The Commodore 64 version of Ocean Software‘s Mr. Wimpy was programmed by David Selwood and was first published in 1984. And unfortunately this simple BurgerTime rip-off has a similar problem to the terrible BBC Micro version, although this time it’s an issue getting on to ladders – not off of them (which is a big problem in the BBC version). In the C64 version you’ll lose lives unnecessarily, because the fast-moving enemies will often get you while you’re struggling to line yourself up to climb a ladder. Which can be hugely frustrating. It’s not quite as bad as the BBC version, but it’s still a tangible problem with the controls.
Tag Archives: clone
Mr. Wimpy, BBC Micro
The BBC Micro conversion of Ocean Software‘s infamous BurgerTime rip-off, Mr. Wimpy, was coded by Richard Kay and first released in 1984. And – without any hesitation – I can say that it is absolutely terrible.
Andes Attack, Atari ST
The Atari ST version of Andes Attack was developed and published by Llamasoft in 1989. It is a re-imagining of Jeff Minter‘s earlier Defender clone, first released on the VIC-20 in 1982. It is also a precursor to Minter‘s Defender II, which plays very similarly and was released the following year, in 1990.
Time-Gate, ZX Spectrum
Written by John Hollis and first published by Quicksilva for the 48K ZX Spectrum in 1983, Time-Gate was the first Spectrum game I ever played and is a simple first-person space shooter – basically a Star Raiders clone with a few differences.
Neutopia II, PC Engine
Developed by Hudson Soft and released for the PC Engine in Japan in 1991, and for the TurboGrafx-16 in North America in 1992, Neutopia II is the sequel to the first Neutopia and is another reasonably high quality, but easy-to-play, Zelda clone.
Neutopia, PC Engine
Neutopia is a Zelda-like action adventure game developed by Hudson Soft and published for the PC Engine in Japan in 1989, and for the TurboGrafx-16 in North America in 1990. The game takes places in the land of Neutopia, where the evil demon Dirth has captured Princess Aurora and stolen eight medallions that are needed to maintain peace throughout the land. Your job – as the protagonist Jazeta – is to rescue the princess, retrieve the medallions, and defeat Dirth; saving Neutopia and its people.
Spellbound, ZX Spectrum
Not the excellent David Jones Magic Knight adventure game from Mastertronic Added Dimension, but the atrocious Q*Bert clone from Beyond Software.
Alien, Atari 2600
This adaptation of Ridley Scott‘s classic film Alien was published for the Atari 2600 in 1982 by Fox Video Games. It has two significant distinctions: 1. it was the first ever officially-licensed video game to be based on the Alien series, and 2. it is probably the worst film-to-game adaption I’ve ever seen or played in my life…
Gridrunner, Commodore 64
Gridrunner came out on the Commodore 64 in 1983, making it a fairly early shooter for the system. Gameplay is basically the same as the VIC-20 original, but with slightly better graphics and a few more clock cycles to play with.
Gridrunner, Atari 8-bit
Jeff Minter‘s affinity for Atari 8-bit computers meant that it was inevitable that the machine would get a version of his game, Gridrunner. Which it did in 1983.
The King of Grabs 