Pat’s van can only turn at 90 degree angles, which makes navigation pretty tricky, especially since the roads are pretty narrow to begin with. Miss the target and and poor old Pat will have to get out and reclaim the letter.įor those of you who played this game back in the day, I’m certain that the thing you’ll remember the most are the driving controls, which are ridiculously frustrating! Buildings awaiting a letter are signified by a flashing envelope outside, and Pat, who must have some kind of special, mail-spewing cannon fitted to the sides of his vehicle, must jettison a letter into the letter box as he drives past. This might involve helping Peter Fogg round up his sheep, or collecting Miss Hubbard’s prescription from the local doctor (I think I’ll try asking my postie to pick up my prescription next time I’m feeling a pit peaky and see what he says).Īs well as delivering parcels, Pat will also need to deliver a number of letters to houses in the village. Occasionally, Pat will be asked to run an errand by the person he’s handed the parcel to. This means you’ll need to learn the road layout and how each screen connects to the others, as well as the residencies of the villagers if you’re to complete all your deliveries before time runs out. The other thing to bear in mind is that there is no in-game map to help you navigate (sat nav wasn’t even a thing when this was released). All of this must be done against the clock, with a time limit of 60 minutes counting down before the game ends. Goggins, the local post mistress, will issue Pat with a list of deliveries he needs to take care of. These involve taking a parcel to one of Greendale’s residents, dropping it off, then returning to the Post Office for a nice, hot cup of tea. Viewed from a top-down perspective, the player is tasked with navigating Pat’s (notoriously wobbly) delivery van through the tight, meandering country lanes, avoiding obstacles and various hazards littering the roads.īefore Pat can begin delivering parcels, he must first find his way to the local Post Office, where Mrs. The objective of the game is to help Pat make it through the working day, delivering parcels and letters to the various residents of Greendale. Whilst other developers might create budget games that punched well above their weight, Alternative’s efforts were always relatively middling affairs and boasting production values typically associated with budget software and Postman Pat is a typical example. Predominantly a player in the budget software market, I think it’s a fair assessment to say that the quality of Alternative’s games was inconsistent, ranging from pretty decent to lacklustre. The license was acquired by Alternative Software, a developer-publisher that made a name for itself by developing games based on well-known cartoon and television intellectual properties. The objective was to throw a set of black, rubber rings over the end of Pat’s nose, his prolonged proboscis earning players the highest number of points on the board! In short, the Postman Pat franchise was a lucrative money-spinner and it should come as no surprise that it became a prime target for software publishers and developers looking to cash in. In addition to the usual lunchboxes and backpacks, I even had a ring-toss game that featured a foot-high board with a picture of Pat painted on it. The series was (and remains) a big hit with young audiences everywhere, resulting in a huge range of merchandise and paraphernalia over the years. Pat and his long-standing companion, a black and white cat named Jess, would get themselves into all kinds of scrapes and jolly japes along the way in a show that was good, wholesome entertainment for kids! Set amongst the lush pastures and rolling hills of rural Yorkshire, the series recounts the adventures of Pat Clifton, mailman extraordinaire as he delivers letters and parcels to the residents of the fictional village of Greendale. If you were growing up in Britain during this time then you must almost certainly be aware of John Cunliffe’s stop-motion animated series, Postman Pat, shown regularly on BBC television. That’s because today’s review isn’t just another C64 game from the days of yore, it’s game based on one of the best-loved children’s TV shows from the ’80s! For those amongst our readership who enjoy a good slice of nostalgia with their cup of tea, you’re in for a treat today.
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