STORY / GAMEPLAY Jet Set Willy is another of those platform games where you jump around impossibly difficult screens and avoid weirdly abstract enemies. Having just bought a mansion and after a huge house welcoming party, the housekeeper just won't let Willy to enter his bedroom until he gathers all the trinkets from around the mansion's rooms that his guests have scattered around (pretty weird scenario). The rooms are full of hazards such as static killer objects and guardians that move along predetermined paths. Willy loses a life if he touches an enemy or falls too deep, starting again from the point at which he entered the room.
The truth is that probably you'll never be able to finish this game! Ever! Despite being supplied with an unholy amount of lives, this game set new standards in difficulty levels back in the mid 80s! The mansion is huge, the monsters too many and the game doesn't even tell you how many items are left to get! Nevertheless, Jet Set Willy is a fun and quite addictive game!
GRAPHICS / SOUND Although the game looks more like an early 48k ZX Spectrum game, the graphics on the CPC are colorful and actually quite good in their simplistic way. The Amstrad version has up to 16 simultaneous colors and most of the sprites are tiny but beautifully animated, as on the original version. In general, for a mid 80s platform game, Jet Set Willy looks good. There are also a few simplistic (and rather funny) sound effects during gameplay, while the introductory tune is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata!