Category Archives: Epyx

Ballblazer, Atari 8-bit

Another Lucasfilm Games‘ classic that originated on the 8-bit Atari, Ballblazer is a one-on-one, futuristic ball game played out on a giant checkerboard, with players inside floating hovercraft.

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Jumpman, Atari 8-bit

Randy Glover‘s classic platform game, Jumpman, was originally developed for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and first published by Epyx in 1983.

The original game features 30 different levels (ten each on Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced skill settings), with the aim being to run and jump your way through the maze of platforms, ropes, and ladders, and to defuse all the bombs by touching them.

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Koronis Rift, Atari 8-bit

A number of classic Lucasfilm Games‘ titles originated on Atari 8-bit home computers and Koronis Rift is one of them, first released in 1985.

You play a scavenger hunting for lootable scrap on the surface of hostile alien planets.

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Rescue On Fractalus, Atari 8-bit

The Atari 800 version of Rescue On Fractalus was released in 1984 and was the first version available. It was a critical success and drew quite a lot of attention to Atari 8-bit home computers (jealous Commodore 64 owners had to wait almost a year before they got a conversion).

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Break Dance, Commodore 64

Underneath the chubby graphics, and the cheesy tunes, is a half-decent game trying to get out…

You have to remember though: Break Dance is from 1984, and a) breakdancing was new and cool back then, and b) rhythm games hadn’t even been invented. So no one knew what a rhythm game even was…

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Todd’s Adventures in Slime World, Megadrive/Genesis

Todd’s Adventures in Slime World is a game developed by Epyx and first released on the Atari Lynx in 1990.

This Megadrive/Genesis version came later – in 1991 – and in my mind is better than the original, because you can see more of the play area in this version (because the graphics are higher resolution), and there’s also simultaneous split-screen play.

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Todd’s Adventures in Slime World, Atari Lynx

The original Atari Lynx version of Todd’s Adventures in Slime World, developed by Epyx and released by Atari in 1990.

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Pitstop II, Commodore 64

It might be considered primitive by today’s standards, but back in 1984 when Pitstop II was first released, it really raised the bar for arcade-style racing games. That is: racing games that are fun to play, rather than being as realistic as possible.

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Ballblazer, Commodore 64

Lucasfilm Games released Ballblazer upon unsuspecting audiences back in March 1984 (actually, on Atari 8-bit systems first).

The game is a futuristic one-on-one sports game, with two players battling it out, from inside the confines of a small, floating vehicle, called a Rotofoil.

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Impossible Mission, Commodore 64

Dennis Caswell‘s brilliant 1984 platform game, Impossible Mission, has lost little of its appeal over the decades. There is something so gloriously timeless about it, and the challenge it presents is difficult, but do-able.

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