Software:Impossible Mission II

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Short description: 1988 video game
For other uses, see Mission: Impossible (disambiguation).
Impossible Mission II
Developer(s)Novotrade
Publisher(s)Epyx
Platform(s)Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, NES, ZX Spectrum
Release1988
Genre(s)Platform, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Impossible Mission II is a video game developed by Novotrade and published by Epyx in 1988. It was released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Enterprise 128, Nintendo Entertainment System, MS-DOS, Atari ST, Apple II with at least 128K, Apple IIGS, and Amiga.

Impossible Mission II is a direct sequel to Epyx's 1984 Impossible Mission. It follows directly from the same plot, with Elvin Atombender seeking revenge and the player having to stop him. The overall game structure and basic gameplay is mostly similar, but there are a few differences and new features.

Gameplay

The game takes place in Elvin's fortress, which consists of nine towers.[1] Each of the eight outer towers has a specific theme, such as computers, automobiles, furniture and so on. Each tower consists of several rooms connected by two vertical corridors with elevators and two horizontal corridors leading to other towers. The corridors leading between different towers are locked, and they can only be unlocked by figuring out a numerical puzzle.

Each tower contains the numbers zero through nine in three different colors. The computer interface allows the player to try various number combinations to see if they are correct.

The elevator to the central tower is unlocked by finding a password, which is encoded in a piece of music. Each of the eight outer towers has a musical piece locked inside a safe.[1] The final password consists of six distinct musical pieces. Two of the pieces in the towers are duplicates. The player must rewind the tape so that the next musical piece records over the duplicate, erasing it.

The main addition over the previous game is the addition of new types of enemy robots and devices for the player to use. Whereas the original game only included security bots and a special flying ball robot, Impossible Mission II has the following types of robots:

  • Security bot, like in the previous game.
  • Shovel bot, tries to push the player character over the edge of a platform.
  • Suicide bot, like a shovel bot, but also jumps off the edge itself.
  • Mine bot, lays deadly land mines on the floor.
  • Pest bot, is harmless to the touch, but rides around on the lifts, foiling the player's designs.
  • Squat bot, springs up from the floor, sending the player character onto a higher floor or crushing him against the ceiling.

The "ball" type robot is no longer present.

As well as snoozes that temporarily freeze the robots and lift resets, the player can now collect bombs and mines that can be used to blow up holes in the floor or to open safes. Bombs explode after a specific time, whereas mines explode if the player or an enemy robot touches them.

Development

Unlike most computer game sequels of the time, Impossible Mission II did not use any code from the original game.[1] The graphics were remade from scratch using a bitmap animation tool called Film Director.[1] The lead platform was the Atari ST, with work on the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum ports being started once the Atari ST version was nearly complete.[1] All the rooms in Impossible Mission II were redesigned for the ZX Spectrum version.[1]

According to Novotrade programmer László Szenttornyai, who coded the Spectrum version, the NES version of the game "almost wasn't released because of the strict situation between Epyx and Nintendo."[1]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Crash84%[3]
CVG90%[5]
Sinclair User46%[4]
Your Sinclair9/10[2]
Zzap!6496%[8]
ACE785[6]
The Games Machine73%[7]
Award
PublicationAward
Zzap!64Gold Medal[8]

The game received mixed reviews from critics. Common criticisms were the game's overt similarity to and lack of improvement from the original Impossible Mission[6][7] and the extremely limited sound.[4][7] However, the challenging puzzles,[2][6][3] impressive player character animations,[3][2][5] and the tension of playing against the clock[3][5] were all praised by multiple critics. It was voted best platform game ("Geschicklichkeitsspiel") of 1988 by German magazine PowerPlay.[9]

Legacy

In 2004, Impossible Mission was one of the games included on the C64 Direct-to-TV. Both Impossible Mission and its sequel were also included in the C64 Mini.[10]

Impossible Mission and Impossible Mission II were followed by Impossible Mission 2025, an Amiga exclusive. Impossible Mission 2025 abandoned the corridor layout of different rooms and instead includes one big room. The player also has the choice of three different characters: the normal secret agent, a female gymnast, and an android.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Bevan, Mike (December 2013). "The History of... Impossible Mission". Retro Gamer (Imagine Publishing) (122): pp. 44–49. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 David, McCandless (September 1988). "Impossible Mission II review". Your Sinclair (Dennis Publishing) (33). http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/impossiblemissionii.htm. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Reviews: Impossible Mission II". Crash (Newsfield Publications) (55): p. 16. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue55/Pages/Crash5500016.jpg. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dillon, Tony (September 1988). "Games Review: Impossible Mission 2". Sinclair User (EMAP) (78): p. 64. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=SinclairUser/Issue078/Pages/SinclairUser07800064.jpg. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Impossible Mission II review". Computer and Video Games (Future Publishing) (106): p. 60. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue106/Pages/CVG10600060.jpg. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Conner, Pete (June 1988). "Impossible Mission 2 review". ACE (Future Publishing) (9): p. 58. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ACE/Issue09/Pages/ACE0900058.jpg. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Version Update: Impossible Mission II". The Games Machine (Newsfield Publications) (10): p. 44. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=TheGamesMachine/Issue10/Pages/TheGamesMachine1000044.jpg. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Zzap!64 100th Issue Pull-Out Special Page 5". Zzap64.co.uk. http://www.zzap64.co.uk/zzap100/100thspec5.html. 
  9. ↑ PowerPlay 1/89: 14. 
  10. ↑ "The C64 Mini review: Nostalgia's not enough". https://www.engadget.com/2018-04-06-c64-mini-review.html. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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