Tag Archives: 1986

Tau Ceti, Atari ST

The 1986 Atari ST conversion of Tau Ceti – by Ron De Santi of Comtec – is much faster than the 8-bit versions and therefore more challenging. And what a brilliant challenge it is!

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Tau Ceti, Commodore 64

John Twiddy‘s C64 conversion of Pete Cooke‘s classic space shooter is arguably even better than the Spectrum original.

Graphically it’s a little chunkier, but the extra colours make a difference.

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Elite, Apple II

The Apple II conversion of Elite is arguably the slowest and ugliest of all the versions available. And that – I think – is me being charitable to it…

Ian Bell himself programmed this conversion of Elite in 1986, so its authenticity cannot be called into question and I shouldn’t really mock it.

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Elite, Amstrad CPC

The Amstrad CPC version of Elite (released in 1986) is a fine program – even though the play window is smaller than those seen in other versions.

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Heavy On The Magick, ZX Spectrum

Heavy On The Magick is a side-scrolling adventure game published by Gargoyle Games in 1986. In some respects it is a relative of Tir Na Nog, Dun Darach and Marsport, although it plays somewhat differently.

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Thanatos, ZX Spectrum

Thanatos is an unusual side-scrolling action game designed by Mike Richardson and programmed by Rod Barrington for Durell Software in 1986.

The game is unusual because you play as a dragon… Yes, that’s right: a dragon! And not any old dragon, but as “Thanatos the Destroyer” – a fire-breathing behemoth with a heart.

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POD: Proof of Destruction, Commodore 16/Plus4

POD: Proof Of Destruction is another decent bullet hell shooter on the C16, and another game designed and programmed by the prolific Shaun Southern.

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Mercenary, Commodore 16/Plus4

Requiring 64K of RAM to run, and coded by Paul Woakes himself, Mercenary on the Plus4 is an almost perfect conversion of his classic 3D, C64 exploration game.

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