Frosty the Snowman - Hurry Before He Melts!
Thanks to Rhys at the Retro Garden for introducing me to the incredibly tough and punishing game, Frosty the Snowman.
As Rhys wrote on his site: "Every year in my family’s household we did dust off the C64, and play it until our hearts were full."
Surely a game like that is worthy of a quick look at the C64 Walkabout, right?
Well, yes and no. See, this game is a great example of the sort of hilarious sadism "platform" gamers heaped upon themselves in the old days. Difficult, unforgiving terrain and deaths come at you fast and furious, with the sole redeeming quality being that in this particular game, you can share the fun of what would be frustrating in-game deaths with another player on a split screen. Or laugh at him/her when not being laughed at yourself. And that has to be at least part of what made this game an enduring gem for Rhys at the Retro Garden.
That and the rather fantastic background music...because it sure isn't the graphics!
To give you an idea of the pain you must endure to win this game - on the third screen there is an immediate pit that you cannot see before the screen appears! So you must actually jump at the end of the previous screen to clear it. Clearly this is not a game that takes itself too seriously, but the fun can be had in watching the person above or below you stumble onto these tricks and traps themselves.
It's also an example of the way many platform-style games required you to "die" a few times before figuring out the timing or strategy of the game screens. Modern gamers may feel they are "losing" in Frosty because they are used to peaceful and near-invulnerable leaping towards multiple colorful rewards with flying Marios - while Frosty offers gamers a slap in the face like a hard snowball instead. A real challenge, if you will.
Download it, try it, and invite a friend to use that second USB joystick you picked up for Christmas for a challenge. But whatever you do, don't leave them feeling that this is the best C64 game in your collection....for new C64 gamers who can't handle this level of frustration, I suggest the games in THIS LIST.
I've hosted the file HERE so that more families can make this a fun part of their Holiday season now and for future Christmas breaks!
As Rhys wrote on his site: "Every year in my family’s household we did dust off the C64, and play it until our hearts were full."
Surely a game like that is worthy of a quick look at the C64 Walkabout, right?
Well, yes and no. See, this game is a great example of the sort of hilarious sadism "platform" gamers heaped upon themselves in the old days. Difficult, unforgiving terrain and deaths come at you fast and furious, with the sole redeeming quality being that in this particular game, you can share the fun of what would be frustrating in-game deaths with another player on a split screen. Or laugh at him/her when not being laughed at yourself. And that has to be at least part of what made this game an enduring gem for Rhys at the Retro Garden.
That and the rather fantastic background music...because it sure isn't the graphics!
To give you an idea of the pain you must endure to win this game - on the third screen there is an immediate pit that you cannot see before the screen appears! So you must actually jump at the end of the previous screen to clear it. Clearly this is not a game that takes itself too seriously, but the fun can be had in watching the person above or below you stumble onto these tricks and traps themselves.
It's also an example of the way many platform-style games required you to "die" a few times before figuring out the timing or strategy of the game screens. Modern gamers may feel they are "losing" in Frosty because they are used to peaceful and near-invulnerable leaping towards multiple colorful rewards with flying Marios - while Frosty offers gamers a slap in the face like a hard snowball instead. A real challenge, if you will.
Download it, try it, and invite a friend to use that second USB joystick you picked up for Christmas for a challenge. But whatever you do, don't leave them feeling that this is the best C64 game in your collection....for new C64 gamers who can't handle this level of frustration, I suggest the games in THIS LIST.
I've hosted the file HERE so that more families can make this a fun part of their Holiday season now and for future Christmas breaks!
Is a quality game! Of course, I know where most of the things are, so I can get away with it. Still can't get passed screen 4 or 5. One of the trickier moments after the trap you described before was that you ALWAYS jump when entering a new screen, and eventually you get a screen whereby where you land, is a hole (hard to explain, but trust me on this one!). It's frustrating, but that's just like Christmas, isn't it?
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