Deadlock (1990, System 3)

Over the years, Commodore 64 gaming history has seen a number of game developments come to an unexpected halt, one of the biggest misses being the sci-fi action game Deadlock, coded by Dan Phillips (Armalyte, Hunter’s Moon, The Last Ninja 3).

Deadlock was written over the course of at least a year going through several iterations until it was finally abandoned.

Fortunately, the game hasn’t disappeared completely, and they’ve also made available quite high-quality playable demo versions with the latest development states, as well as a special editor. In addition to good playability, these different demo game versions also feature outstanding graphics with animations, sound effects and fantastic music.

The game package also comes with a “readme” documentation, which provides a lot of useful information for trying out the game:

Keys + tips for the final demo (some of these work on earlier versions)

F1-F2 swap weapon (if you run out of ammo the chain fist is your friend)
F3-F4 grenade mode (bounces until you let go of fire then explodes)
Alt-Gr alter the grenade trajectory (CCS64)
F5 swap between Snap/Auto/Burst depending on weapon selected
F7 reload
Crouch picks up the object your standing over
To use the lift face out of the screen (hold fire to call)
To go though doors face out of the screen and press up
Some doors require security passes/keys (They’ll get used automatically if you have them and they match the required pass when you try and enter them, face out of the screen and press up)
There are switches to open barriers and some force walls that need to be disabled to complete the demo…or you can use the room teleporting below.

“+” and “-” cycle through which room to start in and “p” makes you go to that room (the spaceship/jet fighter launch bay and munitions bay are particularly worth having a gander at, but they are to your right off screen when you get to those rooms so you have to run a bit to see them).

And finally, it looks like this on a Crt display, which makes it even more magical:

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