Tag Archives: British

Strontium Dog: The Killing, ZX Spectrum

Quicksilva‘s second attempt at a Strontium Dog video game in 1984 – released the same year as the awful Death Gauntlet on the C64 – is only marginally better than their first attempt.

The Killing, on the ZX Spectrum, was written by Paul Hargreaves and once again sees you playing mutant bounty hunter Johnny Alpha, trying to survive a gauntlet of hostility on an alien planet. This time, though, he’s voluntarily participating in a contest where vicious murderers fight to the death for cash, in a tournament called “The Killing“.

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Strontium Dog and the Death Gauntlet, Commodore 64

Strontium Dog and the Death Gauntlet for the Commodore 64 was the first properly-licensed video game based on a 2000AD character. It was coded by Stephen Kellett; co-designed by Mark Eyles, and published by Quicksilva in 1984.

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2000AD Special

2000AD is a famous, British science fiction comic that was first launched in 1977 (26th February 1977 to be precise), and I distinctly remember getting and reading the first issue and being hooked from that moment on. 2000AD pulled no punches, with its hard-hitting fantasy storylines and stand-out characters, and it made a big impression on anyone who read it.

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Syndicate, PC

Syndicate is a classic isometric action game with point-and-click gameplay. It was developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1993.

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Star Fox 2, Super Nintendo

The sequel to the classic Super Nintendo 3D shooter, Star Fox, Star Fox 2 is infamous because it was actually cancelled before it was completed, way back in 1995, but was finally finished and released in 2017 on the SNES Classic Edition retro console.

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Guile, Archimedes

The best way to describe Guile on the Archimedes is: it’s a lot like David Braben‘s Zarch (aka Virus), but set in tunnels. And if you’ve ever played Zarch before then you’ll know that that means that this game is gonna be difficult…

The box describes Guile as: “a unique three-dimensional flight simulator set in a dungeon adventure“, which is sure to have any rational gamer scratching their head in confusion.

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Micronaut One, ZX Spectrum

Micronaut One is another interesting game from Tau Ceti creator Pete Cooke. Mr. Cooke was known for making innovative, unusual, and technically-impressive games for the ZX Spectrum that were different to the norm. This one was published by Nexus in 1987 and involves travelling down 3D corridors and shooting weird alien insects that are infesting a biocomputer.

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Wonder Boy, Commodore 64

Wonder Boy on the C64 is a conversion of the 1986 Sega arcade game. It was developed by Images Design for Activision and published in 1987.

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R.C. Pro-Am II, NES/Famicom

This 1992 sequel to R.C. Pro-Am was once again developed by Rare, but this time was published by Tradewest (not Nintendo), and is pretty much the same kind of game as before: a scrolling isometric racing game featuring small, remote-controlled cars.

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Championship Pro-Am, Megadrive/Genesis

Championship Pro-Am is an “enhanced” remake of the classic NES racing game R.C. Pro-Am. It was developed by Rare and published on the Megadrive/Genesis by Tradewest in 1992.

I’m emphasising the word “enhanced” here out of pure sarcasm, because – when you look at the game closely – there is very little that is actually enhanced over the original, other than the graphics. In fact: it is a very bare bones port and the Megadrive deserved better from Rare.

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