I’m not quite sure what’s up with the 1984 ColecoVision version of Choplifter, but the game seems to run faster than any other version I’ve played. Arguably too fast…
Tag Archives: conversion
Choplifter, Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 version of Choplifter – first published by Atari, Inc. in 1984 – is more or less identical to the Atari 8-bit version released for home computers. Which is a little disappointing, as you’d maybe hope that it’d be enhanced in some way.
Choplifter, Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 version of Choplifter was ported by Dane Bigham and first published by Brøderbund in 1983. While the game is definitely smoother and more playable than the earlier Apple II and Atari 8-bit versions, it’s still not without its problems.
Starglider, Apple II
The Apple II version of Argonaut Software‘s classic cockpit shooter, Starglider, was ported by Solid Image, the same developer who made the flawed C64 version. And – unsurprisingly – it retains all the flaws of the C64 version, and brings a few problems of its own to the party, just for good measure…
Starglider, PC
The 1987 PC MS-DOS version of Argonaut Software‘s classic 3D shooter, Starglider, was ported by Realtime Games Software, who did the excellent Amstrad and ZX Spectrum ports. Unfortunately, the game is available only with four-colour CGA graphics, which does diminish the look of the game significantly.
Starglider, Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 version of Starglider was ported by Solid Image and published by Rainbird in 1986. Unfortunately, the developers didn’t manage to convert Starglider‘s unique control method over to the C64 – instead they chose to use a fixed aiming reticule in the centre of the screen, and this results in a rather degraded gameplay experience.
Starglider, Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC version of Argonaut Software‘s classic 3D shooter, Starglider, was developed by Realtime Games Software, who also coded the excellent ZX Spectrum version. It could be argued that it is even better than the Spectrum version, because it runs faster and also uses more colours in the polygons, although the game does have a smaller cockpit and play window than the Spectrum version.
Ultimate Qix, Megadrive/Genesis
Released as “Volfied” in arcades, this sequel to the original Qix was re-named Ultimate Qix for its Sega Genesis release in North America in 1991. And – let’s face it – “Volfied” is a crappy name anyway, so it’s no great loss.
Bruce Lee II, Commodore 64
I’ve already covered the PC version of Bruno R. Marcos‘ marvellous homebrew sequel, Bruce Lee II, on this site, but unfortunately the game download has been unavailable for some time. I was surprised and delighted, therefore, to discover that Bruce Lee II had been ported to the Commodore 64 by Jonas Hulten, and remains available to download and play to this day (at the time of writing, at least).
Technician Ted, Amstrad CPC
The 1984 Amstrad CPC conversion of the ZX Spectrum game, Technician Ted (aka The Chip Factory starring Technician Ted), is pretty much identical to the original, except that it has a rather garish colour palette.
The King of Grabs 