Joe Blade

Joe Blade is an action-adventure game published by Interceptor Micros on their Players budget label in 1987. You control a lone commando sent to infiltrate the fortress of the evil mastermind Crax Bloodfinger, who has kidnapped six world leaders and is holding them for ransom. The game takes place across a maze of flip-screen rooms and corridors viewed from a side-on perspective. Your mission is to rescue the hostages, activate six booby-trapped bombs, and escape the complex before the twenty-minute fuse expires. The bombs are defused by solving a puzzle where scrambled letters must be rearranged into alphabetical order. Along the way, you collect useful items including food to restore stamina, extra ammunition, enemy uniforms for disguise, and cell keys to unlock connecting doors.

ZX Spectrum

Released in 1987 for the 48K and 128K Spectrum at the budget price of £1.99, developed by Colin Swinbourne, Martin Severn, and Gari Biasillo . The 128K version features a startup tune and decent sound effects throughout . The game supports Kempston, Sinclair (Interface II, +2, +3), and cursor joysticks, plus redefinable keyboard controls . Crash magazine described it as "extremely playable and addictive" . Your Sinclair gave 8/10 overall, praising the excellent graphics (9/10) and value for money (9/10), calling it the best Players budget game ever . The game reached number one in the UK charts, replacing Renegade . Later versions (1988) included a demo of Joe Blade II alongside the main game . Map-making is essential due to the interconnected maze of rooms requiring correct key usage .