140: Cobra

Number 140
Cobra
YS Top 100: 89

Cobra, a fantastic example of exactly the kind of game that could only have been made in the UK in the mid-80s, and will never be done again.

Legend has it that Jonathan Smith of Ocean was tasked with making a game of the Sylvester Stallone film Cobra, after the company acquired the licence. Alas, he hated the film, and decided to make a parody game instead, where your lives are represented by boxing gloves (because Stallone was in the Rocky films), the intro music is based on the Rocky theme, and you're attacked by baby prams. You can attack with either your head, or with various weapons found in hamburgers. There are only three levels, but the action is so frenetic that completing the game is still a real challenge.

If Jonathan Smith was trying to play a joke, then the joke is on him, because Cobra is an excellent platformer. After a bit of practice and learning the right way to approach the game, it becomes a really playable experience, with the kind of fast action that the Speccy isn't always known for. Still, this could never happen now, partly because there isn't a chance in hell that a game based on a movie would be developed by a single man, nor would he get away with such a pisstake. God bless Cobra.

16K - No
48K - Yes
128K - Yes