Hunchback is a conversion of the 1983 arcade game by Century Electronics. It has been written that Hunchback is loosely based on the 1831 Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, because it features Quasimodo running along a castle wall, trying to rescue Esmeralda from a tower at the end, but that is disputed by some who claim that Robin Hood is the main influence. Regardless, at least in this conversion the main character does actually look like Quasimodo…
Tag Archives: David Ward
Daley Thompson’s Olympic Challenge, ZX Spectrum
The third and final of the Ocean-released Daley Thompson sports games is Daley Thompson’s Olympic Challenge, which was first published in 1988.
This one again features ten Olympic decathlon events, split over two days, they being: 100 metre dash, long jump, shot putt, high jump, 400 metres, 110 metre hurdles, pole vault, discus, javelin, and 1500 metres.
This time Daley is trying to beat the world record, rather than win a gold medal.
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Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, ZX Spectrum
Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, developed and published by Ocean for the ZX Spectrum in 1984, was possibly the first home computer game to feature a celebrity, and a person of colour, as the star of the game – at least in the UK anyway.
If you don’t know: Daley Thompson is a British Olympic decathlon star, and was a gold medal winner at the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and as such was a household name in the UK back when this game was released in 1984. Younger readers might not know who Daley Thompson is, but they really should. Thompson is a legend and has been described as the greatest all-round athlete the world has ever seen. Look him up on YouTube if you want to see his Olympic achievements.
Match Day II, ZX Spectrum
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!