Yet another reason early video game history is awesome. They named a game after a euphemism for Traveler’s diarrhea and have the nerves to ignore that fact in their advertising. I played this game, so I know what it looks like, but the name still conjures up images of an Indiana Jones type character trying to get away from an ever growing ball of loose stool. Which is completely the opposite feeling you should get from this innovative title.
Summary
You play Panama Joe and you travel from room to room, solving puzzles and finding treasure. Each level gets more difficult as you move along - a huge game design improvement for the early 80s. Once you play it you will see why it inspired such future 3D adventure games like Tomb Raider.
They sum it up best in the manual:
If PANAMA JOE safely navigates through all of the chambers in the fortress he’ll eventually reach his ultimate goal: the Treasure Chamber. Herein lies the fabulous treasure of the emperor, Montezuma! To enter this final chamber, daredevil PANAMA JOE must leap into the darkness! Once Inside, he’ll find several chains-and the infamous jewels-all awaiting his grasp. In just a matter of seconds. PANAMA JOE must jump from chain to chain while trying to collect as many jewels as possible. But beware! If PANAMA JOE misses a chain and jumps onto a pole, he immediately slides into the next Difficulty Level and misses his chance to collect more jewels. When time’s up, you will automatically advance to the next Difficulty Level.
I played this on the Commodore 64 and spent many a sleepless nights trying to get to the Treasure Chamber, but I never got there. I would always get cocky and make a misjump. I have the same problem on Donkey Kong, Jr - a game I want to be great at, but always FAIL. But I digress. If you want to play Montezuma’s Revenge Online check out Online Commodore 64 Games!
Red Serling you were so awesome. About decade after the Twilight Zone disappeared from the air waves, Serling returned with a brand new show, Night Gallery. The show was an anthology much like the Twilight Zone, but with more of a macabre tilt. The episodes, many inspired by Lovecraft, were often uneven, but compared to the horror we see on TV today, it was Shakespeare. Lucky for us, NBC has posted full episodes of the first season for our viewing enjoyment and I could not be happier.
Oh I thought I would share this because the other day I was sitting in McDonald’s eating lunch with my laptop and nothing to read. I kept thinking. I am really in the mood for some classic TV (ok ok I always am). So I clicked on NBC Video Rewind and enjoyed some Night Gallery action with my Chicken McNuggets. Who knew McDonald’s had WiFi?
Watch Night Gallery for Free on NBC
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