The origins of Bizarre Creations date back to a mid-Eighties partnership between Martyn Chudley and school friend Dominic Frazer, who traded as Powerslave Developments and created Combat Crazy, a hard-as-nails C64 shooter/platformer.
In the early Nineties, Martyn worked under the names Lunatic Software and Raising Hell Software. During this time, he co-created the 16-bit hits Wiz ‘N’ Liz and The Killing Game Show for Psygnosis, where he met his future wife Sarah.
In 1994, the pair founded Bizarre Creations and began developing for the PlayStation, with two successful Formula 1 racers being their initial output.
A subsequent release, Metropolis Street Racer, reviewed well but sold poorly. However, Bizarre later adapted the Dreamcast title for the Xbox as Project Gotham Racing, which shifted millions of copies and spawned three sequels.
Project Gotham Racing 2 incorporated a retro shoot-’emup – Geometry Wars, which proved so popular that later PGR games continued the series, and it ultimately became a standalone franchise.
Bizarre proved its versatility further with the super-cute third-person shooter Fur Fighters, the 3D adventure Disney’s Treasure Planet, the XBLA rhythm game Boom Boom Rocket and the ultra-violent The Club.
The reluctant sale of Bizarre to Activision in 2007 led to the release of the power-up orientated racer Blur and the Bond title 007: Blood Stone. Sadly, these would be the firm’s final titles, as Activision closed the studio in 2010. But it had a good run, made possible by its earlier incarnations and the high quality of the Bizarre Creations games that followed.
MARTYN CHUDLEY
» After developing for the C64, Martyn Chudley moved on to the 16-bit systems. He later cofounded Bizarre Creations, and gave the world Project Gotham Racing.
COMBAT CRAZY
C64 • 1989
You need a stop/start approach with Combat Crazy, in that you frequently have to hold your position to mow down foes or change direction. This latter requirement is down to the game’s huge, sprawling levels, which thankfully have arrows pointing out the route you should take. Primarily, though, Combat Crazy is defined by its tricky platforming, its many hazards and enemies, and the variety of their attacks.
MARTYN’S MEMORIES
THE KILLING GAME SHOW
VARIOUS • 1990
A clear evolution of , has multi-directional scrolling, platforming, opponents to dispatch and power-ups to collect. Its presentation is on a different level,
