View source for The Rats (video game)


{{For|the novel of the same name|The Rats (novel)}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = The Rats
|image = File:The_Rats_C64_Title.png
|caption = Commodore 64 title screen
|developer = GXT (Five Ways Software)
|publisher = [[Hodder & Stoughton]]
|designer =
|programmer =
|artist =
|writer =
|composer =
|released = [[1985 in video gaming|1985]]
|genre = [[Interactive fiction]]
|modes = [[Single-player]]
|platforms = [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Commodore 64]]
}}
'''''The Rats''''' is a [[survival horror]] [[Interactive fiction|text adventure]] for the [[Commodore 64]] and [[ZX Spectrum]] computers. It is based on the 1974  novel  ''[[The Rats (novel)|The Rats]]'' by [[James Herbert]]. The game was programmed by GXT (Five Ways Software),<ref name=crafrt /> and published by [[Hodder & Stoughton]], who were the publishers of James Herbert's book ''The Rats''.<ref name=sinuse /> An [[Amstrad CPC]] version was planned, but was never released.

==Gameplay==
The game is  a simulation that allows the player to strategically send emergency forces (rat exterminators, police men, fire men and eventually army troops) to areas where the rat threat has spread and provide them with equipment. Also the player can get ten available researchers to develop addition weapons, defences and super weapons to keep the rats at bay and to provide useful information to progress in the game. Should the rat threat reach beyond the London limits, the Research centre, the Government centre or Harris' apartment or if all emergency forces are lost, the game is over.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mocagh.org/miscgame/rats-manual.pdf |title=James Herbert's The Rats |work=[[Hodder & Stoughton]]}}</ref>

In between the simulation gameplay, the game suddenly switches to the role of a playable character in a randomly chosen text adventure scenario. The player has to select one or more verbal options to perform actions to allow the character to survive against the rat threat and avoid getting killed. While it is not crucial to keep the characters alive, saving them grants the player additional reinforcements and research to aid against the rat threat. However, if one of the main characters Harris, Howard or Foskins dies, the game is over.<ref name=crafrt />

==Reception==
{{Video game reviews
| CRASH = 70%<small>(ZX)</small><ref name=crafrt>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/crash-magazine-21/Crash_21_Oct_1985#page/n122 |title=Frontline: The Rats |magazine=[[Crash (magazine)|Crash]] |issue=21 |pages=122–123 |date=October 1985}}</ref><br> 7/10 <small>(ZX)</small><ref name=craadv>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/crash-magazine-21/Crash_21_Oct_1985#page/n110 |title=Adventure Trail: The Rats |magazine=[[Crash (magazine)|Crash]] |issue=21 |page=110 |date=October 1985}}</ref>
| CVG = 6/10<small>(C64)</small><ref name=cvg>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/computer-video-games-magazine-049/CVG049_Nov_1985#page/n103/mode/2up |title=The Rats |magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]] |issue=49 |page=105 |date=November 1985}}</ref>
| EuroG = 9/10<small>(C64)</small><ref name=eurog>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-rats-review |title=The Rats |work=[[Eurogamer]] |date=26 October 2007}}</ref>
| SUser = {{Rating|5|5}}<small>(ZX)</small><ref name=sinuse>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-user-magazine-043/SinclairUser_043_Oct_1985#page/n20 |title=The Rats |magazine=[[Sinclair User]] |issue=43 |page=21 |date=October 1985}}</ref>
| rev1 = ''[[Zzap!64]]''
| rev1Score = 79%<small>(C64)</small><ref name=zzap>{{cite magazine |title=The Rats |url=https://archive.org/stream/zzap64-magazine-007/ZZap_64_Issue_007_1985_Nov#page/n97 |magazine=[[Zzap!64]] |issue=7 |pages=98–99 |date=November 1985}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Computer Gamer]]''
| rev2Score = 13/20<small>(C64)</small><ref name=comgam>{{cite magazine |title=Rats |url=https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Gamer_Issue07#page/n37/mode/2up |magazine=[[Computer Gamer]] |issue=7 |pages=39–40 |date=October 1985}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''ZX Computing''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<small>(ZX)</small><ref name=zxcom>{{cite magazine |title=The Rats |url=https://archive.org/stream/zxcomputing-magazine-1985-12/ZXComputing_1985_12#page/n63 |magazine=ZX Computing |issue=8512 |page=64 |date=December 1985 – January 1986}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Popular Computing Weekly]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<small>(ZX)</small><ref name=pcw>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/popular-computing-weekly-1985-10-03/PopularComputing_Weekly_Issue_1985-10-03#page/n13 |title=Dirty Rats |magazine=[[Popular Computing Weekly]] |volume=4 |issue=40 |page=15 |date=3–9 October 1985}}</ref>
}}

The ZX Spectrum version of ''The Rats'' was well-received on release in 1985, gaining a 5-star rating in ''[[Sinclair User]]'',<ref name=sinuse /> a 4-star rating in ''[[Popular Computing Weekly]]'',<ref name=pcw /> and a 5-star rating in ''ZX Computing.''<ref name=zxcom /> ''[[Crash (magazine)|Crash]]'' awarded it 70% in its "Frontline" strategy section, giving the gameplay element 90% but marking the game down over issues to do with the loading sequence.<ref name=crafrt />  It awarded it 7/10 in its "Adventure Trail" section of the same issue, again marking the game down for its loading sequence, but unlike the review in the strategy section, also for the gameplay.<ref name=craadv />

The Commodore 64 version had mixed reviews, with a 79% in ''[[Zzap!64]]'',<ref name=zzap /> 6/10 in ''[[Computer and Video Games]]'',<ref name=cvg /> and 13/20 in ''[[Computer Gamer]]''.<ref name=comgam /> ''[[Eurogamer]]'' published a [[Retrogaming|retro game]] review on the C64 version in 2007, giving it 9/10.<ref name=eurog />

In ''Video Games Around the World'', ''The Rats'' is described as one of the first horror games, being games that seek to frighten players.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZb5CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA583 |title=Video Games Around the World |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |editor=Mark J. P. Wolfe |date=2015 |page=583|isbn=9780262527163 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{lemon64 game|id=3819|name=The Rats}}
*[https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=4039 ''The Rats''] at Spectrum Computing
*[http://www.mocagh.org/miscgame/rats-manual.pdf ''The Rats'' manual]
*[https://archive.org/stream/your-spectrum-magazine-20/YourSpectrum_20_Nov_1985#page/n37/mode/2up "Doomtown Rats"] feature in ''[[Your Spectrum]]'', November 1985
*[https://archive.org/stream/ACEIssue41Feb91/ACE_Issue_41_Feb_91#page/n85/mode/2up ''Rats!''] article in ''[[ACE (magazine)|ACE]]'', February 1991

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rats, The}}
[[Category:1985 video games]]
[[Category:Adventure games]]
[[Category:Commodore 64 games]]
[[Category:Five Ways Software games]]
[[Category:Government simulation video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Survival horror video games]]
[[Category:Video games about mice and rats]]
[[Category:Video games based on novels]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Video games set in London]]
[[Category:ZX Spectrum games]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=The Rats (video game)|access_date=2026-03-07}}