Tag Archives: Tribute

Kong Strikes Back, ZX Spectrum

Ocean Software‘s 1984 release for the ZX Spectrum, Kong Strikes Back, is an unashamed clone of Universal‘s Mr. Do’s Wild Ride, but with elements of Donkey Kong also thrown into the mix.

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Mr. Ee!, BBC Micro

When Mr. Ee! was released way back in 1984 the games industry was a bit like the Wild West – everybody cloned everyone else’s games and no one gave a sh*t. It wasn’t until later that official licenses and lawsuits for similarities became a thing.

Which is why Mr. Ee! is an almost perfect clone of the arcade game Mr. Do! and was marketed as such back in 1984. Because they could get away with it…

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Dark Chambers, Atari 8-bit

Dark Chambers is an overhead maze shooter in the style of Gauntlet. That said: it is actually a direct descendent of Dandy – another overhead maze game written by John Howard Palevich and also an influence on the design of Gauntlet.

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Con-Quest, ZX Spectrum

Con-Quest is a 1986 ZX Spectrum release from Mastertronic, created by the inimitable Derek Brewster.

In it you play a character called Oscar who has just inherited a large castle. The castle isn’t vacant though – it’s full of the evil minions of the demon Grell, who you must evict.

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Codename MAT, ZX Spectrum

Derek Brewster‘s Codename MAT (Mission: Alien Termination) is what I would call a ‘Star Trek’ game, with a liberal ‘borrowing’ of elements from Star Raiders. It was published in 1984 by Micromega.

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