Century Electronics UK‘s Hunchback is apparently NOT loosely based on the 1831 Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as many have speculated. But since it features Quasimodo running from left to right over a castle rampart, trying to rescue Esmeralda from a tower at the end, that is an easy assumption to make.
Tag Archives: Single-Player
Ninja Baseball Bat Man, Arcade
This excellent arcade fighting game from Irem was originated in Irem‘s North American office but programmed by Irem Japan and first came out in 1993. It apparently sold well in Japan, but didn’t do so well in the United States, so is considered quite rare in the West.
Out Run, Megadrive/Genesis
This 1991 Megadrive/Genesis conversion of the classic arcade race game, Out Run, was written by Sega’s AM2 development team – who made the original – and it is therefore very authentic and just as much fun as the arcade game.
Cyberun, ZX Spectrum
Released in 1986, Cyberun was arguably Ultimate Play the Game‘s most successful Spectrum game after the label’s sale to US Gold. The game received a Crash Smash in issue 28 of Crash magazine. Although it really shouldn’t have…
Nosferatu the Vampyre, Amstrad CPC
This Amstrad CPC conversion of the classic ZX Spectrum game definitely benefits from having better use of colour than the original. It also runs a little faster than the Speccy version, which makes it slightly more playable.
The Goonies, Commodore 64
Released the same year as Richard Donner‘s classic adventure comedy film of the same name, The Goonies by Datasoft is a multi-screen action adventure game for one or two players.
Nibbler, Arcade
Nibbler is a 1982 arcade game featuring a snake inside a maze, with the aim being: to eat all the items before the clock runs down, and to avoid running into his own trailing tail, which grows in length as you eat more items.
Nightbreed, ZX Spectrum
Nightbreed is a relatively obscure movie license from Ocean Software, based on the Clive Barker film of the same name (which was based on his 1988 book, Cabal). It was designed and programmed by Chris Kerry and Mark Rogers.
Chris Kerry you might remember from Jack and the Beanstalk and Monty Is Innocent infamy; Mark Rogers had programmed a number of games by this point, including Avenger and Run the Gauntlet.
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, MSX
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is a direct sequel to the original Metal Gear and was first released for the MSX2 by Konami in 1990. It was again written and designed by Hideo Koijima and is much better than the half-baked pseudo sequel, Snake’s Revenge, by Ultra Games on the NES.
Snake’s Revenge, NES
Snake’s Revenge is a sequel to Metal Gear that was developed specifically for the North American and European NES markets by Konami and Ultra Games. It first came out in North America in 1990, and in Europe in 1992. Why there was a two-year gap between those releases is anyone’s guess.
Hideo Koijima wasn’t involved in the making of Snake’s Revenge and it is considered ‘non-canonical’, but he did make Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the MSX in response to it. I’m guessing that he wasn’t particularly enamoured with the idea of another team working on his signature series, but ultimately he (rather diplomatically) says that Snake’s Revenge is “not a bad game“.
The King of Grabs 