Created by Larry Miller and released by Activision in 1982, Spider Fighter sounds like it could be a really exciting game, something on a web, or a heroic character fighting off hoards of spiders with a sword maybe? No. In this case it’s a fairly bog-standard Galaxian rip-off, although it is a very well-made one.
Category Archives: Activision
Pressure Cooker, Atari 2600
Pressure Cooker, by Garry Kitchen, was first published for the Atari 2600 in 1983, by Activision. It is a food-preparation game where you play as a burger chef (called “Short-Order Sam“) trying to package items with the right ingredients for your customers.
Barnstorming, Atari 2600
Barnstorming was designed by Steve Cartwright and first published by Activision in 1982. Like most people who play it for the first time, I had to check if I was playing the game as intended, because there’s so little to it.
Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball MAX’D, Game Boy Advance
Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball MAX’D is a cross between a first-person shooter, and a sports game, in which you participate in paintball tournaments to become the paintball champion of… the world? The school playground? I’m not entirely sure…
Continue reading Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball MAX’D, Game Boy Advance
The Eidolon, Amstrad CPC
Adapted by P.A.W. Software, the Amstrad CPC version of The Eidolon is another excellent port of Lucasfilm Games‘ classic cave exploration game. It was first released by Activision in 1986 and could be argued is one of the best games on the Amstrad (although some would disagree).
H.E.R.O., SG-1000
Activision‘s classic underground rescue game, H.E.R.O., was released on Sega‘s SG-1000 console – in Japan only – in 1985, and it is somewhat different to all the other versions of the game out there.
H.E.R.O., Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 version of H.E.R.O. was ported by The Softworks and published by Activision in 1984. It is definitely a step up from the original Atari 2600 version and is more or less identical to the Atari 8-bit version, but with slightly richer colours.
H.E.R.O., Apple II
The Apple II version of John Van Ryzin‘s classic H.E.R.O. of course lacks the colour of other ports, but it still plays well enough. The game was converted by Charlie Heath (of Microsmiths) and published by Activision in 1984.
H.E.R.O., MSX
The MSX version of John Van Ryzin‘s H.E.R.O. was ported by The Softworks and published by Activision in 1984.
H.E.R.O., Atari 8-bit
John Van Ryzin‘s classic cave rescue game, H.E.R.O., was ported to Atari 8-bit computers by The Softworks and first published by Activision in 1984.