All 20 screens of Matthew Smith‘s ground-breaking 1983 ZX Spectrum platform game, Manic Miner!
Tag Archives: Iconic
Impossible Mission, Commodore 64
Dennis Caswell‘s brilliant 1984 platform game, Impossible Mission, has lost little of its appeal over the decades. There is something so gloriously timeless about it, and the challenge it presents is difficult, but do-able.
Rescue On Fractalus, Commodore 64
LucasFilm Games‘ classic space shooter, Rescue On Fractalus, was first released on Atari 8-bit computers in March 1984, and this Commodore 64 version came a year later, in 1985.
Uridium Plus, Commodore 64
There isn’t a great deal of information around about Uridium Plus. Like: whether this version has any technical enhancements (like Heavy Metal Paradroid does), or not. I have vague recollections that this version was somehow technically better, although I could be wrong. It’d be nice to know…
Uridium, Commodore 64
Here are a set of grabs from the original Uridium, by Andrew Braybrook. It was first published by Hewson Consultants in 1986, for the Commodore 64.
Dropzone, Commodore 64
Archer MacLean‘s seminal Commodore 64 shooter, Dropzone is like a cross between Defender and, erm, Defender, but with more realistic graphics. And slightly different gameplay. But the principles are pretty much the same: super-fast, super-smooth, side-scrolling shooting. Avoid touching anything – or it’s instant death.
Bruce Lee, Commodore 64
Ron J. Fortier and Kelly Day‘s brilliant Bruce Lee shows that you can squeeze real character into tiny pixels if you try hard enough, what with it’s dozy sumo (The Green Yamo) and daft ninja chasing you down relentlessly, like idiots on the run. And punching and kicking them is not only hilarious, but also essential, if you are to keep them off your back.
Nebulus, Commodore 64
John Phillips‘ fabulous Nebulus attracted rave reviews when it was first released in 1987, and – to be honest – it still gathers rave reviews now. The Commodore 64 original in particular.
Deus Ex, PC
A game close to my heart, as I was the first person in the world to review Ion Storm‘s brilliant Deus Ex, for PC Zone magazine in 2000. Click here for the review.
Deus Ex (pronounced Day-Us-Ex – NOT Deuce-Ex) is a classic first-person, futuristic action game with stealth overtones, although you can choose whether to blast your way through it or not.
Sabre Wulf, ZX Spectrum
Ultimate Play The Game‘s iconic seventh release for the ZX Spectrum was first released in 1984.
Sabre Wulf is a colourful maze/action game, and was the first game to feature the lead character Sabreman.