''Loopz'' is a

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...

designed and programmed by Ian Upton for the Atari ST in 1989. He previously worked as head game designer for Audiogenic, who acquired exclusive rights to the game, then in 1990 arranged for Mindscape to publish it for computers in North America and consoles worldwide. The Nintendo Entertainment System version (programmed by Bits Studios) and the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

version (programmed by

Argonaut Software Argonaut Games PLC was a British video game developer founded in 1982, most notable for the development of the Super NES video game ''Star Fox'' and its supporting Super FX hardware, as well as for developing '' Croc: Legend of the Gobbos'' an ...

) were released in 1990. Audiogenic published versions of the original game for the

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 ...

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 ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 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 the ''ZX81 Colou ...

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 Si ...

, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, and IBM PC in 1990 and 1991.

Gameplay

The main focus is on the playing board where random pieces of different shapes are presented to the player. A shape is either a single square containing a straight line or 90° corner or a combination of multiple such squares. The player must then try to make loops out of them. Once a loop is completed, all pieces involved will disappear. (You cannot make any line overlapping the edge, in other words, it cannot be placed in this way) There exist three different play modes, two of which can be played with two players. The third mode of play starts with a loop already created and then takes away random pieces of it, so the player has to put them back in after they show up.

Reception

Richard Leadbetter of '' Computer and Video Games'' gave the game 79% for its Amiga version describing its gameplay as simplistic but decent, while noted that graphics looked dated. The Atari ST version received the same score. Steve Cooke of ''ACE'' magazine rated the Atari ST version 795/1000 noting its difficulty and longer learning curve compared to its peers. Stephan Englhart of ''Video Games'' gave the game's Game Boy version 69% and noted that it didn't stand out among its peers. Martin Gaksch gave the NES version 69% as well calling the idea innovative, but not well executed.

Legacy

A port was done for the

Atari Lynx The Atari Lynx is a hybrid 8/16-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal disp ...

, also for Audiogenic by Hand Made Software but lay unreleased until picked up by Songbird Productions in 2004. An agreement was reached between Audiogenic Software and the defunct Atari Classics Programmer's Club in 1995 for development of an Atari 8-bit family version of the game. This version remained incomplete by the time it was abandoned in October 1998. A sequel, '' Super Loopz'', was published for the

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...

by Imagineer and for the

Amiga CD32 The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32, code-named "Spellbound") is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Commodore and released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London on July 16, ...

by Audiogenic. Audiogenic licensed the ''Loopz'' concept to Capcom who developed a prototype coin-op, but it was never released. Similarly Audiogenic developed an SWP (skill-with-prizes) version on behalf of Barcrest, a leading UK manufacturer of pub games, and this too remains unreleased.

References

External links

* *
''Loopz''
at the Amiga Hall of Light 1990 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Atari Jaguar games Atari Lynx games Atari ST games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Commodore 64 games DOS games Game Boy games Hand Made Software games Nintendo Entertainment System games Puzzle video games Songbird Productions games X68000 games Video games scored by David Whittaker Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Mindscape games Argonaut Games games Single-player video games Bits Studios games {{puzzle-videogame-stub