are liberally scattered about each level.

The levels themselves are also cleverly designed, choc full of unexpected traps and bonus rooms, as well as numerous records to collect. When you've added 100 records to your collection you're rewarded with extra energy, and picking up pork-pie hats and shades adds an extra life to your tally.

Each level also has an original score taken from either the Blues Brothers movie or some of their more obscure recordings. Reproduced by Christophe Fevrie, the five tunes and belting end score add immeasurably to the overall atmosphere of the game and are a vast improvement over the usual naff in-game tunes of sundry other games.

Fans of the Blues Brothers, and even those who have never watched the movie or listened to their records, will definitely get a kick out of this game. One of the best platform romps on the Amiga for a long, long time.


WIRED FOR SOUND Saturday Night Live comedians, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, where the brains behind the on-screen personas of Jake and Elwood Blues. After a number of hilarious skits on the aforementioned hit American comedy show, the duo teamed up with director John Landis to film the hilarious musical comedy, The Blues Brothers, in 1980. It has since become a cult video and pulled in millions of dollars.
Tragically, John Belushi died of a drug overdose a few years after the film was made so there's little chance of the Blues Brothers making any kind of celuloid comeback, even though rumours persist of Dan Aykroyd teaming up with John's brother, Jim Belushi, to a film sequel. If you're really desperate for more material you could try hunting down the soundtrack of the movie which featured a number of superb cover versions of Rhythm & Blues classics and included the vocal and musical talents of Cab Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles.


The Blues Brothers logo

Filmdom's most groovesome duo return to rock again in this Amiga platformer - except that someone's stolen their instruments. Good Lord! What would John Belushi say! Not a lot probably (he's dead), so we got Rich Pelley in to do it...

Well, you know what they say about film licences, don't you? Usually things like, "They're all hopeless", "Well this one is just a load of sub-games", and that old favourite, "Pass the sugar, would you Vicar?" With this one, don't get all cocky if you've seen the film and know the plot, because it'll be of little use to you - the game is based on the characters but not the actual motion picture storyline.

Not to worry, though, as the game is still spookily atmospheric, mainly thanks to the music (stolen directly from the soundtrack) and the gorgeous cartoon sprites which succeed in capturing the disposition of the characters extremely well.

The new plot of the game runs something like this: someone has stolen your instruments, so you've got to get them back. You (plus optional chum) assume either the part of Jake and/or Elwood Blues in a cartoony, Rick Dangerous 2-y multi-level scrolling platforms-and-ladders romp.

Each level purely requires you to locate (a) a specific instrument and (b) the end of the level, as the game is slightly less of a puzzle than a find-your-way-arounder. A map of each level would score pretty highly on the handy-o-meter - so I'll see what I can come up with in time for next month's Tips. And of course, no game of this ilk would be complete without baddies to hinder you - and some special power-ups.

As far as the enemies go, it's nothing more than the usual sort of thing - humans, animals and, er, blobs including Speedoma - a mad granny in a shopping trolley - Mad Dog, and the Blob Boys, all beautifully depicted and animated. The simple (and only) way to kill these off is to lob a nearby crate at one of them, or avoid them - a manoeuvre which can be aided by balloons (to fly), umbrellas (to float) or springs and beds (to propel).

Amiga reviewRich: Well, (to coin the same intro twice in one review), you know what they say about film licences, don't you? But perhaps 'they' should think carefully before speaking too loudly about. The Blues Brothers. It's pretty good, you see. Take a peek at the graphics - the sprite of John Belushi waddles along just like, well, John Belushi, and Dan Aykroyd would probably turn in his grave (if he too were dead) at the uncanny resemblance between himself and the 3cm high pixelised sprite that player two has dashing around all over the place./p>

The graphics and scrolling move along at a cracking pace so there is a real frantic and addictive aroma to the game, and you'll probably so excited about exploring new places and levels that you'll have to keep stopping and going to the toilet.

The facts that the different baddies, scenery, music and layout don't provide much variation between levels and that the instructions disclose all that's in store may be slightly disappointing, but are certainly a lot easier on the bladder.

Oh, and a word about the two-player mode. The action follows player one entirely, so if player one is not careful, player two will find him/herself off-screen, and probably being killed. This, of course, adds a whole new element to the game, as both players are forced to work together. Or alternatively you might decide that the two-player mode is a bit crap. But in one-player mode, The Blues Brothers is the dog's you-know-whats - possibly slightly marred by a lack of things to do.