This Amstrad CPC conversion of the classic ZX Spectrum game definitely benefits from having better use of colour than the original. It also runs a little faster than the Speccy version, which makes it slightly more playable.
Tag Archives: 1986
Turbo Esprit, ZX Spectrum
Considered by those who know it as an early precursor to Grand Theft Auto, Mike Richardson‘s excellent Turbo Esprit is an action/driving game where the aim is to catch and arrest drugs smugglers by driving around a city and pinpointing them using a map. It was first published for the ZX Spectrum by Durell Software in 1986.
Knight Games, Commodore 64
Knight Games, by English Software, was something of a sensation when it was first released in 1986. It is an historical fighting game, featuring knights in armour, fighting for victory in a multi-event tournament.
Booty, Commodore 16/Plus4
A 1986 conversion of a hit ZX Spectrum budget game, the Commodore 16 conversion of John F. Cain‘s Booty is about as bad as a video game can get.
The game constantly dumps unfairness on you, and is about as entertaining as being crawled on by a Brazilian Wandering Spider.
Enduro Racer, Arcade
Yu Suzuki‘s 1986 arcade game, Enduro Racer, is seen by many as the dirt bike equivalent of Hang-On, because it uses similar technology and graphical techniques.
The Enduro Racer arcade cabinet came in two variations. One was a stand-up cabinet , with motorbike handlebars, and the other was a full-size dirt bike that you could sit on.
Ghostbusters, NES/Famicom
The Nintendo Entertainment System version of David Crane‘s Ghostbusters is known for being a bit of a mess, compared to all the other versions.
It was initially released in Japan in 1986 and later in North America in 1988. Why the two year delay? Probably something to do with the fact that the game is terrible…
Ghostbusters, PC
This 1986 PC Booter version of Ghostbusters won’t run in MS-DOS, but it is easy enough to get working in DOSBox, by simply adding a “BOOT” line to the config file.
To get the game running in colour (ie. not horrible CGA) I had to use the “pcjr” graphics option and set CPU cycles to 240. Otherwise the game would run too fast.
Fantasy Zone, Arcade
Fantasy Zone is a colourful scrolling shooter from 1986. It was created by Sega and it looks simple and cartoony, but is in fact very challenging.
The main character, Opa-Opa, is sometimes referred to as “Sega‘s first mascot” and is very similar to the one seen in the earlier TwinBee. Both TwinBee and this game have been credited with the creation of the “cute ’em up” genre, and that is probably not too far from the truth.
World Games, Commodore 64
Programmed by K-Byte for Epyx and published in 1986, World Games is an eclectic mix of eight different sports events, inspired by various unusual sports from around the world.
Sanxion, Commodore 64
Designed and programmed by Stavros Fasoulas in 1986, Sanxion is a classic side-scrolling C64 shoot ’em that is remembered for being challenging, and for also being a slick piece of coding.
It was also the very first game released by Thalamus, who went on to publish some of the best games in C64 history.
The King of Grabs 