Tag Archives: 2D graphics

Flat, two-dimensional graphics, usually constructed of pixels. Not three-dimensional.

OutRunners, Arcade

OutRunners is the 1993 sequel to the classic driving game, Out Run. It is specifically designed for two player head-to-head gameplay, which is why the game renders two screens – side by side – by default. For the purposes of this article, though, I’m showing just a single screen, because it looks better.

With enough machines, OutRunners could accommodate up to eight players racing against each other at the same time. An online version of the game was also released, allowing players to race each other over the internet, which was revolutionary for the time.

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C5 Clive, ZX Spectrum

C5 Clive, written by Barry Jones and published by Scorpio Gamesworld Ltd., pays tribute to (ie. satirises) Sir Clive Sinclair‘s infamous “personal automotive vehicle“, which was released onto the UK market as the Sinclair C5 in 1985.

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Gauntlet, Apple IIgs

The Apple IIgs version of the arcade classic, Gauntlet, was first published by Mindscape in 1988. It’s a reasonable port, although it doesn’t have the variations in colour that most Gauntlet ports have. The levels in this version seem to be mostly the same colour – grey – with spot colours used for doors, items and monsters. Which is disappointing.

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Gauntlet, NES/Famicom

The 1988 NES version of Gauntlet was developed and published by Tengen, and – surprisingly – it doesn’t feature the levels from the arcade original, but does its own thing instead.

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The Addams Family: Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt, Super Nintendo

The Addams Family: Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt is a Super Nintendo platform game, based on the animated series by Hanna-Barbera (which in turn is based on the TV series, The Addams Family), developed and published by Ocean Software in 1992.

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Splatterhouse, FM Towns

The FM Towns version of the controversial Namco arcade game, Splatterhouse, was developed and published by Ving – in Japan only – in 1992. It doesn’t suffer from any of the censorship, that some versions of the game do, and is a completely uncut and almost perfect port of the arcade original.

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Checkered Flag, Atari Lynx

Checkered Flag is a “formula-style” racing game, initially released by Atari Corporation for the Atari Lynx in 1991.

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Halloween, Atari 2600

Halloween on the Atari 2600 is another “classic” horror movie license [that was sarcasm, by the way], developed by VSS, Inc. and published by Wizard Video Games in 1983. It is based on John Carpenter‘s classic 1978 film of the same name, and in it you play as a babysitter, trying to save children from the unstoppable murderer, Michael Myers.

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Atari 2600

Developed by VSS, Inc. (of Texas), and published by Wizard Video Games in 1983, the Atari 2600 version of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* is a travesty of a video game, and a perfect example of the kind of careless rubbish being released to market that triggered the North American video game market crash of the mid-Eighties.

*= The correct title of Tobe Hooper‘s classic 1973 film is “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (note the words “Chain” and “Saw” are separate), and NOT “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre“. Wizard Video Games got the title wrong, so I’m sticking with the correct title for the film, rather than bastardising it incorrectly, like they did.

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RoboCop, Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 version of RoboCop was first released by Ocean Software in 1988, and it is well-presented, but does have one major fault that I find completely puzzling…

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