Cobra review (in memory of Jonathan Smith)

Danae's Fan #1 · June 2010

Cobra wasn't going to be my next review, but since Jonathan Smith sadly passed away, I thought it would be a nice tribute to review such an amazing game.

R.I.P. Jonathan Smith

http://spectrumparadise.blogspot.com/

or

http://spectrumparadise.blogspot.com/2010/06/cobra.html

Mousey · June 2010

Good review, and I agree with 9/10 as there are a few flaws which you have mentioned (only 3 levels, no ending).

I know what you mean about it being "too hard" when "there are moments where the screen is overcrowded with enemies", but to me this just adds to the charm of the game - surviving an onslaught of enemies (either by luck or skill) is a great feeling!

My favourite part of the game is when you get the machine gun and hordes of enemies come pouring into the screen, only to be swiftly despatched by your equal flow of bullets - fantastic!

fog · June 2010

thats the thing with his games, but when you clock em you feel happier for doing it..

was funny, he himself (joffa) clocked firefly after all these years but admitted it was tough.

I think it was partly, look at the games.. and then , well multi-loads came in after.. wonder if that would have affected things if it was released a bit later.

it's a nice game.. I mean , its how the engine is, the visuals , sound and well... I had the c64 version.. and well they should have made it like the speccy one.

chaosmongers · June 2010

Maybe it's my warped mind, or maybe it's a sneaky rude joke that Joffa put into the game, but if i'm not mistaken, this screenshot contains a big yellow farting bottom.

Cobra+3.gif

deadpan666 · July 2010

chaosmongers wrote: »

Maybe it's my warped mind, or maybe it's a sneaky rude joke that Joffa put into the game, but if i'm not mistaken, this screenshot contains a big yellow farting bottom.

Both could be the explanation! :lol: ;)

Good review by the way, DF#1.... :)

Mark R. Jones · July 2010

That's a disintegrating duck!

Ivanzx · July 2010

One of the best Spectrum games ever, and one of the great things that Joffa left us.

Nice detail, I will read the review as soon as I have some time :)

psj3809 · July 2010

I love the game, theres the odd bug when you can complete a level when you get that constant sound but the thought which has gone into the levels/graphics and humour is just superb.

I was the top player at myspeccy.com for quite some time on Cobra (think i completed it 8 times in a row) and was obviously a huge fan of the game !

When you get that uzi, amazing !!

I've never found the game too hard, yeah i know i play it a ton but sometimes i just headbutt all my opponents and leave the weapons right till the end when theres hardly anyone left.

Mousey · July 2010

psj3809 wrote: »

I was the top player at myspeccy.com for quite some time on Cobra (think i completed it 8 times in a row) and was obviously a huge fan of the game !

What do you mean was? You still are! :)

374,100 - wow. My best score is 159,400 and (until now) I thought that was good!

And you claim to like Cobra... pfft ;)

psj3809 · July 2010

Yeah i should have checked ! I stopped checking as i was getting frustrated with people using 'tricks' to beat my Rambo score ! Everyday i got a new high score the same guy would beat it on his next go over and over.

To be fair that Cobra score was a bit of a one off, everything 'clicked' and i was on the ultimate game playing roll ! Just couldnt seem to get killed at all

Same with Flying Shark, i'm only 4th now but the guy whos got the top score on that, impressive as anything.

I was playing Flying Shark tons, took a bit of practice knowing when some planes come up from the bottom (ohh-err) but a great great game

ewgf · July 2010

Cobra is brilliant, definitely my favourite game of Joffa's. Yes it is hard, but in a good way; remember you'd pay seven quid for it (serious money for a kid in the '80s) and want to play if for weeks afterwards, so you didn't want a walkover, you wanted a tough but fair challenge, which is exactly what Cobra gave you. Plus is was one of those all-too-few games that you never lost interest in, that draw you back every so often.

And the humour was fantastic - one of the few non-adventure games to really make you laugh, and the irreverent attitude was all too rare (even back then), in fact almost unique in commercial games.

Even today, I find it's one of those games where you have to "click" at it; either you play very well or very badly, and you can't judge how you'll do on that particular day until you try. Freud might say that your subconscious has to play it, not your conscious. But then he'd be talking in Austrian, so I wouldn't understand him, so I'll just say "G'day mate, you're fair dinkum right, ya Kangaroo from downunder", and carry on playing Cobra.

I am going to have to give Firefly a proper go, though. It's one of those games I never took to, but it's sometimes mentioned fondly on here, so I'll try it again sometime.

psj3809 wrote: »

I was the top player at myspeccy.com for quite some time on Cobra (think i completed it 8 times in a row) and was obviously a huge fan of the game !

Wow! That is very impressive indeed. Well, unless you're getting Cobra confused with Bruce Lee. But just to be on the safe sice, I'm never gonna attack you, even with a missile launcher.

psj3809 · July 2010

If you like Cobra remember to give his underated game Hysteria a go

Its just the Cobra engine slightly tweaked with different graphics. But its still very impressive and makes a nice alternative.

Vampyre · July 2010

I'm utterly ashamed to admit it, but I'd never played Firefly until yesterday. It's rather good isn't it!

Hypersports is still my favourite Joffa game though.

MrCheese · July 2010

ewgf wrote: »

Cobra is brilliant, definitely my favourite game of Joffa's. Yes it is hard, but in a good way; remember you'd pay seven quid for it (serious money for a kid in the '80s) and want to play if for weeks afterwards, so you didn't want a walkover, you wanted a tough but fair challenge, which is exactly what Cobra gave you. Plus is was one of those all-too-few games that you never lost interest in, that draw you back every so often.

And the humour was fantastic - one of the few non-adventure games to really make you laugh, and the irreverent attitude was all too rare (even back then), in fact almost unique in commercial games.

Even today, I find it's one of those games where you have to "click" at it; either you play very well or very badly, and you can't judge how you'll do on that particular day until you try. Freud might say that your subconscious has to play it, not your conscious. But then he'd be talking in Austrian, so I wouldn't understand him, so I'll just say "G'day mate, you're fair dinkum right, ya Kangaroo from downunder", and carry on playing Cobra.

I am going to have to give Firefly a proper go, though. It's one of those games I never took to, but it's sometimes mentioned fondly on here, so I'll try it again sometime.

Wow! That is very impressive indeed. Well, unless you're getting Cobra confused with Bruce Lee. But just to be on the safe sice, I'm never gonna attack you, even with a missile launcher.

Austria the place near Germany has kangeroos now does it :-o

ewgf · July 2010

MrCheese wrote: »

Austria the place near Germany has kangeroos now does it :-o

I was joking, implying that I was thick!

[Beanz: Really stretching your acting skills there then, weren't you?]

Shut up. And take that!

[Beanz: OW! By dose id bleedid]

MrCheese · July 2010

ewgf wrote: »

I was joking, implying that I was thick!

[Beanz: Really stretching your acting skills there then, weren't you?]

Shut up. And take that!

[Beanz: OW! By dose id bleedid]

Game set and match to ewgf! :p

Cobra review (in memory of Jonathan Smith)

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