Tag Archives: Single-Player

Ghostbusters, Commodore 64

David Crane‘s 1984 adaptation of the hit film Ghostsbusters was also a big hit on the video game scene too. It hit number one on the sales charts for most home systems and is still talked about to this day.

The Commodore 64 version was the first one released.

Continue reading Ghostbusters, Commodore 64 →

Fighting Hawk, Arcade

A relatively obscure Taito arcade game from 1989*, Fighting Hawk is a vertically-scrolling bullet hell shooter where you fly an A-10 ‘Tankbuster’ up the screen, fighting its way through waves of enemies and bosses.

Continue reading Fighting Hawk, Arcade →

Fantasy Zone, Arcade

Fantasy Zone is a colourful scrolling shooter from 1986. It was created by Sega and it looks simple and cartoony, but is in fact very challenging.

The main character, Opa-Opa, is sometimes referred to as “Sega‘s first mascot” and is very similar to the one seen in the earlier TwinBee. Both TwinBee and this game have been credited with the creation of the “cute ’em up” genre, and that is probably not too far from the truth.

Continue reading Fantasy Zone, Arcade →

Herzog, MSX

This obscure Japanese action game is a prototype of one of the first ever real-time strategy games – Herzog Zwei on the Sega Megadrive – and it is also one of the best games you can play on an MSX.

Herzog was developed and published on disk for the MSX2 by Techno Soft (nee, Tecno Soft) in 1988.

Continue reading Herzog, MSX →

Monty Is Innocent, ZX Spectrum

Monty Is Innocent is an ‘anomaly’ in the famous Monty Mole series of games, from Gremlin Graphics.

Monty Is Innocent wasn’t designed or programmed by Pete Harrap, the original creator of Monty Mole, but by Chris Kerry (who pitched the idea to publisher Gremlin after having a hit with his game Jack and the Beanstalk). Gremlin liked the idea enough to green light the game and eventually release it as Monty is Innocent in 1985.

Continue reading Monty Is Innocent, ZX Spectrum →

Giant’s Revenge, ZX Spectrum

Giant’s Revenge is the second sequel to Jack and the Beanstalk, which was created by Chris Kerry (with graphical assistance by his brother, Steve) and published by Thor Computer Software for the ZX Spectrum in 1984.

Continue reading Giant’s Revenge, ZX Spectrum →

The House Jack Built, ZX Spectrum

The House Jack Built is the sequel to Jack and the Beanstalk. It was released the same year as Jack and the Beanstalk – in 1984 – and is a marked improvement on its predecessor.

It was again created by Chris Kerry, helped by his brother, Steve, and published by Thor Computer Software, based in Liverpool.

Continue reading The House Jack Built, ZX Spectrum →

Jack and the Beanstalk, ZX Spectrum

Jack and the Beanstalk is a ZX Spectrum game published by Thor Computer Software in 1984. It was written by Chris Kerry, assisted by his brother, Steve.

Continue reading Jack and the Beanstalk, ZX Spectrum →

Cosmic Avenger, Arcade

Cosmic Avenger is a groundbreaking arcade shooter first released in 1981 by Universal. It was one of the first ever side-scrolling shoot ’em ups, and was released the same year as Konami‘s Scramble.

Continue reading Cosmic Avenger, Arcade →

Mario Kart 64, Nintendo 64

Mario Kart 64 is the successor to the brilliant Super Mario Kart on the SNES and the second game in the famous Mario Kart series. It was first published by Nintendo for the N64 console in 1996.

Continue reading Mario Kart 64, Nintendo 64 →