The Blues Brothers: Gorgeous and funny platform game

The game begins with Jake and Elwood’s release from Calmut County Jail. With the urge to sing the blues still as strong as ever, the bluesome twosome have arranged a big comeback gig but someone has swiped their equipment. Not to be outdone, the boys set off across Chicago to retrieve their stolen instruments and reach the gig on time. The first level involves a bit of window shopping as the boys visit the local shopping mall in search of a missing guitar which is hidden in one of the shops.

Hazards to watch out for are kamikaze grannies who try and mow you down with their shopping trollies, trigger-happy security guards who shoot first and ask questions later, and plate-throwing waitresses who think it’s fun to wallop you over the head with ceramic frisbees. With more than 300 screens, the Blues Brothers is certainly a large game and, thanks to some inspired gameplay, it’s also a brilliant platform romp. You can chose to play either Elwood or Jake, the two distinguishable by Jake’s bulging waist line or Elwood’s lanky stick-like figure – Elwood seems slightly faster, too. Both characters don’t have to be on-screen at once, either, which avoids having to wait around for the other player to catch up but means you can’t see what’s happening to your own character once he’s left the screen.

You start the game with three lives, but every time you come into contact with an enemy sprite you lose a third of your energy. After three such encounters a life is lost and you either return to the start of he level or at a point further into the game if you’ve managed to get quite a way in the level. My only quibble here is that some dodgy sprite detection and hazardous traps make it fairly difficult to get very far into the game without coming to grief. Still, it only adds to the challenge and longevity of the game. Fans of the Blues Brothers, and even those who have never watched the movie or listened to their records, will definitely get a kick out of this game. One of the best platform romps on the Amiga!

news source: various sources / image source: GenerationAmiga / watch on Youtube / download The Blues Brothers Amiga, Atari, MS-DOS