Tag Archives: British

Commodore 64, Ocean Software, Taito

Special Criminal Investigation, Commodore 64

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Special Criminal Investigation is quite a ‘special’ game. It is part of the Chase HQ series and was released on cartridge only, for the Commodore 64 at least, by Ocean Software in the UK.

SCI was also released late in the Commodore 64‘s lifetime (in 1990 to be precise), so benefited from coders knowing advanced programming techniques that could push the beige bread bin further than it had ever been pushed before.

And the result is a fast-paced, visually-impressive, and highly playable racing game. Sorry, chasing game… A conversion of the Taito arcade game, sometimes known as simply S.C.I. or Chase HQ 2: Special Criminal Investigation.

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Ocean Software, ZX Spectrum

Match Day II, ZX Spectrum

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Match Day II is the 1987 sequel to Match Day. It was again coded by Jon Ritman and published by Ocean Software.

The graphics in Match Day II were created by Bernie Drummond (who famously made Batman with Ritman in 1986), and could be described as “more characterful” than in the previous game. One thing is certain, though: the players in Match Day II definitely have Eighties haircuts!

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Ocean Software, ZX Spectrum

Match Day, ZX Spectrum

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Although it’s pretty laughable now, Jon Ritman and Chris Clarke‘s 1984 football game, Match Day, was a groundbreaking Spectrum game for the time.

Match Day wasn’t the first football video game ever made, but it was one of the first to at least make a reasonable attempt to translate the sport into something playable.

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Amiga, Ocean Software, Realtime Games Software

Battle Command, Amiga

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Battle Command is a classic Amiga tank game, developed by Realtime Games Software and published by Ocean Software in 1990.

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Amiga, Bullfrog Productions, Electronic Arts, gog.com

Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods, Amiga

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Bullfrog Productions‘ 1991 sequel to Populous, Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods is a beautifully-crafted follow-up, retaining – and even improving on – the genius of the original.

I always rated Populous very highly, and Populous II is even better.

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Commodore 64, Ocean Software

Platoon, Commodore 64

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Developed and published by Ocean Software and licensed from the 1986 Oliver Stone film of the same name, Platoon on the Commodore 64 managed to win over gamers and critics, back in 1987 when it was first released, with its atmospheric and varied gameplay.

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Martech, The Light, ZX Spectrum

Rex, ZX Spectrum

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Rex is a very enjoyable platform shooter, created by Neil Harris, John Anderson, and Richard Allen and published by Martech in 1988. Some describe it as a ‘Metroidvania‘ type game, although it reminds me more of another Spectrum classic – Starquake. Or maybe a Monty Mole game, crossed with Cybernoid.

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Commodore 64, Image Works, Vivid Image

First Samurai, Commodore 64

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First released on the 16-bit Amiga and Atari ST in 1991, this 8-bit Commodore 64 conversion came later, in 1992. And – considering that it is stepping down a generation – the programmers did a good job of retaining what made the originals so good.

Platform action – lots of swords! Leaping around like a lunatic! Climbing cliff faces. Killing monsters – discovering secrets! Atmospheric SID tunes. What more could you want? 🙂

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Amiga, Image Works, Vivid Image

First Samurai, Amiga

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Published by Image Works in 1991, First Samurai is a decent side-scrolling platform/action game that first came out on the Amiga and Atari ST, before being converted to others systems later.

Programmed by Raffaele Cecco, co-designed by Vivid Image and Mr. Cecco, with graphics by Teoman Irmak and sound by Nick Jones, it is a sterling effort.

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Ashby Computers and Graphics, Jaleco, MSX, Ultimate Play The Game

Alien 8, MSX

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The MSX version of Ultimate‘s classic isometric action adventure, Alien 8, is almost identical to the ZX Spectrum original – including slowdown caused by sound effects playing and lots of on-screen movement.

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