Tag Archives: 1984

H.E.R.O., Atari 2600

John Van Ryzin‘s popular H.E.R.O. (Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation) first made its appearance on the Atari 2600 (aka Atari VCS), via Activision, way back in 1984.

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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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Lords of Midnight, ZX Spectrum

The late Mike Singleton‘s classic Lords of Midnight is a pioneering fantasy war game with strategy and RPG overtones. It was first released in 1984 on the ZX Spectrum by Beyond Software and immediately became a cult hit.

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Starstrike 3D, ZX Spectrum

More than just a clone of Atari‘s arcade classic Star Wars, Starstrike 3D (or 3D Starstrike, whatever you prefer) is a wireframe, shooter masterpiece on the humble ZX Spectrum that really set the gaming world alight, back in the early Eighties.

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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.

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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.

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Kung-Fu Master, Arcade

Irem‘s Kung-Fu Master is a brilliant side-scrolling beat ’em up from the video game arcades of 1984. And it has lost little of its appeal over the years, because Kung-Fu Master is precise, violent and fun. Not to mention a huge challenge.

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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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