Overthrown - action game for Commodore VIC-20

Palace situation turns grim
crowds chant “go away”

If I were a dictator, I would take everything valuable and run away. This is exactly what you need to do in the game Overthrown for the Commodore VIC-20.

Some of us remember the times when eight-bit computers were every teenager’s dream. Slightly younger ones may remember the classic versions of GTA games, those with simple graphics and a top-down view. Later, 3D graphics almost completely dominated the gaming world. Perhaps we forgot about the fact that sometimes the simplest graphic design is enough to provide emotions.

Overthrown is a game released by Erik J. Hooijmeijer in 2020, for the VIC-20 computer (the older brother of the Commodore 64), a machine that is already forty years old! The very fact that new games are still being developed on such an old and seemingly forgotten computer is a curiosity. However, Overthrown also deserves attention because it is simply a great game that actually brings back memories of the classic GTA.

We play as the dictator who has just been overthrown, so we must save our own skin and ensure a peaceful retirement. We start the game in the palace. The intro shows an angry crowd wanting to lynch the dictator and set the palace on fire. Our task is to survive and collect as much money as possible, by the way we should shoot everyone who stands in our way. Then we take the armoured car and go to the airport. We need to be skilful in avoiding barriers and missiles that are launched in our direction from the air. We turn the encountered people into a bloodstain by ramming them. In the last stage, we will take the plane, and we have to make our way to a secluded place where we will spend our retirement.

Overthrown, next to The Prince by Machiavelli, is a must-have for anyone who wants to become a dictator. However, if you just want to play a good game, you can skip a 16th-century treaty.

The final result will depend on the distance travelled and the amount of money we were able to pick in the first stage. A digital copy of the game is available for free download from the author’s website. Overthrown will work without any problems in the VIC-20 emulator, e.g. VICE.

Links: Download Overthrown | VICE - emulator