M.U.L.E. (meaning: Multiple-Use Labour Elements) is a classic business-based strategy game that mixes turn-based and real-time gameplay, and supply-and-demand economics, with multiplayer competition for up to four players. It was designed by the late Danielle Bunten Berry of Ozark Softscape and first published for Atari 8-bit computers by Electronic Arts in North America in 1983. Later, Ariolasoft published the game in Europe, and Bullet Proof Software published the game in Japan. M.U.L.E. was also converted to a number of other systems and has become something of a cult hit since its original release.
Tag Archives: 1983
Time-Gate, ZX Spectrum
Written by John Hollis and first published by Quicksilva for the 48K ZX Spectrum in 1983, Time-Gate was the first Spectrum game I ever played and is a simple first-person space shooter – basically a Star Raiders clone with a few differences.
Gorf, ColecoVision
A rare home port of Nutting Associates‘ famous 1981 arcade game, Gorf. Rare because the original developers licensed both Space Invaders and Galaxian for inclusion in the original Gorf, which restricted its reach in home markets (because anyone wanting to release the game on another system would also have to license both games to make it legal).
Cylon Attack, BBC Micro
Programmed by Doug Anderson and published by A&F Software in 1983, Cylon Attack is an early cockpit-based space shooter for the BBC Micro that still plays quite well today.
Mappy, Arcade
Mappy is a cute-but-challenging vertical screen platform puzzle game, developed and manufactured by Namco in 1983, in which you play as a police mouse retrieving stolen goods from a mansion full of criminal cats.
Donkey Kong 3, Arcade
Donkey Kong 3 is a platform shooter released into arcades by Nintendo in 1983. As a sequel to one of the greatest video games of all-time [Donkey Kong] it is a relatively obscure instalment in the series and doesn’t get talked about, or played, much now. Probably because it’s not that great.
Pole Position II, Arcade
Pole Position II is the sequel to the smash hit arcade racing sim Pole Position, and it was developed by Namco and first released in 1983. The game was licensed to Atari, Inc. for North American distribution.
Battle Zone, Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 conversion of tank battle game Battle Zone (aka Battlezone) is considered to be a decent port of the classic 1980 arcade game, but I’m not entirely convinced…
Traxx, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum version of Jeff Minter‘s Traxx was published through Quicksilva in 1983. It was written by Salamander Software for Llamasoft and, to be honest, it’s not a very good game at all.
Traxx, VIC-20
First released for the VIC-20 in 1983, Traxx is a simple maze game where you have to connect boxes together using red lines. It’s another early Jeff Minter game that is only partially successful.
The King of Grabs 