Mayhem in Monsterland C64 Tape Loader

Mayhem in Monsterland by Apex Computer Productions, loaded from tape. So.... some say this is the best game on the c64. I'd respectfully disagree... I think it's a good game, but I acutally think Creatures was a better game, despite not being as technically accoumplished. So first up, the loader - cyberload without the bars, which I've not seen before. So that's interesting. Beyond that, nothing too special other than taking a shocking amount of time to load - nearly 7 minutes - for what the game is. Also, the codesheet protection is _super annoying_. That having been said, I struggled a lot with the inertia playing this. In fact, my first game I did not get into the second half of the first level since I just kept falling off platforms and such. I feels pretty squishy and terrible. Which is a shame, because once you get used to it, it is a pretty good game - obviously very attractive, very technically accomplished. But I left feeling super frustrated - it is at least forgiving with continues, so you're not loading constantly, so that's nice, obviously, and it doesn't need a reload if you lose on the first level, which is also nice, but... yeah, frustrating game to the point where I think I'd probably only rate it around 85% if I was reviewing it myself. I may be being unreasonably harsh here, mind you, but I just don't think the game has aged super well.