Resource centre for ZX Spectrum games
using Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy game engines
V. Jet Set Willy 64 (JSW64)
Games using John Elliott's JSW64 family of game engines for the 128K Spectrum
13. JSW64 Manic Miner: James Bond
Author: Andrew Broad
Publisher: Broadsoft
Year: 2007 (v. 1.0)
Reissued: 2009 (v. 1.1)
Language: English
JSW64 Manic Miner: James Bond is a MM-style game based on the James Bond character created by Ian Fleming. Version 1.0 was released in December 2007, featuring 21 rooms, each corresponding to one of the official James Bond 007 films produced by EON Productions. Version 1.1 followed in May 2009 with 22 rooms. "Quantum of Solace" was added, and the update also addressed unintended loopholes in several rooms, introduced various changes across different rooms, and added an easy variant of the game. Although the Readme mentioned plans for a Version 1.2, Andrew did not continue the project after releasing Version 1.1. Consequently, the game does not include any rooms corresponding to EON-produced films released after "Quantum of Solace".
While the game draws inspiration from both the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming and the EON films, the rooms follow the chronological order of the films. Andrew researched each film extensively online, examining plot synopses and images before designing the corresponding room. He carefully selected key elements from each film: locations, characters, objects and, in some cases, specific stunts that would translate well into a JSW64 game. His design process involved first creating each room as a picture, and then considering the gameplay mechanics as he developed the picture.
Andrew utilised Variant Z, Hacklevel 12 of the JSW64 game engine, and based the game on John Elliott's conversion of MM to JSW64. He chose Variant Z to take advantage of its ability to use up to 16 different cell classes. He also utilised most of the advanced features of the JSW64 game engine, including new guardian types (fast horizontal guardians, diagonal guardians, color-cycling guardians), triggers, stoppers, opening walls, trap cells and the ability to enable superjump on a room-by-room basis. Additionally, he implemented his own patch to insert horizontal and vertical lifts ('Broadsoft Lifts') and another patch to reset the cells' FLASH bits. This latter patch prevents any FLASHing elements from appearing in the playing area, but allows two cell classes to share the same color attribute: one FLASHing, one not.
According to the author, JSW64 Manic Miner: James Bond is designed for advanced Manic Miner/JSW players, with rooms that are intended to be outstandingly difficult, as a challenge to the experts. The gameplay is significantly tougher than in the original MM and JSW, demanding both manual dexterity (pixel-perfect and time-frame-perfect accuracy of movement), lateral thinking and familiarity with the so-called quirky features of the game engine. Each room presents "an intricate network of constraints", where a player's mistaken choices may have consequences that resurface several minutes later.
A detailed description of each room is included in the official release ZIP package, with an explanation of how it represents various elements of the corresponding film and a thorough list of playing tips that should help the player complete the game.
The information below concerns v. 1.1 of the game.
Number of edited rooms: 22
Number of rooms accessible without cheating: 22
Number of rooms which need to be visited to complete the game: 22
Number of items to collect: 194
Bugfix needed after original release? NO
Spare lives at the start: 1
Completable without loss of life? YES
Starting time: 00:00
(The game uses a 24-hour clock.)
Best documented completion time with no loss of life:
Hard Variant: 01:22
Easy Variant: 01:08
(The completion time is the time the player enters the portal of "Quantum of Solace" [21], after which the game loops back to "Dr. No" [00].)
Download links
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Archival version of Andrew Broad's Sinclair ZX Spectrum Download Page |
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ZIP of the official release (v. 1.1) of the game |
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Game files (v. 1.1, both Hard and Easy variants) in TAP and TZX formats |
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The game's page on WoS |
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The game's page on Spectrum Computing |
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The game's map (v. 1.0) on Speccy Screenshot Maps |
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RZX walkthroughs of v. 1.1. of the game showing the best documented completion time in both variants |
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RZX walkthrough of v. 1.0 of the game (the only variant existing in this version, i.e. the hard one) |
Videos
A walkthrough of the Hard Variant of the game on the JSW Central YouTube channel
A walkthrough of the Easy Variant of the game on the JSW Central YouTube channel
Additional info:
Andrew Broad about JSW64 Manic Miner: James Bond
JSW64 Manic Miner: James Bond - Room descriptions by Andrew Broad
A complete screenshot gallery will be presented on this page in the future.
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