MAD Second Generation (MADC)
There were only five games released for the MAD second generation range, and across three formats, with seven catalogue numbers issued. They also had a different MAD logo that became a standard for some time after MAD was integrated into the 310 range too. One of those formats within this list of seven only had one game released, so we’re going to do things slightly differently here. Instead, we’ll list all the MADC games – but in the order of release.
The reason for the MADC catalogue numbering may stem back to the fact that at the time Mastertronic were licencing a number of games for re-release. One such publisher was Creative Sparks (part of Thorn EMI.) Our best estimate is that the C stood for Creative Sparks to indicate their re-issues on Mastertronic, although as ever, things did not go according to plan. One of the games was re-issued within the main Mastertronic 310 range, and indeed later, two games were not Creative Sparks titles – one of those was a game which proved to be very popular and a big seller. So here goes:
Ice Palace (Commodore 64, MADC3, March 1986)
Yes, the first game released in the MADC range did not even have the first MADC catalogue number! This was originally a full price Creative Sparks game programmed by Paul Norris and originally released mid-1985. The MAD re-release did have a new loading screen. It was a different sort of arcade adventure for its time which Zzap! 64 praised on original review, and playing it today, you definitely need some time to work with it and get used to the movement and adventuring. Once you do, collecting the first of the seven pieces of the ice crown and exploring around 170 rooms does feel like an achievement.
Countdown to Meltdown (Commodore 64, MADC1, April 1986)
This Creative Sparks title had been released at full price in late 1984, and was programmed by Gary Yorke. You need to act quickly and explore a nuclear power plant, stopping all the radiation from leaking out and causing the core of the plant to explode. The rooms in the game are viewed through how it would look from a CCTV camera, which is a nice touch. Not that it’s an easy game to complete though: your eight androids are all of different abilities to do tasks, so using them at the right time, and exploring a large map, is the order of the day.
Delta Wing (ZX Spectrum, MADC2, April 1986)
This flight simulator, with added combat, was released by Creative Sparks at full price in late 1984, programmed by Graham Johns. Battle through to locate the enemy bases and destroy them whilst simultaneously having to encounter dogfighting in the air. It certainly played very well for the time and was awarded a Crash Smash at full price, which shows its pedigree. Notably, another Creative Sparks flight game, Wing Commander, for the Commodore 64, was re-released but with a standard range catalogue number (IC 0108, April 1986). Could this potentially have been a MADC release, and indeed the missing and fabled MADC5?
Hole in One (Commodore 64, MADC4, August 1986)
Having a three-dimensional perspective golf game was nothing new. By this time, Leaderboard had been released to glowing acclaim. That game did not have bunkers or trees (later Leaderboard iterations did) and so for a game to have all that was a good thing. Despite the good attempts from Phase Two Software at a perspective from wherever the ball landed, sometimes it is more guesswork where the ball will end up. Even though it was a game I enjoyed playing at the time, as you will note in our review of the game, it falls short of what would have been a great budget option instead.
180 (October 1986)
ZX Spectrum (MADC6)
Commodore 64 (MADC7)
Amstrad CPC (MADC8)
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s play darts! This Binary Design coded game had the first ever use of artwork by the legendary Ste Pickford, who drew the iconic hand and the dartboards across all versions of the game. The main tournament saw you up against potentially eight opponents, with Jammy Jim and his nine-dart finish being the challenge to win. Two player mode was excellent fun, and the round the clock option was a good tune up to get used to the controls (diagonal only on some versions) as well as the option to redefine keys on the Spectrum should you need to. Even many years later, this is still an iconic darts game for the 8-bit computers, and later conversions to other systems happened, but outside of the MADC range. Which leads us nicely to this:
Other Format Versions of MAD and MADC Games
Keeping up with the consistency of being inconsistent, there were several games that were first released on either MAD (first generation) or MADC (second generation) but ended up as part of the main numbered 310 range with catalogue numbers to match and mainly having the MAD logo on the front cover – and it is also why they do not feature above. It seemed like if a delay was too long, it would have been outside the life span of the range and therefore integrated instead with a suitable number. So here goes in order of release date:
Con-Quest
- Commodore 64 (IC 0151, January 1987)
Sport of Kings
- Commodore 64 (IC 0156, January 1987)
- Amstrad CPC (IA 0150, March 1987)
(Yes, they used different numbers for the Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC versions, when there was no need to. More inconsistencies there.)
180
- Atari XL/XE (IT 0203, August 1987)
- MSX (IX 0203, August 1987)
Knight Tyme
- Commodore 64 (IC 0253, July 1988, standard Mastertronic label and not even MAD)
The Final MAD 310 Range Releases
Once the MAD label was integrated into the main numbered 310 range, with just the MAD logo and price point being a difference, a number of games were released this way. There was also the ill-fated MADX range, where one game was the lead game and you got an extra free game on Side B. So, Energy Warrior had Molecule Man bundled, and Rockford had Back to Reality bundled.
But what of the last MAD release within the 310 range? Well to answer the trivia question for you, here they are by format with earliest final date first:
Commodore 16 and Plus/4
On Cue (2C 0197, August 1987)
MSX
Amaurote (IX 0169, November 1987)
Atari XL/XE
Jeff Minter’s Revenge II (IT 0237, April 1988)
ZX Spectrum
Manic Miner (IS 0292, April 1989)
Commodore 64
Octoplex (1C 0282, May 1989)
Amstrad CPC
Octoplex (IA 0282, May 1989)
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the first two generations of the MAD range, and the only ones to use separate catalogue numbers, do spring some surprises. Having some Spectrum 128 only titles was a bold move for its time, which did at least pay off initially and did better than the Commodore 128 only disk counterparts. It was notable that the second generation MADC was running at the same time as the first generation MAD, with its pop art artwork being very distinct. Maybe this was to differentiate the two based on the fact one was re-releasing older games and the other was not, but that then fell by the wayside with original games on both.
In any case, with the amalgamation into the main range, MAD being used as a price point with slightly different logos and artwork made them stand out, even if some of the games (Wizards Pet especially) did not come to the expected standards for the price premium.
Next time around, we will look at the specialist labels for both games programmed in America and Britain. Yes, it will be Entertainment USA and Bulldog, with some more surprises along the way. Stay tuned…
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