Tag Archives: Ocean Software

Ocean Software, ZX Spectrum

Daley Thompson’s Olympic Challenge, ZX Spectrum

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The third and final of the Ocean-released Daley Thompson sports games is Daley Thompson’s Olympic Challenge, which was first published in 1988.

This one again features ten Olympic decathlon events, split over two days, they being: 100 metre dash, long jump, shot putt, high jump, 400 metres, 110 metre hurdles, pole vault, discus, javelin, and 1500 metres.

This time Daley is trying to beat the world record, rather than win a gold medal.

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Ocean Software, ZX Spectrum

Daley Thompson’s Supertest, ZX Spectrum

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The second of the Ocean-released Daley Thompson sports games is Daley Thompson’s Supertest, which was first published in 1985.

This time there are twelve events, including: rowing, penalties, ski-jump, tug O war, triple jump, 100m sprint, javelin, 110m hurdles, pistol shooting, cycling, springboard diving, and giant slalom (skiing).

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Ocean Software, ZX Spectrum

Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, ZX Spectrum

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Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, developed and published by Ocean for the ZX Spectrum in 1984, was possibly the first home computer game to feature a celebrity, and a person of colour, as the star of the game – at least in the UK anyway.

If you don’t know: Daley Thompson is a British Olympic decathlon star, and was a gold medal winner at the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and as such was a household name in the UK back when this game was released in 1984. Younger readers might not know who Daley Thompson is, but they really should. Thompson is a legend and has been described as the greatest all-round athlete the world has ever seen. Look him up on YouTube if you want to see his Olympic achievements.

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Commodore 64, Ocean Software

Rambo: First Blood Part II, Commodore 64

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Rambo: First Blood Part II, by Ocean Software, is a legendary Commodore 64 game without much substance. People revere the music (by Martin Galway), and also like the simple 360 shooter gameplay, but the truth is: this is an example of an early video game without much to do, and what there is is rather simplistic.

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Ocean Software, ZX Spectrum

Pogo, ZX Spectrum

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Ocean Software‘s 1983 release, Pogo, is arguably the best Q*Bert clone on the ZX Spectrum. And there were a lot of Q*Bert clones around at the time.

It was one of the very first Spectrum games I ever bought and it kept teenage me occupied for a few days, before I eventually grew tired of it.

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Commodore 64, Ocean Software

Navy SEALS, Commodore 64

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Licensed from an Orion Pictures film of the same name, Navy SEALS is a surprisingly decent release from Ocean.

No one remembers the film at all, although quite a few remember this 1990 game, and generally think quite highly of it.

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Commodore 64, Ocean Software

The Untouchables, Commodore 64

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The Untouchables is a classic movie-licensed action game developed and published by Ocean Software in 1989. It mixes a number of different gameplay styles.

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Commodore 64, Ocean Software, Taito

Special Criminal Investigation, Commodore 64

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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.

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Ocean Software, ZX Spectrum

Match Day II, ZX Spectrum

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Match Day II is the 1987 sequel to Match Day. It was again coded by Jon Ritman and published by Ocean Software.

The graphics in Match Day II were created by Bernie Drummond (who famously made Batman with Ritman in 1986), and could be described as “more characterful” than in the previous game. One thing is certain, though: the players in Match Day II definitely have Eighties haircuts!

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