Loosely-based on the 1979 film, The China Syndrome , China Syndrome by Spectravision – first released in 1982 – is a “simulation” of a fission nuclear reactor going wrong. The aim is to capture neutrons, using a roaming cursor, to prevent a runaway nuclear reaction and eventual reactor meltdown.
Tag Archives: simulation
International Tennis (1992), Commodore 64
As if one International Tennis wasn’t good enough for the Commodore 64, Zeppelin Games decided to release a second one in 1992. And it’s actually really good. Definitely much better than Commodore‘s previous 1985 version.
International Tennis (1985), Commodore 64
Commodore‘s go at tennis, as part of its series of C64 sports games, is a pretty poor game overall. It’s got a side-on view and the feel and presentation of the game are lacking.
Red Baron, PC
Developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra On-line, Red Baron is a combat flight simulator set during The First World War. The game was innovative for the time, and garnered considerable praise from players and critics alike at the time of its original release – 1990.
Hard Drivin’, Atari Lynx
Developed by NuFX and published by Atari Corporation in 1991, the Atari Lynx version of Hard Drivin’ was quite impressive for the time. It showed that the Lynx could handle rudimentary 3D polygonal games – and in colour. Something that its main rival (the Nintendo Game Boy), couldn’t do.
Lynx Casino, Atari Lynx
Developed by Brian A. Rice, Inc. and released by Atari Corporation in 1992, Lynx Casino is a compendium of gambling games joined together by a man walking over a gaudy carpet in a virtual casino. Those who’ve wandered through any of the vast casinos in Las Vegas will know how lurid the carpets can be, and the graphic designers who worked on this at least got that part right…
TIE Fighter, PC
TIE Fighter was first released in 1994 and is the sequel to the smash hit space combat game, X-Wing, which are both of course based on spacecraft from the Star Wars universe. This time, though, you get to fight on the side of The Empire, who are widely seen as the ‘bad guys’ in the Star Wars series, so in this game you are blasting Rebels and their collaborators out of space, and not the other way around.
Fortune Builder, ColecoVision
Fortune Builder is a business simulation game that was developed by Circuits and Systems, Inc. and published by Coleco Industries in 1984. Alongside Utopia on the Intellivision, from 1981, it is one of the earliest examples of a resource management video game. Fortune Builder pre-dates SimCity by five years, and is more complex – at least in some respects.
Championship Pool, Game Boy
Championship Pool on the Game Boy is a conversion of the classic Bitmasters NES/SNES pool simulation, which some think is arguably the best video game pool sim ever made (myself included). It was first released by Mindscape in 1993.
Revs, BBC Micro
Geoff Crammond‘s racing simulator, Revs, is an absolute classic on the BBC Micro. It was the first ever racing game made for home computers that focused on realism, and it still plays amazingly well to this day. Revs was first published by Acornsoft in 1985.
The King of Grabs 