Action Biker

Action Biker is a game that uses the character Clumsy Colin from the British comic Buster, and he was also used as the mascot for the crisp range KP Skips. You take control of Colin on his motorbike and you must ride around an isometric 360 degree landscape to collect various clothing items and bike parts to enter a drag race. There are various obstacles to avoid and these include walls, fences, trees, telegraph poles, a petrol station and water and if you crash into any then you lose one of five lives. There are also raised platforms that can be negotiated but you are able to jump from them safely. Once you have collected all the items required, you can make your way to the drag strip to race.

Released: 1985
Platforms: Atari 8-bit Atari ST/STE Commodore 64 Commodore C64/128/MAX ZX Spectrum
Genres: Action-adventure Racing
Developers: Mastertronic
Publishers: Mastertronic
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Third person Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action
Country: United Kingdom
Languages: English
Composers: Rob Hubbard

About

Action Biker (also known as KP Skips Action Biker with Clumsy Colin in the UK) is a 1985 game for Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum released by Mastertronic. The game was a tie-in with snack food KP Skips, whose mascot was "Clumsy Colin" who featured in television adverts for Skips at around the time the game was published. The music was composed by Rob Hubbard.

Although marketed under the same title, the ZX Spectrum version of Action Biker differs significantly from the Atari and C64 versions, to the extent that Retro Gamer magazine featured it in their "Same Name, Different Game" column.

Keywords

licensed game

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player controls the protagonist Clumsy Colin who rides a motorbike and has to navigate a landscape to extra equipment to improve the bike. Once all forty pieces are collected the player performs a final drag race. There is a time limit, and the player also has a limited number of lives reduced by crashing into background objects.

The Atari and Commodore 64 versions feature an isometric view of the town, which wraps around at the edges. The Spectrum version has a different viewpoint.

Reception

The Commodore 64 version was positively reviewed by Zzap!64 who thought it was one of the best Mastertronic titles to date and excellent value for money. It was given an 83% overall score.

The ZX Spectrum version received generally poor reviews. A contemporary Sinclair User review commented that "why Colin is asleep is a mystery."