This unique and interesting game was developed and first published by Automata UK on the ZX Spectrum in 1984.
Deus Ex Machina was the first video game to feature a fully synchronised soundtrack that featured celebrity narration and music. The cast includes Ian Dury, Jon Pertwee, Donna Bailey, Frankie Howerd, E.P. Thompson, and Mel Croucher – the latter being the author of the game. The soundtrack was supplied on cassette, which was played while the game ran.
Lucasfilm Games released Ballblazer upon unsuspecting audiences back in March 1984 (actually, on Atari 8-bit systems first).
The game is a futuristic one-on-one sports game, with two players battling it out, from inside the confines of a small, floating vehicle, called a Rotofoil.
First published by Thorn EMI on the Atari 8-bit in 1983, and later on the ZX Spectrum in 1984, Orc Attack is a great little game in which you play as a knight, defending a castle rampart from attacking orcs.
Atari’s 1984 arcade hit I, Robot was the ever first video game to use 3D polygonal graphics in its presentation.
David Lubar‘s relatively obscure 1984 classic, Pastfinder, is a weird vertically-scrolling shooter in which you control a spider-like craft that can crawl, shoot and jump, and you must explore a radioactive landscape picking up artefacts from a mysterious planet.
Dennis Caswell‘s brilliant 1984 platform game, Impossible Mission, has lost little of its appeal over the decades. There is something so gloriously timeless about it, and the challenge it presents is difficult, but do-able.
Field of Fire is my favourite of the ancient SSI turn-based strategy games on the Commodore 64 because it is so easy to get up and running and playing, and commanding a platoon.
Archer MacLean‘s seminal Commodore 64 shooter, Dropzone is like a cross between Defender and, erm, Defender, but with more realistic graphics. And slightly different gameplay. But the principles are pretty much the same: super-fast, super-smooth, side-scrolling shooting. Avoid touching anything – or it’s instant death.
Ron J. Fortier and Kelly Day‘s brilliant Bruce Lee shows that you can squeeze real character into tiny pixels if you try hard enough, what with it’s dozy sumo (The Green Yamo) and daft ninja chasing you down relentlessly, like idiots on the run. And punching and kicking them is not only hilarious, but also essential, if you are to keep them off your back.
Jeff Minter‘s seminal shooter Ancipital features psychedelic sprite-based visuals and fast blasting/running/jumping action.
The King of Grabs 