Tag Archives: clone

Star X, Game Boy Advance

Star X is a third-person space shooter, of a similar style to Star Fox. In fact: it wouldn’t be unfair to call it a Star Fox clone. It uses simple polygonal 3D graphics to create the world and sees you flying around in a small spaceship, blasting things. Star X was developed by Graphic State and published by BAM! Entertainment in 2002.

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Batty, Amstrad CPC

The Amstrad version of Batty was written by Mark Crane and first published by Hit-Pak in 1987. My initial thoughts were that it was poor, in comparison to the Spectrum and C64 versions, but extended play did convince me that it was better than first impressions led me to believe.

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Batty, Commodore 64

First published by Hit-Pak (the ‘budget’ label of Elite Systems) in 1988, the C64 version of the classic bat-and-ball action game, Batty, is more or less the same as the ZX Spectrum original, but with chunkier graphics. And, like the original, it is an excellent Breakout/Arkanoid clone.

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Batty, ZX Spectrum

Written by Mark Crane and first published by Hit-Pak (the budget label of Elite Systems) in 1987, Batty is a clone of the games Breakout, and Arkanoid, but with a few of its own unique features.

The game was a minor hit on the ZX Spectrum and was also released for the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64.

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Wee Ninja, Atari 8-bit

Wee Ninja is a homebrew scrolling platform game for Atari 8-bit home computers (with 32K of RAM). It was written by Paul Lay and first released by Playsoft in June 2025, to rapturous applause.

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Gridrunner Plus Plus, PC

What I love about Jeff Minter‘s Gridrunner Plus Plus is that it combines the simplicity of the arcade hits of old, with modern, trippy visuals. And a good dose of humour.

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Apocalypse II, Super Nintendo

***CANNED GAME***

Written by Simon Nicol for Psygnosis in 1994, Apocalypse II was almost complete when it was decided to not release it. This was, of course, a blow to everyone involved, but it was also probably the right thing to do…

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Mega Apocalypse, Commodore 64

Mega Apocalypse is the sequel to Crazy Comets. It was programmed by Simon Nicol, with graphics by Bob Stevenson and music by Rob Hubbard, and was published for the Commodore 64 by Martech in 1987. It is a single-screen shooter in which you have to destroy a series of planets to complete each stage.

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Crazy Comets, Commodore 64

Programmed by Simon Nicol, with music by Rob Hubbard, Crazy Comets is the beginning of Simon Nicol‘s preoccupation with the arcade game Mad Planets.

Crazy Comets was first published by Martech in 1985.

After Crazy Comets, Nicol then made Mega Apocalypse, and then Apocalypse II (which never got released). Each game a clone of Mad Planets, although with Nicol‘s own twist.

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