Tag Archives: early

Bomberman, MSX

The very first release in the famous Bomberman series was this game – aka “Bomber Man” – which was developed and published by Hudson Soft, for the MSX, in 1983. This is basically a prototype of the Bomberman we know and love, that was to come some years later.

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Halloween, Atari 2600

Halloween on the Atari 2600 is another “classic” horror movie license [that was sarcasm, by the way], developed by VSS, Inc. and published by Wizard Video Games in 1983. It is based on John Carpenter‘s classic 1978 film of the same name, and in it you play as a babysitter, trying to save children from the unstoppable murderer, Michael Myers.

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Atari 2600

Developed by VSS, Inc. (of Texas), and published by Wizard Video Games in 1983, the Atari 2600 version of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* is a travesty of a video game, and a perfect example of the kind of careless rubbish being released to market that triggered the North American video game market crash of the mid-Eighties.

*= The correct title of Tobe Hooper‘s classic 1973 film is “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (note the words “Chain” and “Saw” are separate), and NOT “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre“. Wizard Video Games got the title wrong, so I’m sticking with the correct title for the film, rather than bastardising it incorrectly, like they did.

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Choplifter, ColecoVision

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…

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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.

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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.

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Choplifter, VIC-20

The 1982 VIC-20 version of Dan Gorlin‘s Choplifter was coded by Tom Griner for Creative Software, and it has to be said that it is by far the worst version of Choplifter out there.

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Spider-Man, Atari 2600

The 1982 release of Parker BrothersAtari 2600 game, Spider-Man, was the first ever video game featuring a character licensed from Marvel Comics. And, of course, by extension, it was also the first officially-licensed Spider-Man game. But is it any good?

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