Arguably the best instalment in the infamous Konami Contra franchise, Contra III (aka Super Probotector in Europe) is a balls-to-the-wall run-and-gun, side-scrolling shooter than can be played one or simultaneous two-player.
Alien 8, Amstrad CPC
The famous Ultimate ZX Spectrum game, converted skilfully to the Amstrad CPC and eclipsing the original in the process. More colour – less slowdown! 🙂
Virus, Amiga
David Braben‘s Virus was originally developed and released as “Zarch“ on the Acorn Archimedes in 1987, then later converted to other home computers under its more well-known title, Virus, in 1988.
Out Of The Shadows, ZX Spectrum
Mizar’s Out Of The Shadows is a brilliant, early “prototype” RPG on the humble ZX Spectrum.
Impossible Mission II, Commodore 64
The sequel to the classic Impossible Mission by Epyx is arguably just as good as the original, but with updated graphics and puzzles.
Viewpoint, Neo Geo
This unusual isometric shooter from Sammy is pretty much perfect on the mighty Neo Geo.
Cybermorph, Atari Jaguar
Cybermorph: one of the first reasonably impressive releases on the much maligned Atari Jaguar. That said: it’s a very simple ‘fetch’ game with light shoot ’em up elements, and – apart from some impressively coloured graphics – there really isn’t much to it.
Worms, PlayStation
The 1995 PlayStation version of Andy Davidson‘s classic Worms is undoubtedly the best version of the game ever made. Ocean and Team 17 collaborated on this release.
It is an incredible multiplayer game, for up to four people.
Far Cry, PC
Far Cry is one of the greatest first-person shooters ever made. Sure: it looks a little simplistic now, but at the time of release (2004) it was a revelation.
Wasteland, Commodore 64
Wasteland is a sprawling Role-Playing Game that could be said to be a prototype of a Fallout game, as it carries many of the traits seen in those type of games.
It was originally released on the Apple II in 1986, then later converted to the Commodore 64 and PC MS-DOS in 1988. Windows, Mac OS X and Linux versions followed later.