B.C. II: Grog's Revenge

Sydney Development

Industry	Video games
Founded	1980s
Products	Video games, including B.C. II: Grog's Revenge

B.C. II: Grog's Revenge is a video game released in 1984 by Sydney Development for platforms including the Commodore 64, ColecoVision, Coleco ADAM, and MSX. Serving as the follow-up to B.C.'s Quest For Tires, this title draws inspiration from the B.C. comic strip created by Johnny Hart. Although versions for Atari 8-bit computers, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Amstrad CPC were promoted, these editions never reached the market.

Plot

The storyline centers on Thor, a prehistoric man who rides a stone unicycle, embarking on an expedition across multiple mountain ranges in search of the "meaning of life."

Gameplay

Players control Thor as he navigates mountainous terrain and subterranean caves, collecting clams that function as the game's currency. The objective involves accumulating enough clams to pay a toll to another caveman named Peter, which permits progression to subsequent mountain levels.

Movement on the mountains allows travel in four directions but requires careful avoidance of hazards such as cliffs, rocks, walls, and pits. Inside dark caves, visibility is confined to a narrow light beam surrounding Thor, who must evade stalagmites obstructing his path.

Two adversaries pose threats: the 'Tiredactyl,' which chases Thor and can cause him to lose a life by stealing his tire, and Grog, whose approach triggers an alarm. When Grog captures Thor, he yells "GROG," propelling Thor into the air and ending the game.

Progression to further mountains depends on collecting a sufficient number of clams before reaching the trail's conclusion; failing this requires retracing steps to gather more currency.

Ports

While the versions for Commodore 64 and Coleco ADAM include 15 stages divided into three sets of five, the MSX and ColecoVision editions contain only five stages. A programming flaw prevented players from completing all levels in early MSX releases and the original ColecoVision version; this issue was resolved in the Coleco Canada release and later patched by Spanish coder Félix Espina in 2019.

Reception

The magazine Zzap!64 awarded the game a score of 91%, describing it as a "stunningly impressive programme." In 1989, Computer and Video Games rated the ColecoVision edition at 87%. A 1994 retrospective by Commodore Format characterized Grog's Revenge as "a game of the old school" yet still "a fun little diversion," giving it a 70% rating.

Reviews

• Jeux & Stratégie issue #38
• Jeux & Stratégie special issue #3

External links

• Game of the Week: B.C. II: Grog's Revenge