Contact Sam Cruise is a highly-regarded and entertaining action adventure game designed by Dave Reidy, the guy who created the classic Skool Daze. It was published by Microsphere in 1986.
Tag Archives: Retro Gaming
Death Star Interceptor, ZX Spectrum
Looking at Death Star Interceptor now you might be surprised to discover that it was a “number one” game when it first came out in 1985.
And – while it did make it to the top of the games charts back then – the charts were not very reliable, and the game actually wasn’t that good, even though it does officially license use of the Star Wars theme, for a warbly Speccy interpretation of John Williams‘ classic music.
Death Star Interceptor was a case of style over content, and also maybe a touch of Star Wars fever as well. These are thoughts I had about the game when I first played it back in 1985.
Eskimo Eddie, ZX Spectrum
This obscure 1984 release from Ocean Software is basically a clone of Sega‘s classic arcade game, Pengo, but with an extra level tacked-on at the beginning. Similar in many ways to Ocean‘s Mr. Wimpy, which was BurgerTime with an extra level tacked on at the start. As if it would confuse the copyright police… “These are not the clones you are looking for… It is a completely different game… Look… [waves hand like Obi Wan]”
Total Eclipse 2: The Sphinx Jinx, ZX Spectrum
Published by Incentive Software in 1991, Total Eclipse 2: The Sphinx Jinx is a direct follow-up to the 1988 Freescape classic, Total Eclipse.
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Total Eclipse, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum version of Total Eclipse was the first version of the game released.
Using the legendary Freescape Engine, Total Eclipse is an Egyptian-themed exploration/puzzle game set in a primitive 3D world. Primitive because it was one of the first ever games to allow games-players to explore a 3D world in this way, and it worked quite well, in spite of the low frame rate and slowdown.
Tribble Trubble, ZX Spectrum
Written by Jim Scarlett and published by Software Projects in 1984, Tribble Trubble was a minor hit at the time of release, garnering some critical acclaim (I remember it getting a Smash in an early issue of Crash magazine, which was a big deal) and doing okay sales-wise.
Looking at it now: it still has charm, and some appeal, and is still worth playing – if you like tearing your hair out trying to beat insignificant tasks… 🙂
Hercules, ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum also had a version of Steve Bak‘s bonkers C64 platform game, Hercules. It was written by Quantum Productions and published by Alpha Omega Software in 1986.
Super Monkey Ball Jr., Game Boy Advance
Super Monkey Ball Jr. is a conversion of the classic GameCube game by Sega. It was first released in North America in 2002, and in 2003 in Europe.
From what I can tell, Super Monkey Ball Jr. was never released in Japan… That can’t be right… I thought the Japanese were (rightly) mad for Super Monkey Ball?!
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Game Boy Advance
The third and final Castlevania game on the Game Boy Advance, Aria of Sorrow was first published by Konami in 2003.
Development was again led by Producer Koji Igarashi (who had previously worked on Symphony of the Night), and the end result is another brilliant and varied mix of platforming and RPG, with challenging enemies and boss battles.
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Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance, Game Boy Advance
The second Castlevania game released for the Game Boy Advance, Harmony of Dissonance was published by Konami in 2002.
In this game you play as Juste Belmont, a direct descendant of Simon Belmont – the protagonist from the first Castlevania. And – for some reason – he has a blue glow around him, and a blue trail, that he leaves in his wake as he moves…
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The King of Grabs 