Predator (Commodore 64)

Predator
Developer: Source Publisher: Activision Platform: Commodore 64 Released in US: December 1988 Released in EU: February 1988 This game has a hidden developer message. This game has regional differences.

A side-scrolling shooter game based on the hit movie Predator, released alongside a version for the ZX Spectrum.

Hidden Message

Scattered through memory in the European release is the following string:

THANKYOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN OUR PRODUCT. NICE TRY. LOVE BJ/NJ

This text is associated with the Lenslok copy protection mechanism used in several computer games of the mid-80s... though it is not used here at all.

(Source: Bacchus @ FAIRLIGHT)

Regional Differences

Ten months after its original European release, Predator received a North American version with plenty of changes.

General

• The system font is different:

EU
US

Intro

• The loading screen image is different and more polished in the American version.

EU	US

• A new sequence was added to the game's intro, showing the game's title, as well as the player character getting crushed by a hand.

• The American release also has a highscore table.

Gameplay

• The player is much slower in the American release.
• A new item mechanic was added, with boxes spread throughout the maps. F1, F3, F5 and F7 can now be used to choose which items the player has.
• The bullet icons are incorrectly rendered in Highres mode in the European release. This was fixed in the American version.

EU	US

• The European release contains a bug which prevents the game from being completed. During the final boss, the player needs to use a rope to drop a piece of wood above the Predator, but the collision fails. This was corrected in the American version.