Scramble was the first ever side-scrolling shoot ’em up, coming out in arcades in 1981.
It was certainly one of the earliest colour video games, and was a big hit for developer Konami and distributor Stern Electronics.
Tag Archives: Cult Hit
Kung-Fu Master, Arcade
Irem‘s Kung-Fu Master is a brilliant side-scrolling beat ’em up from the video game arcades of 1984. And it has lost little of its appeal over the years, because Kung-Fu Master is precise, violent and fun. Not to mention a huge challenge.
Resident Evil 2, PlayStation
Capcom‘s Resident Evil 2 really elevated the survival horror genre to great heights, way back in 1998 when it was first released.
Mostly because it was more gritty and serious than the first game, but also because it was a much more complex storyline in this one: with two different characters playing the same scenario, but from different perspectives (and provided on two different CD-ROMs). Effectively giving you two games in one. So you play one character on a ‘A’ game, and the other on a ‘B’ game, by loading your save in from having completed one half of the game.
And the actions of one character in the game have an effect on what the second character experiences in their game later.
This – in itself – is a dazzling feature, but there is so much more to Resident Evil 2 than that.
Super Tennis, Super Nintendo
Still my favourite tennis game of all time. On any system.
Super Tennis on the SNES is so good; so much fun to bend shots around the net; such a good balance between cartoony-ness and realism, that it is always a joy to revisit.
Tranz Am, ZX Spectrum
Set in a post-apocalypse USA (in the year 3472, no less), Tranz Am is an overhead racing game where the aim is to collect eight cups (The Great Cups of Ultimate), which have been randomly dispersed around the continent.
Pssst, ZX Spectrum
Featuring a cute robot (called Robbie) whose job it is to keep the insects away from the plants.
Cookie, ZX Spectrum
Another of Ultimate‘s early ZX Spectrum classics, Cookie – from 1983 – is a simple arcade-style action game where you are a little chef sprite shooting bags of flour at ingredients to knock them into a mixing bowl.
The Sentinel, Amiga
Geoff Crammond‘s The Sentinel (aka The Sentry in North America) is a strange chess-like game where you have to sneak up on an overseeing watcher, who is perched high on a platform, overlooking the play area, and absorb him before he does the same to you.
Cannon Fodder, Amiga
Sensible Software‘s brilliant Cannon Fodder is possibly their finest hour.
From the hilarious intro song, to the compelling action of the main game – Cannon Fodder is about as much fun as computerised war, with little titchy men and a mouse could possibly be.
Chuckie Egg, ZX Spectrum
Released by A&F Software in 1983, Nigel Alderton‘s brilliant platform game, Chuckie Egg, lit up Spectrums around the world, with its cute graphics and precise, challenging gameplay. In fact: Chuckie Egg is so sweet and characterful that it still has the power to enchant gamers today.
The King of Grabs 