Blue Max 2001
{{Short description|1984 video game}}
{{other uses|Blue Max (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = Blue Max 2001
|image = Blue Max 2001 cover.jpg
|caption = Atari 8-bit and C64 share a flippy disk.
|developer = Synapse Software
|publisher = {{vgrelease|NA|Synapse Software|EU|U.S. Gold}}
|programmer = Atari 8-bit
Bob Polin
|released = 1984
|genre = Scrolling shooter
|modes = Single-player
|platforms = Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64
}}
Blue Max 2001 is a diagonally scrolling shooter written by Bob Polin (also credited as Rob Polin) for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Synapse Software in 1984. A Commodore 64 version was released the same year. Blue Max 2001 is the sequel to 1983's Blue Max, also by Polin, with the player piloting a futuristic hovercraft instead of a World War I biplane. In Blue Max, the player flies diagonally up and to the right; in Blue Max 2001, movement is up and to the left. Critics found the game disappointing compared with the original, citing the indistinct graphics and confusing documentation.
Gameplay
{{Empty section|date=August 2019}}
Reception
In contrast to the positive reception given to Blue Max, reviews of Blue Max 2001 on both Atari and Commodore systems were mixed.
Ahoy! called the Commodore 64 release an "exciting sequel" which "extends and refines the elements which made the original game popular, while it introduces enough new challenges to generate fresh excitement."{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_18_1985-06_Ion_International_US#page/n61/mode/2up | title=Blue Max 2001 | work=Ahoy! | date=June 1985 | accessdate=27 June 2014 | author=Katz, Arnie | pages=63, 66}} Zzap!64 labeled it "one of the most disappointing sequels of all time". Reviewer Julian Rignall wrote, "The graphics are very poor", citing the "jelly mould" ship and "wonky" perspective. He mentioned the difficulty caused by use of the joystick diagonals.
Atari magazine Page 6 also considered it a "disappointment" compared to its predecessor, remarking that the Polo mint ship is "a nightmare to fly, far less operate the bombs and lasers, with any degree of accuracy." Bill Kunkel wrote in an Atari Explorer review, "this game is plagued with ridiculous terminology and some of the shoddiest documentation since the days when computer software was sold in baggies."{{cite journal |last1=Kunkel |first1=Bill |title=Reviews: Blue Max 2001 |journal=Atari Explorer |date=June 1985 |page=44 |url=https://archive.org/details/Atari_Explorer_1985-06_Atari_US/page/n45?q=%22blue+max+2001%22}} Antic found the Atari version had "fairly good graphics with some interesting touches, but the manual is a poor introduction to the game:
{{blockquote|text=The documentation, unfortunately, appears to have been written in some other language and translated three or four times by volunteers. This means that the first half hour of play can be quite frustrating as you try to figure out exactly what is going on. In the end, though, it is well worth the effort.{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/stream/1986-03-anticmagazine/Antic_Vol_4-11_1986-03_Practical_Applications#page/n81/mode/2up/search/max|journal=Antic|date=March 1986|accessdate=2015-01-18|title=Product Reviews - Blue Max 2001|author=Scott Lewis}}}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{lemon64 game|id=311|name=Blue Max}}
{{cite journal|url=http://www.page6.org/archive/issue_27/page_66d.htm|title=Shoot 'Em Ups (review)|author=Jim Short|issue=27|date=May 1987|journal=Page 6 Atari Users Magazine|publisher=Page 6 Publishing|quote=Perhaps too much was expected of [Blue Max]'s successor? Anyway, it turned out a disappointment. [..] piloting an octagonal polo-mint [..] against the evil Furxx empire. [..Control..] is via the diagonals, making it a nightmare to fly, far less operate the bombs and lasers, with any degree of accuracy."}}
{{cite journal|url=http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=004&page=093&magazine=zzap|journal=Zzap!64|publisher=Newsfield Publications|issue=4|date=August 1985|accessdate=2015-01-18|title=The Better Letter from America (Section: "Blue Max 2001")|author=Julian Rignall|author-link=Julian Rignall|quote=[Blue Max 2001] must be one of the most disappointing sequels of all time [..] you have a flying saucer (that resembles a jelly mould) [..] the [landscape] now scrolls from the left making it quite difficult to play. [..] Control is very fiddly indeed [..] joystick diagonals play an important part in the control, and this always makes precision extremely difficult. The graphics are very poor [..] with the perspective all wonky. The sound is bad too..}}
}}
External links
- {{atarimania|id=700}}
- {{lemon64 game|id=311|name=Blue Max 2001}}
- {{IAg|a8b_Blue_Max_2001_1985_Synapse_Software_US_h_k_file}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Max 2001}}
Category:Atari 8-bit computer games
Category:Synapse Software games
Category:Video games developed in the United States