David Lubar‘s relatively obscure 1984 classic, Pastfinder, is a weird vertically-scrolling shooter in which you control a spider-like craft that can crawl, shoot and jump, and you must explore a radioactive landscape picking up artefacts from a mysterious planet.
Tag Archives: jumping
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.
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.
Ancipital, Commodore 64
Jeff Minter‘s seminal shooter Ancipital features psychedelic sprite-based visuals and fast blasting/running/jumping action.
International Karate Plus, Commodore 64
Archer Maclean’s IK+ (International Karate Plus) ushered in a new wave of fighting game on the Commodore 64, back in 1987.
Summer Games II, Commodore 64
Sequel to the award-winning Epyx multi-event sports game, Summer Games II is arguably even better than its predecessor.
Winter Games, Commodore 64
One of many classic Epyx-published multi-event sports games from the Eighties, Winter Games is a collection of playable snow and ice-based Olympic events, but without the official license.
HES Games, Commodore 64
In my mind THE best Olympic sports type game on the Commodore 64.
HES Games – by 321 Software and HESWare – beats Epyx‘s great sports titles by virtue of its simplicity, and of it’s refined control system. And there’s an interesting mix of events too.
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.
Parasol Stars, Amiga
Parasol Stars is a wonderful sequel to Taito‘s classic Rainbow Islands, although it was never released in arcades.
The game was initially developed exclusively for the NEC PC Engine in 1991, and later released on other formats by Ocean Software. The brilliant Amiga version was released in 1992 and remains a firm favourite among Bubble Bobble series fans.