Category Archives: ZX Spectrum

Wizard’s Lair, ZX Spectrum

Steve Crow‘s colourful and fun Wizard’s Lair is clearly a tribute to the brilliant Ultimate Play The Game title Atic Atac. It has the same overhead viewpoint, similar gameplay and graphics and sound effects.

Continue reading Wizard’s Lair, ZX Spectrum

Auf Wiedersehen Monty, ZX Spectrum

Peter Harrap and Shaun Hollingworth‘s Auf Wiedersehen Monty is an underrated sequel to Monty Is Innocent. It was first released by Gremlin Graphics for the ZX Spectrum in 1987.

Continue reading Auf Wiedersehen Monty, ZX Spectrum

Trashman, ZX Spectrum

Trashman – by Malcolm Evans – is an interesting and unique game in which you play the role of a refuse collector (bin man, or – if you’re American – a trash collector), collecting bins (or trash cans), and dumping them into a blue lorry that is creeping up the street as you work.

Continue reading Trashman, ZX Spectrum

Zynaps, ZX Spectrum

Zynaps is a smart side-scrolling shoot ’em up, developed by Dominic Robinson, John Cumming and Stephen Crow (with music by Steve Turner), and published by Hewson Consultants for the ZX Spectrum in 1987.

Continue reading Zynaps, ZX Spectrum

Stop The Express, ZX Spectrum

Stop The Express is an early ZX Spectrum game – created by Japanese developer Hudson Soft and first released in 1983 – and is a simple action game where the aim is to traverse the train carriages, from right to left, in order to reach the engine and to stop the out-of-control train.

Continue reading Stop The Express, ZX Spectrum

Wheelie, ZX Spectrum

Who programmed Wheelie? That’s a question I’d like an answer to.

Having played and enjoyed this side-scrolling motorbike game back in 1983, when it was originally released by publisher Microsphere, and having played it again recently, I would like to at least mention the person who made it.

Continue reading Wheelie, ZX Spectrum

Skool Daze, ZX Spectrum

Dave Reidy, and his wife Helen (a school teacher at the time), devised and made Skool Daze for Microsphere, way back in 1984.

This memorable ‘school simulator’ was an instant hit with gamers at the time.

Continue reading Skool Daze, ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum Week

The humble ZX Spectrum was first released onto an unsuspecting public in 1982 and was an instant hit with gamers.

It initially came in two varieties – 16K and 48K RAM versions – and had a curious rubber keyboard and a built-in sound speaker.

In spite of that it managed to dominate the UK (and arguably European) gaming scene throughout the 1980s and also inspire a generation of computer users and game designers (some of whom still make games for it to this day).

Later versions of the ZX Spectrum had better keyboards and more memory, but the games were still unique and distinguishable.

This week I’ll be dedicating this blog to classic ZX Spectrum games and will be featuring some of my favourites in this ever-expanding gallery of grabs. Hope you enjoy!

Here are links to what was published:
Roller Coaster,
Skool Daze,
Wheelie,
Stop The Express,
Zynaps,
Trashman,
Auf Wiedersehen Monty,
Wizard’s Lair,
Dark Side,
Starstrike 3D,
Starstrike II,
Nosteratu the Vampyre,
Sir Fred,
Lords of Midnight,
Doomdark’s Revenge,
Starquake

More: ZX Spectrum on Wikipedia

See also: 100 Best ZX Spectrum Loading Screens:
Part #1Part #2Part #3Part #4Part #5