The CD32 is a CD-ROM-based console that is basically a high-end Amiga contained within a small, grey box. It can do pretty much everything an Amiga can do, but with a few built-in extras, such as Red Book Audio (CD quality sound, streamed from the disc), CDTV compatibility, and backwards compatibility with older, 9-pin D-Sub (Atari-style) controllers of the ’80s and ’90s (including Sega Megadrive pads and existing Amiga mice and paddles).
Category Archives: Celebration
Tony Crowther Week
Born in Sheffield in 1965, Antony Crowther is a prolific and highly-regarded British video games designer/programmer who has had success across a number of different platforms.
Crowther is particularly well known for his Commodore 64 games, although he has worked on pretty much every gaming system known to man. He still designs and programs games to this day.
Commodore 16/Plus4 Special
The Commodore 16 is a somewhat underrated home computer that had a relatively short lifespan and was intended as a low-cost replacement for the Commodore VIC-20.
It had 16K of RAM (thus the name) and a 6502 compatible CPU that ran twice as fast as the CPU in its older and more expensive cousin, the Commodore 64. It had a video and sound chipset called “TED” that offered a colour palette of 121 colours, and more efficient use of video memory than the C64, but it had no hardware sprites (it did however have a built-in software sprite routine with fewer restrictions than on hardware sprites).
Happy New Year 2020
As 2019 draws to a close we wish you a happy new year, 2020!
Best Wishes,
The King of Grabs
The King of Grabs is Two Years Old
Today, the 21st December 2019, is our birthday. 21st December 2017 was the launch date of this blog, so we are two years old.
Happy birthday to us!
Bad Games Week #2 Ends
Bad Games Week #2 has now ended.
[“Phew!” you’re probably thinking.]
Here’s a summary of links to what was published:
Chuck Norris Superkicks, ColecoVision,
Cap’n’ Carnage, Atari ST,
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Atari 2600,
The Evil Dead, Commodore 64,
Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy, Atari Jaguar,
Kung-Fu Master, ZX Spectrum,
Jail Break, Commodore 64.
Back to *GOOD GAMES* from this point onward! 🙂
Thank you!
The King of Grabs
Bad Games Week #2
It’s time for another celebration of bad video games on The King of Grabs!
Every game featured on the blog this week is guaranteed NOT to be in your top ten. These are some of the worst video games ever made…
From today onward there will be one sh*te game per day, and we will be returning back to normal in seven days from now. When it’s all over I’ll post a full list of what was published here.
Here’s a summary of links to what was published:
Chuck Norris Superkicks, ColecoVision,
Cap’n’ Carnage, Atari ST,
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Atari 2600,
The Evil Dead, Commodore 64,
Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy, Atari Jaguar,
Kung-Fu Master, ZX Spectrum,
Jail Break, Commodore 64.
Oh, and here’s a link to the last Bad Games Week, in case you’re a connoisseur of terrible video games and want more.
Enjoy!
The King of Grabs
Sam & Max Comics
A little bonus, on the back of our Sam & Max Hit the Road feature published today: not grabs, but a small selection of high quality Sam & Max comics, as written and drawn by LucasArts veteran and all-round master of the paintbrush, Steve Purcell.
I love Purcell‘s artwork so much – not to mention Hit the Road itself – that I had to share these with you.
100 Best Level-Grinders Of All-Time
Level-Grinders; Dungeon-Crawlers; Role-Playing Games – whatever you want to call them – they are my (and many other people’s) favourite type of video game.
They allow you to build up your characters via the process of levelling. That is: by gaining experience, which in turn increases your character’s power levels.
Level-Grinders also allow you to hoard virtual items that don’t exist in the real world; accumulate unimaginable wealth in an imaginary world, and solve mysteries while you’re doing it.
Over and over again. For the love of the grind…
So here we go… The 100 Best Level-Grinders Of All-Time…
Jonathan Smith’s Classic ZX Spectrum Games
A British programmer/developer who made a name for himself with his very first game, Pud Pud, which was published by Ocean Software for the ZX Spectrum in 1984. Smith was just 17 at the time Pud Pud was released, but was fortuitous in that his pitch to Ocean, and them signing him up as ‘talent’, was all filmed and later broadcast on television in an episode of BBC TV’s Commercial Breaks, which gave him an instant profile to an appreciative audience. Bob Wakelin‘s ace cover art also did Smith‘s early games a lot of good.
The King of Grabs 