''Cops 'n' Robbers'' is a video game published by

Atlantis Software Atlantis Software was a London-based United Kingdom, UK video game, computer games Software publisher, publisher that published a number of games during the 1980s and early 1990s. The company was set up by Michael Cole and Rodger Coghill in Janu ...

in 1985 for the

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PE ...

and in virtually identical form on the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

. It was ported to the

Commodore 16 The Commodore 16 is a home computer made by Commodore International with a 6502-compatible 7501 or 8501 CPU, released in 1984 and intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20. A cost-reduced version, the Commodore 116, was ...

and

Commodore Plus/4 The Commodore Plus/4 is a home computer released by Commodore International in 1984. The "Plus/4" name refers to the four-application ROM resident office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, database, and graphing); it was billed as "the produ ...

(1986),

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/ home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a ...

and

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

(1987), and the

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

(1988). The game was controversial when released as the player takes the role of a robber and must shoot the police.

Gameplay

The player takes the role of a diamond thief named Fingers Lonegan. The game starts at Lonegan's car in the top left hand corner of the opening screen. The player must make their way to the Acme Diamond Company building at the bottom of the screen by negotiating the garden maze. Police appear from the Police station (at the top right of the screen) and will home in on and arrest Lonegan. To avoid being arrested, the player must shoot the police. Bullets are limited but can be replenished by going back to the car. The player may also enter the mine or the police station (not all versions) from this opening screen. There are many diamonds to collect which are on many levels of the Acme Diamond Company building as well as the mine. Police enter the building but not the mine where the only enemies are ghosts. The player may also enter the police station (on some versions) and free fellow robbers. There are basic puzzles such as collecting keys,

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

, torches (some rooms are dark so the walls of the maze cannot be seen without the torch) and the code for the safe to advance in the game.

Reception

The game was criticised for the fact that you shoot and kill many policemen. At the time, this was highly controversial as video games were very much seen as being for children. Rog Frost in ''

Electron User ''Electron User'' was a magazine targeted at owners of the Acorn Electron microcomputer. It was published by Database Publications of Stockport, starting in October 1983 and ending after 82 issues in July 1990. Initially it was included as a 16- ...

'' wrote, "I find this game wholly inappropriate. It strikes me as abhorrent that success is measured by the ability to shoot policemen or steal diamonds. It should have been given a fantasy setting where the nasties which must be shot are not recognisable as creatures from the Earth"."Dodgy Scenario", Electron User, Vol. 5, No. 3, January 1988
/ref> This view was shared by Ray Sharp of ''

Atari User ''Atari User'' was a British computer magazine aimed at users of Atari home computers, and published by Database Publications (later known as Europress) between 1985 and 1988. ''Atari User'' was a general-interest computer magazine, containing ...

'' as "shooting policemen is not my idea of a good thing to teach children to do. Aliens from a distant planet OK but not your neighbourhood bobby". The game also received almost universally negative reviews from critics at the time. ''Electron User'' awarded an overall mark of 4/10, complaining "The graphics aren't really up to par, even for software at this price. The sprites are simple and undergo a sort of jerky animation... The scenery that supports the action can probably best be described as plain or perhaps boring". ''Atari User'' awarded only 2/10 overall (with a score of 0/10 for value for money despite only costing £1.99) concluding "The graphics are pathetic and the sound effects dismal. The game is playable but not for long... it's a disaster". ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazine ...

'' gave an even lower score of 9% claiming it to be "The worst program we've seen on the 64"."Cops 'N' Robbers", Zzap!64, Issue 7, November 1985
/ref>

References

External links

*{{lemon64 game, id=539, name=Cops 'n' Robbers

at Atari Mania 1985 video games Atari 8-bit family games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Commodore 16 and Plus/4 games Commodore 64 games VIC-20 games Maze games Video games about crime Video games developed in the United Kingdom Atlantis Software games Single-player video games