The ZX Spectrum version of RoboCop – based on the 1987 film of the same name – was developed and published by Ocean Software in 1988, and was such a hit that it went on to become the top-selling Spectrum game of 1989, according to Gallup (the company that used to collate and publish the UK’s music and video game charts). The Spectrum version actually remained in the sales charts for over a year and half – it entered the charts in December of 1988 and was still in the top five in February of 1991, which is insane… THAT is what you call a “big hit“!
Tag Archives: robots
Magnetron, ZX Spectrum
Quazatron, ZX Spectrum
Quazatron is an isometric action/puzzle game written by Steve Turner of Graftgold and published by Hewson Consultants in 1986. It is essentially a ZX Spectrum remake of Andrew Braybrook‘s Commodore 64 classic, Paradroid.
Gunbuster, Arcade
Gunbuster is a lightgun-based First-Person Shooter (FPS) for up to four players, first distributed into arcades by Taito in 1992. It was released as “Operation Gunbuster” in North America and as “Gun Buster” in Japan.
Mechanized Attack, Arcade
Mechanized Attack is a manic, one or two-player lightgun shooter that was released into arcades by SNK in 1989.
On the face of it you could argue that Mechanized Attack is a clone of Taito‘s 1987 hit, Operation Wolf. You could also argue that it’s not a very good clone.
Switchblade II, Atari Lynx
Switchblade II is a platform action game that originated on the Amiga; was developed by Gremlin Graphics, and published for the Atari Lynx by Atari Corporation in 1992. It is similar in some respects to Capcom‘s Strider, although the main character – Hiro – isn’t quite as dynamic as Strider Hiryu. The first Switchblade wasn’t released for the Lynx – just the sequel was.
Switchblade II, Amiga
The sequel to Switchblade, Switchblade II originally came out on the Amiga and was developed and published by Gremlin Graphics in 1991. The designer/programmer of the original Switchblade, Simon Phipps of Core Design, had no involvement in the creation of this follow-up.
Rick Dangerous 2, Amiga
Rick Dangerous 2 is the sequel to 1989’s Rick Dangerous. It was developed by Core Design (with programming by Simon Phipps, graphics by Terry Lloyd, level design by Robert Churchill and sound/music by David Pridmore), and published by Micro Style (a Microprose sub-label) in 1990.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Arcade
Based on the smash hit film of the same name, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a one or two-player lightgun shooter developed and distributed by Midway in 1991. In this game you’re flung into the future (post-1997), after the nuclear holocaust caused by SkyNet, to fight for The Resistance against ‘The Machines‘.
Pu-Li-Ru-La, Arcade
I don’t really know if Taito‘s 1991 arcade game, Pu-Li-Ru-La, is obscure, or if it’s a ‘cult game’, or if it’s based on an existing anime or not, because I’d never even heard of it until recently. It’s a cartoony, one or simultaneous two-player beat ’em up featuring a boy and a girl who are given magical sticks to fight enemies in order to restore the flow of time in a place called “Radishland“…
The King of Grabs 