Moritz on the Autobahn - A Florinthedwarf new ZX Spectrum game review

He's a doggy and he's looking good.

I'd like to stroke his head, that's understood.

Moritz has had his fair share of adventures over the last few years after 'striking back', battling with meds and then taking a trip to the moon; maybe it's time for him to calm down a bit and do some normal, everyday things...like driving on the motorway (sorry, autobahn) for instance. Of course this is a normal occurrence for most folk but most folk are human and most folk also probably use a car for a journey on the autobahn. But Moritz being Moritz wants to do things a little differently - and why not? There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't take Sinclair C5 onto the road is there? Hmmm...well, we'll see as we jump in, saddle up and hit the tarmac (sometimes literally) as Moritz takes to the autobahn!

Nothing to see here, just a dog driving a C5 on the road. Move along, please!

Let's start off with the rather nifty and well Krafted (see what I did there) loading screen. An homage to the German electronic band Kraftwerk's album Man Machine though with our favourite dog in their place and created by no other than Andy Green (does he ever stop working?). Another brilliant job here but you may think is there a reason why Moritz has gone electronic? Well, does there need to be? You could argue not but also, the music featured in the game (written by equally talented Pedro Pimenta) is influenced by the electronic pioneering German band which features heavily throughout the game and is brilliant too!

Young hearts.... run free.... and need to be collected by Moritz!

Moritz has taken to his trusty C5 and wants to em-bark (ha!) on a road trip across Europe to visit his cousin in Portugal. Starting off in his native Germany and then Belgium, France, Spain and then eventually to his final destination where can meet up with his cousin so they can go on some doggy adventures. Now, roads can be treacherous at the best of times but imagine having to road trip across Europe, well firstly in a Sinclair C5 (tricky enough you would think) but also having to navigate your way around with cars running backwards on the road (though I have actually seen this in real life), cows, roadworks, menacing croissants and sharks? Somehow having to plan your fuel and toilet stops seems like a walk in the park now, doesn't it? Not only that but to progress to your next stop, you have to collect the magenta hearts that are scattered in each section before you get the green light to move on. Old Moritz doesn't like to do things the easy way, does he?

Cows! Get out of my way. I'm coming through so you'd better moo-ve.

To get to these hearts, you must find a way to get to them either by simply driving into them or but jumping your C5 across platforms, or onto 'STOP' signs or depending on which country you are currently passing through, glasses of wine, fries and shrubs. Some will start to disintegrate when you land on them so you have to be quick off the mark in making your next move whilst other platforms will only allow you to move in one direction making it even trickier to get to those hearts. That coupled with the quickly moving enemies you'll also find on these platforms, makes timing your jumps well essential or you'll find yourself running away with your tail between your legs. Poor Moritz.

The one thing Sir Clive forgot to add to the C5? A seatbelt. Ouch.

Moritz on the Autobahn is a lot of fun - looks great and has a lot of nice touches, not least the music and some great art - the loading screen is fantastic and you're also treated to a great 'game over' screen (that you can see above), main menu screen plus a very nice scrolling intro. The game runs well and is well animated - bright and colourful with a nice level of challenge thrown in. Moritz is quite nippy too (who said the C5 was too slow?) and jumps about the place nicely; he's also easy to manoeuvre and has the ability turn directions mid-air whilst falling which is very helpful when trying to collect items in awkward places. 

A fine achievement indeed and if you're a fan of his previous adventures, you'll find great pleasure in this one too - as you would if you hadn't played any before I guess! If you fancy road trip with Moritz, you can download the game here. So get that battery charged, jump in your trusty C5 and off to Europe you go! Just watch out for angry croissants whilst passing through France.

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