''The Last V8'' is a

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

published by

Mastertronic Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was one of the largest software publishers in the UK, achieved b ...

on their M.A.D. label. It was released in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

for 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 ...

Commodore 128 The Commodore 128, also known as the C128, C-128, C= 128,The "C=" represents the graphical part of the logo. is the last 8-bit home computer that was commercially released by Commodore Business Machines (CBM). Introduced in January 1985 at 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, ...

, and

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') 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 Sin ...

. The player controls a futuristic car in an uninhabited post-apocalyptic scenario. The title echoes a

plot point In television and film, a plot point is any incident, episode, or event that "hooks" into the action and spins it around into another direction. Noted screenwriting teacher Syd Field discusses plot points in his paradigm, popularized in his book ...

from the

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...

series of movies The design was done by Richard Darling and the programming by David Darling. The graphics are by Jim Wilson and music by

Rob Hubbard Rob Hubbard (born 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, England) is a British composer best known for his musical and programming work for microcomputers of the 1980s, such as the Commodore 64. Early life Hubbard first started playing music at age seve ...

Plot

It is 2008 and the world has been devastated a few years earlier by a great nuclear war that left few survivors. The protagonist has survived for years in an underground military research bunker, where he has been working on the design of a special car, "the ultimate V8" to which the title refers. Based on an old car from the 1980s, it has a radiation shield, is computerised and remotely linked to the base, and can reach speeds of up to 410km/h. The V8 has now been authorised to explore the surface in search of survivors to contact, but on his maiden run he has to quickly return to the safety of the bunker, because there are still nuclear warheads that explode periodically. The Commodore 128 version changes the scenario a bit: the starting base is a colony on Mars, spared by the war, and the V8 is sent to Earth with the same mission of contacting survivors.

Gameplay

The aim of the game is to guide the V8 to the bunker, avoiding crashing into obstacles or running out of fuel or the radiation shield, which starts to wear out after a certain amount of time when an explosive device goes off. The action always begins with an unclear digitised voice saying "V8, return to base immediately". The screen is divided horizontally into two parts and in the top half the actual action takes place, with a top-down view and scrolling in all directions. The bottom half shows the dashboard with numerous indicators, including a small computer screen that indicates the distance to the base and warns of the rise of radiation. If the player hits any of the obstacles, the V8 is destroyed, and they have to start the level all over again.

Commodore 128 version

''The Last V8'' is one of the few commercial games to run in

native mode In computing, native software or data-formats are those that were designed to run on a particular operating system. In a more technical sense, native code is code written specifically for a certain processor. In contrast, cross-platform software c ...

on the

. The 128 version has more levels (three instead of only two levels). The first level, the one missing in the 64 version, has more complex mission objectives.

Reception

''The Last V8'' received a mixed response. While the graphics and music were praised, the controls were difficult and the game was considered unplayable by some reviewers. Despite this, the game still reached number 5 in the video game charts.

References

External links

* {{Italic title 1985 video games Amstrad CPC games Atari 8-bit family games Commodore 64 games Commodore 128 games Mastertronic games Video games scored by Rob Hubbard