Head over Heels (video game)

Head Over Heels is an action-adventure video game, released by Ocean Software in 1987 for several 8-bit home computers, and subsequently ported to a wide range of formats. The working title for the game was Foot and Mouth.[1] It uses an isometric engine that is similar to the Filmation technique first developed by Ultimate.

Head Over Heels
Developer(s)Ocean Software
Publisher(s)Ocean Software
Producer(s)D. C. Ward
Programmer(s)Jon Ritman
Artist(s)Bernie Drummond
Composer(s)Guy Stevens
Platform(s)Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga, MSX, ZX Spectrum, Atari Jaguar
Release1987
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Head Over Heels is the second isometric game by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond, after their earlier Batman computer game released in 1986. In 1994 another isometric video game by Ritman and Drummond, Monster Max, was released for the Nintendo Game Boy.[2]

In 2003, Retrospec[3] released a remake of Head Over Heels for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, BeOS, and Linux. In 2019, Piko Interactive released an Atari ST port of Head Over Heels for Atari Jaguar.

Gameplay
Heels tries to catch a ride. (Amstrad CPC)

The player controls two characters instead of just one, each with different abilities. Head can jump higher than Heels, control himself in the air, and fire doughnuts from a hooter to paralyze enemies; while Heels can run twice as fast as Head, climb certain staircases that Head cannot, and carry objects around a room in a bag. These abilities become complementary when the player combines them together after completing roughly a sixth of the game. Compared to its predecessors, the game offers unique and revolutionary gameplay, complex puzzles, and more than 300 rooms to explore.

Drummond contributed some famously surreal touches, including robots (controlled by push switches) that bore a remarkable resemblance to the head of Prince Charles on the body of a Dalek. Other surreal touches include enemies with the heads of elephants and staircases made of dogs that teleport themselves away as soon as Head enters the room.[4]

Plot

Headus Mouthion (Head) and Footus Underium (Heels) are two spies from the planet Freedom. They are sent to Blacktooth to liberate the enslaved planets of Penitentiary, Safari, Book World and Egyptus, and then to defeat the Emperor to prevent further planets falling under his rule. Captured and separated, the spies are placed in the prison headquarters of Castle Blacktooth and must first escape, then break through the market to the orbiting Moonbase where they can teleport down to the planets to locate and reobtain the stolen crowns. Liberation of the planets and defeat of the Emperor will allow Head and Heels to return to Freedom as heroes.

Development

Jon Ritman re-used and modified the isometric engine he created for Batman to support the control of 2 players instead of just 1. Modifications were made to the code for the C64 version to lower processor load, but in the end there was very little difference between the versions.[5]

Critical reaction
Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Amstrad Action95%[6]
Crash97%[7]
CVG34/40[8]
Sinclair User9/10[9]
Your Sinclair9/10[10]
Zzap!6498%[11]
Awards
PublicationAward
CrashCrash Smash
Sinclair UserSU Classic
Zzap!64Gold Medal
CVGCVG Hit!
Amstrad Action10th best game of all time[12]
Amiga Power24th best game of all time[13]
  • Your Sinclair awarded Head over Heels 9/10 in the June 1987 issue and the game was placed at number 5 in the Your Sinclair official top 100. Sinclair User also awarded 9/10.[10]
  • Crash magazine gave Head over Heels 97% and called the game "The best fun you're likely to have with a Spectrum for quite some time".[7]
  • Zzap!64 gave the Commodore 64 conversion of the game 98%: enough for its coveted Gold Medal Award; the joint highest score in the magazine's history; and the first Gold Medal of the year - in its August 1987 issue. It was described as "An all time classic - not to be missed for any reason".[11]

References
  1. Head over Heels at everything2.com
  2. Ritman, Jon. "Monster Max information at Jon Ritman's website". Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  4. Goring, Graham. "Head over Heels". The Big Wobbly Speccy Game Review Page. Archived from the original on August 28, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04.
  5. "Head over Heels". 2011-07-10. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  6. Amstrad Action magazine, issue 20, Future Publishing
  7. "Head Over Heels". CRASH. 1987.
  8. "CVG Review of Amstrad version".
  9. Sinclair User review
  10. "Head Over Heels". Your Sinclair. 1987. Archived from the original on 2006-03-26.
  11. "Zzap! 64" (28). August 1987: 14–16. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. "Amstrad Action All Time Top 10 Games • Retroaction". retroactionmagazine.com.
  13. Amiga Power magazine issue 49, Future Publishing, May 1995
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