Summer Camp is an old school platform game that came out towards the end of the C64‘s life – 1990 to be precise.
It’s a cartoony collect ’em up in the style of Manic Miner, although in this you play Maximus Mouse trying to collect pieces of a blueprint.
Special Criminal Investigation is quite a ‘special’ game. It is part of the Chase HQ series and was released on cartridge only, for the Commodore 64 at least, by Ocean Software in the UK.
SCI was also released late in the Commodore 64‘s lifetime (in 1990 to be precise), so benefited from coders knowing advanced programming techniques that could push the beige bread bin further than it had ever been pushed before.
And the result is a fast-paced, visually-impressive, and highly playable racing game. Sorry, chasing game… A conversion of the Taito arcade game, sometimes known as simply S.C.I. or Chase HQ 2: Special Criminal Investigation.
Continue reading Special Criminal Investigation, Commodore 64
Sometimes known simply as S.C.I. or Chase HQ 2: Special Criminal Investigation, this high octane driving sequel to Chase HQ is another fast-paced driving game with you playing a cop hot on the heels of some nasty criminals.
It was developed and manufactured by Taito and released into arcades in 1989, and – for my money – is one of the most exciting and heart-pumping 2D chase games ever made.
Rex is a very enjoyable platform shooter, created by Neil Harris, John Anderson, and Richard Allen and published by Martech in 1988. Some describe it as a ‘Metroidvania‘ type game, although it reminds me more of another Spectrum classic – Starquake. Or maybe a Monty Mole game, crossed with Cybernoid.
Sundog is a sci-fi strategy/RPG/adventure game designed by Software Heaven (aka FTL – the makers of Dungeon Master), and is generally held in high regard. It originally came out on the Apple II in 1984, then later converted to the Atari ST in 1985.
I have to admit, though, that Sundog is a touch too archaic for my tastes. At least in terms of wanting to put hours into a game. The Atari ST version certainly looks better than the Apple II version, though.
Developed by Compile and released in Japan only in 1989, Aleste Gaiden is the third Aleste game to come out for MSX home computers – specifically: for the MSX2.
Taito‘s American division developed this vertical screen base defence game in 1981. Colony 7 owes quite a bit to Missile Command, if the truth be known, and was also probably the very first video game to feature “rip-off” micro-transactions too…
Dragon Skulle is the fourth and final game in the Sir Arthur Pendragon series, from legendary publisher Ultimate Play The Game. It was first released in 1985 and actually received lukewarm reviews in much of the press at the time.
Blackwyche is the third game in the Sir Arthur Pendragon series, following on from The Staff of Karnath and Entombed. It was written by Dave and Bob Thomas and published by Ultimate Play The Game in 1985.
Written by Jim Scarlett and published by Software Projects in 1984, Tribble Trubble was a minor hit at the time of release, garnering some critical acclaim (I remember it getting a Smash in an early issue of Crash magazine, which was a big deal) and doing okay sales-wise.
Looking at it now: it still has charm, and some appeal, and is still worth playing – if you like tearing your hair out trying to beat insignificant tasks… 🙂
The King of Grabs 