Joe Blade (1987)

Joe Blade was released in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum. Published by Players Software, the game was developed by coder Colin Swinbourne, Martin Severn, and musician Gari Biasillo, with inlay and poster art created by Peter Austin.

This single-player adventure arcade title supports Kempston and Interface 2 joystick controls and utilizes the AY sound chip. The gameplay incorporates integrated mini-games, adding variety to the experience. A second version, released in 1988, notably includes a demo of the sequel, Joe Blade II.

The game retailed at £1.99 on cassette. It saw widespread availability across other platforms, including Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MSX, Amiga, Acorn, and Atari ST. Additionally, the game was bundled with the Azimuth Head Alignment Kit by Interceptor Software.

Critics awarded the game an average score of 81.33%. It received an 84% rating from Crash magazine, while Sinclair User and Your Sinclair both awarded it 8 out of 10.

The game gained significant popularity in the USSR and Russia. There are numerous TR-DOS versions released by groups such as Romasoft and Masterstudio, alongside official Russian translations. The magazine ZX-Review featured literary novellas based on the game, while cracked cassette versions were released by groups like Inxs Soft and Prospekt.