Based on a Steve Jackson board game called Car Wars, Autoduel is an early attempt by Origin Systems to create a Mad Max-type post apocalyptic, car-based RPG that borrows elements from Origin‘s own Ultima series, as well as from other games such as FTL‘s SunDog. It was first released in 1985.
Tag Archives: 1985
Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress, ColecoVision
Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress is a dungeon-crawling action game, designed and coded by Tom Loughry with graphics by Keri Longaway (nee, Janssen), and first published by Activision for the Coleco Adam and ColecoVision console in 1985.
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Frankenstein 2000, ZX Spectrum
Icon Software‘s 1985 release – Frankenstein 2000 – has the barest of premises when it comes to links to the Mary Shelley novel, but it does count as a ‘Frankenstein‘ game in my opinion. And it’s actually not a bad game either, which might come as a shock to some people.
Frank N Stein, Amstrad CPC
Frank N Stein on the Amstrad CPC is more or less the same as the ZX Spectrum original, except that the colours are different in this, and the Amstrad version has a really good high score table (which the original doesn’t). It was first published by PSS and Amsoft in 1985.
The Oregon Trail, Apple II
The Oregon Trail is a classic Apple II strategy/adventure game where you play as settlers travelling in a covered wagon on The Oregon Trail in 1848. As you might imagine, the trail is hostile and survival on it is brutal, so you have to prepare for your trip in advance by buying food, clothes, ammunition, spare parts, and oxen to pull your wagon.
Pizza Pete, Commodore 16/Plus4
Programmed by Don Rigby and published by Illusion Software in 1985, Pizza Pete for the Commodore 16/Plus4 could well be the single worst BurgerTime clone I’ve ever played. Which – as anyone who’s seen Barmy Burgers before – will know is an accolade that’ll take some beating…
Chiller, ZX Spectrum
The 1985 ZX Spectrum version of Mastertronic‘s Chiller was coded by Richard Wright, and is pretty much the same as the original C64 version, except that it doesn’t have any music (which was probably a good thing, from a legal standpoint), and the graphics are even worse.
Commando, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum version of Capcom‘s Commando was programmed by Keith Burkhill and Nigel Alderton, with graphics by Karen Trueman and Rory Green. It was first published by Elite Systems in 1985.
Mercenary, ZX Spectrum
Paul Woakes‘ classic open-world cockpit exploration game, Mercenary, was ported to the 48K ZX Spectrum by David Aubrey-Jones and published by Novagen Software in 1987.
The Way of the Exploding Fist, Commodore 64
The Way of the Exploding Fist is a classic one-on-one martial arts fighting game, developed by Australian company Beam Software and published by Melbourne House in 1985.
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The King of Grabs 