Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun
Encyclopedia
Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun is a video game developed by Gray Matter under developer Chris Gray and published in 1990 by Mindscape
. It originally appeared on the 16-bit
Atari ST
, IBM PC
and Commodore Amiga, before later being converted to the ZX Spectrum
, Commodore 64
, Amstrad CPC
. The Commodore 64 version was included on the bundled cartridge of the ill-fated Commodore 64 Games System
.
owes $10,000, arrives on the scene with the intent of demolishing the circus unless it can pay up. He plans to build a set of luxury hotels on the terrain
. In a fit of desperation, the showmaster organises a display of six events to raise money for the doomed circus: diving
, juggling
, trapeze
, knife throwing
, tightrope and the human cannonball
. The performance in each event is judged by five clown
judges, who offer money depending on the quality of the show. The businessman has no intention of letting the circus raise the cash though, and he sets his lackey, the evil Fiendish Freddy, loose to steal the show - literally.
' California Games
, Winter Games
and Summer Games
. However, Fiendish Freddy differed not only by its surroundings (circus events) offering a comedy
element, it also offered a plot and a clear goal of winning $10,000. The six events were thus:
of increasing height into containers of water of decreasing size, beginning with a huge wooden container, and ending in a glass of water. Money is earned by completing all four levels, as well as performing a set series of stunts. Freddy attempts to hinder the player by blowing the diver off course with an enormous hair dryer.
. Of course, Freddy throws a surprise or two into the mix, in the form of bombs, which can be thrown back at Freddy to consequently explode in his face, or missiles which must be juggled as per other objects. Dropping bombs or missiles will cause them to explode and kill the juggler.
and large pair of scissors
to cut your act short if you are too slow.
s in to hinder the player's vision.
. The amount of gunpowder
in the cannon is predetermined, and the player has to judge the angle necessary to launch the character into the target. Freddy plays a smaller role in this subgame - he only gets involved if the player takes too long to decide upon the angle, upon which he destroys the cannon.
was surprisingly graphic for a title of this period - the tightrope walker gets sliced in two through the midriff when hit by a blade and the juggler is blown to pieces when hit by a bomb, for example. The lack of any kind of media panic
in retrospect might seem surprising, although such public outrage only became common from about 1992 onwards, following the releases of Wolfenstein 3D
and Mortal Kombat
.
awarded the game 80%, but reviewer David Wilson clearly stated that this was for the disk version - the tape version suffered from an extremely unwieldy multi-load
system. CRASH
awarded it 90%.
Mindscape
Mindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with EA . As of 2004, the group has offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. It has an annual turnover of €38 million and employs 150 people. Mindscape...
. It originally appeared on the 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
and Commodore Amiga, before later being converted to the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
. The Commodore 64 version was included on the bundled cartridge of the ill-fated Commodore 64 Games System
Commodore 64 Games System
The Commodore 64 Games System was the cartridge-based game console version of the popular Commodore 64 home computer. It was released by Commodore in December 1990 as a competitor in the booming console market...
.
Plot
A corrupt businessman, whom the circusCircus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
owes $10,000, arrives on the scene with the intent of demolishing the circus unless it can pay up. He plans to build a set of luxury hotels on the terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
. In a fit of desperation, the showmaster organises a display of six events to raise money for the doomed circus: diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, juggling
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
, trapeze
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
, knife throwing
Knife throwing
Knife throwing is an art, sport, combat skill, or variously an entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapons thrown, and a target.-A throwing knife:...
, tightrope and the human cannonball
Human cannonball
The human cannonball is a performance in which a person is ejected from a specially designed cannon. The impetus is provided not by gunpowder, but by either a spring or jet of compressed air...
. The performance in each event is judged by five clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
judges, who offer money depending on the quality of the show. The businessman has no intention of letting the circus raise the cash though, and he sets his lackey, the evil Fiendish Freddy, loose to steal the show - literally.
Premise
The game was similar to many of the multi-event sports games of the time such as EpyxEpyx
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983...
' California Games
California Games
California Games is a 1987 Epyx sports video game for many home computers and video game consoles. Branching from their popular Summer Games and Winter Games series, this game consisted of some sports purportedly popular in California including skateboarding, freestyle footbag, surfing, roller...
