''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

, based on the musical of the same name, it was developed and published by

CRL Group CRL Group plc is a defunct British video game development and publishing company. Originally CRL stood for "Computer Rentals Limited". It was based in King's Yard, London and run by Clem Chambers. at World of Spectrum They released a number of not ...

. It was released for

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

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 ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

, 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 ...

created by the CRL Group PLC. The game received generally positive reviews from video game critics.

Gameplay

Based on the musical of the same name, ''The Rocky Horror Show'' has the player control either Brad or Janet collecting the pieces of the Medusa machine from around the castle in order to de-Medusa the player's partner. The other characters attempt to slow down Brad and Janet, with Riff Raff and Eddie having the ability to kill the player.

Development

''The Rocky Horror Show'' was published and developed by

, having made previously licensed games such as ''The War of the Worlds''. In 1984, negotiations by CRL were made to obtain the rights to make a computer game on the property. CRL's

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Clem Chambers claimed in an interview with

GamesTM ''GamesTM'' (styled as ''gamesTM'') was a United Kingdom, UK-based, multi-format video games magazine, covering video game console, console, handheld game, handheld, PC game, PC and Arcade games. The first issue was released in December 2002 and t ...

that the rights holder for the property approached the company after being impressed by their work with ''The War of the Worlds''. Chambers stated he wanted to base the game on the environments of the stage show instead of "the elements of dubious taste in the show itself". ''Rocky Horror''s creator

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

did not have much involvement with making the game, due to being "terrified of technology". Ian Ellery, a fan of ''Rocky Horror'', was the game's programmer. There were separate versions of the game released for C64 and C128. The former was a straight ZX Spectrum port while the latter featured completely reworked graphics with more detailed characters and more colourful backgrounds. In the game itself there were a few new locations to be found.

Reception

''The Rocky Horror Show'' received generally positive reviews. Roy Wagner reviewed the game for ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'', and stated that "The game is a challenge, but is it worth it? I think not." Zzap!64 thought the Commodore 64 version was inferior to the Spectrum version and did not have much lasting appeal. They rated it 43% overall. Retrospectives of the game have also been positive.

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

considered the game to be decent and worth playing. Sam Derboo from Hardcore Gaming 101 criticized the Commodore 64 version for running slow compared to the Spectrum and Amstrad versions.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocky Horror Show (video game), The 1985 video games Adventure games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games Single-player video games Rocky Horror Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games CRL Group games