Tag Archives: Iconic

Uridium 2, Amiga

Uridium 2 is the sequel to Andrew Braybrook‘s classic Commodore 64 shooter, published on the Amiga in 1993 by Renegade Software, and it really is quite excellent.

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Wario Blast, Game Boy

What do you get when you cross Hudson Soft‘s classic Bomberman with Nintendo‘s cheeky Wario? Answer: you get Wario Blast on the Game Boy. A super fun handheld action game with puzzle overtones that was first released in 1994.

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Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Commodore 64

Back in 1985 gamers were astounded to see the release of an officially-licensed game, based on the pop band Frankie Goes To Hollywood. “Whatever will they think of next?” went the chattering classes. Well, just like the records that were burning up the charts, the Frankie Goes To Hollywood video game license turned out to be ‘gold dust’ to publisher Ocean Software, and the game itself is remembered as being a pretty good one (which is rare for licensed product).

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Alien 8, ZX Spectrum

The original ZX Spectrum version of Alien 8 was first released in 1985, not long after Knight Lore had already blown the world away with its incredible isometric graphics and characteristic gameplay.

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Firefly, ZX Spectrum

Of all his Spectrum games, Firefly was the one that programmer Jonathan Smith said really “came together” during development.

Firefly is an eight-way scrolling shooter with light puzzle elements that was first released by Ocean Software in 1988.

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Batman: The Caped Crusader, ZX Spectrum

First released in 1988, Ocean Software‘s Batman: The Caped Crusader is not to be confused with Ocean‘s other Batman game, programmed by Jon Ritman. No, this one is the 2D, comic panel animated adventure programmed by Jonathan Smith.

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Hysteria, ZX Spectrum

Published by Software Projects in 1987, Hysteria – at first glance – seems to owe quite a bit to Cobra, the infamous scrolling shooter from Ocean. At least graphically (the main character is a spitting image of the sprite in that game).

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Terra Cresta, ZX Spectrum

A conversion of the superb Nichibutsu arcade game, programmed by the late Jonathan Smith and published by Imagine Software in 1986.

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Green Beret, ZX Spectrum

A conversion of the infamous Konami arcade game Rush’n Attack (name changed later in the West to Green Beret), by the inimitable Jonathan Smith. Published by Imagine Software in 1986.

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Cobra, ZX Spectrum

Loosely-based on the Sylvester Stallone film of the same name, Cobra is a legendary run-and-gun platform game programmed by the late Jonathan Smith for Ocean Software and first released in 1986.

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