Frostbite (C64)

The talented trio of Antonia Savona, Steven Day and Saul Cross that provided C64 gaming enthusiasts with recent adaptations of Chopper Command and Keystone Kapers have just released their third Atari / Activision conversion, Frostbite.

According to the Frostbite game manual, the object of the game is to help Frostbite Bailey build igloos by jumping on floating blocks of ice. But you need to take care to avoid a number of deadly hazards such as clams, snowgeese, Alaskan king crab, polar bears, and the rapidly dropping temperature.

In layman terms, every time your character jumps on an ice cap, one block is added to your igloo situated at the top of the screen. Once jumped upon, the white ice turns blue, meaning that it no longer counts towards building your igloo. When all four rows are blue, they turn white again. Once you have built up your igloo you can jump into it to complete the level but make sure you get in before the polar bear catches you!.

Compared to the previous two Activision adaptations, Frostbite has a little bit more depth to its game play. Once again, this conversion is faithful while at the same time taking advantage of the C64’s graphics to provide a polished arcade experience. Though one thing that is lacking with this port is the control responsiveness that Savona is quite well known for. Game play does not feel as fluid given the coding talent on hand.

Nethertheless, Frostbite is a fun arcade game experience and you can download a copy from CSDB.

While these Activision ports are fun, I think the C64 gaming scene is in need of some original gaming action and we look forward to hearing from Antonio during 2020 on the progress he is making with his original titles.