, Winter Games
Winter Games
Winter Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx , based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games....
and Summer Games
Summer Games
Summer Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx and released by U.S. Gold based on sports featured in the Summer Olympic Games. Released in 1984 for the Commodore 64, it was also eventually ported to the Apple II, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari XL/XE and Sega Master System platforms...
. However, Fiendish Freddy differed not only by its surroundings (circus events) offering a comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
element, it also offered a plot and a clear goal of winning $10,000. The six events were thus:
Diving
The player is challenged to jump off four diving boardsSpringboard
A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type....
of increasing height into containers of water of decreasing size, beginning with a huge wooden container, and ending in a glass of water. Money is earned by completing all four levels, as well as performing a set series of stunts. Freddy attempts to hinder the player by blowing the diver off course with an enormous hair dryer.
Juggling
The player must make their way through four juggling sessions of increasing difficulty. Each level brings more balls to juggle, but not just balls - sometimes babies get lost in the mass and must be thrown back into their pramsBaby transport
Baby transport consists of devices for transporting and carrying infants. A "child carrier" or "baby carrier" is a device used to carry an infant or small child on the body of an adult...
. Of course, Freddy throws a surprise or two into the mix, in the form of bombs, which can be thrown back at Freddy to consequently explode in his face, or missiles which must be juggled as per other objects. Dropping bombs or missiles will cause them to explode and kill the juggler.
Trapeze
The aim of this section is to proceed from right to left over three levels, jumping from rope to rope. Along the way there are rings of fire and moving targets which have to be mastered. Freddy, as usual, is omnipresent with a jet packJet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
and large pair of scissors
Scissors
Scissors are hand-operated cutting instruments. They consist of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting various thin materials, such as paper, cardboard, metal foil, thin...
to cut your act short if you are too slow.
Knife throwing
The player must throw knives at balloons on a rotating wheel with a female assistant strapped to it. The assistant is not a target, and will scream if hit, as well as the screen getting covered in blood. There are a limited number of knives available. If the player does not manage to burst all of the balloons before the time or knives run out, it's over. Freddy contributes to the challenge once in a while by throwing smoke grenadeSmoke grenade
Smoke grenades are canister-type grenades used as ground-to-ground or ground-to-air signaling devices, target or landing zone marking devices, or as screening devices for unit movements. Smoke grenades are normally considered non-lethal, although incorrect use may cause death...
s in to hinder the player's vision.
Tightrope
The player must walk across three tightropes armed only with a pole to keep balance. Freddy intervenes occasionally with his jet pack, attempting to knock the player off the rope, or with razor blades to cut the player in half. The blades can be deflected with the pole.Human Cannonball
The final event involves an attempt by the player to launch him or herself into a target from a cannonCannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
. The amount of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
in the cannon is predetermined, and the player has to judge the angle necessary to launch the character into the target. Freddy plays a smaller role in this subgame - he only gets involved if the player takes too long to decide upon the angle, upon which he destroys the cannon.
Graphic violence
The game's humor was principally very dark and the violenceViolence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
was surprisingly graphic for a title of this period - the tightrope walker gets sliced in two through the midriff when hit by a blade and the juggler is blown to pieces when hit by a bomb, for example. The lack of any kind of media panic
Media panic
Media panic is a term often used to describe criticism against a new medium or media technology. Such debates have in recent years focused on computer media such as the Internet and the World Wide Web, computer games and social media - but media panic is an old phenomenon with a long history...
in retrospect might seem surprising, although such public outrage only became common from about 1992 onwards, following the releases of Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and...
and Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
.
ZX Spectrum
Your SinclairYour Sinclair
Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
awarded the game 80%, but reviewer David Wilson clearly stated that this was for the disk version - the tape version suffered from an extremely unwieldy multi-load
Multi-load
Multi-load is a term used to describe multi-part games that were developed for 8-bit computers, such as the ZX Spectrum, Atari and Commodore 64....
system. CRASH
CRASH (magazine)
Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.-Development:...
awarded it 90%.
External links
- Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...