The sequel to the first Action Force, Action Force II is a game that I knew had reviewed well at the time of its original release (in 1988), so I was expecting good things from it. Having never played the game before, I sat down and gave it a go, but was disappointed with what I found…
Category Archives: ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum games.
Action Force, ZX Spectrum
Developed by Gang of Five and published by Virgin Games in 1987, Action Force is a scrolling shooter set in the world of the Action Force toys by Hasbro/Milton Bradley (aka G.I. Joe toys in North America). Action Force was also released for the Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC, although the Spectrum version is notably different to those versions.
C5 Clive, ZX Spectrum
C5 Clive, written by Barry Jones and published by Scorpio Gamesworld Ltd., pays tribute to (ie. satirises) Sir Clive Sinclair‘s infamous “personal automotive vehicle“, which was released onto the UK market as the Sinclair C5 in 1985.
The NewZealand Story, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum version of Taito‘s The NewZealand Story was programmed by Gerald Weatherup of Choice, and was published by Ocean Software in 1989. And it is a decent port of the cute and colourful arcade game – except without the colour…
Costa Capers, ZX Spectrum
Costa Capers is the sequel to the classic Spectrum platformer, Technician Ted. The game was published by Firebird Software in 1985 and features similar gameplay to the original, with the same distinctive Ted sprite.
Technician Ted: The Megamix, ZX Spectrum
Technician Ted: The Megamix is a special version of the game, created for 128K Spectrums, which contains many more screens than the original release. It’s also been improved visually, and has some new AY-based music. Technician Ted: The Megamix was released by Hewson Consultants in 1986.
Starglider, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum version of Argonaut‘s classic Starglider is actually surprisingly good. Or, rather: the 128K version is very good (the 48K version plays well enough, but it lacks the digitised speech and other enhancements, so is a little plain). And the main reason Starglider on the Speccy is respectable, is because it was converted by Realtime Games Software, who were pioneers in the field of Spectrum-based 3D games, having created the legendary Starstrike, Starstrike II and Carrier Command (among others).
Chase HQ, ZX Spectrum
There’s no doubting that Ocean Software‘s 1989 Spectrum conversion of Taito‘s classic Chase HQ is impressive. Programmed by John O’Brien, with graphics by Bill Harbison, and sound by Jonathan Dunn, this 8-bit chase game really pushes the Spectrum to its limits, and puts pretty much every other third-person driving game on the Speccy to shame, with its amazing road movement and exciting gameplay.
Nebulus, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum port of Nebulus was coded by John M. Phillips – the author of the original C64 version – and is therefore a very authentic conversion of this excellent platform/puzzle game. It was first published by Hewson Consultants in 1987.
All Or Nothing, ZX Spectrum
Written by Paul W. Reynolds (the same guy who wrote the classic Krakatoa) and published by Abbex Electronics in 1984, All Or Nothing is an isometric action game where you parachute into an enemy camp on a mission to find and steal their secret plans.
The King of Grabs 