Tag Archives: Two-Player

Games that two people can play simultaneously.

Bubble Bobble, BBC Micro

This 1989 BBC Micro conversion of Taito‘s classic arcade game, Bubble Bobble, was never commercially released. Which is a shame because it is rather excellent.

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Caliber .50, Arcade

Caliber .50 is an obscure arcade shooter from SETA Corporation, first released in 1989.

It can be played single or simultaneous two-player and is arguably better than the legendary Ikari Warriors. Caliber .50 is like Commando on steroids…

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Klax, Arcade

It says “copyright 1989” on the title screen, but Klax actually made it into arcades in June 1990Klax is a real-time puzzle game – for one or two players – with falling tiles that you must catch, then drop, into a small trough at the bottom of the screen.

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Deathsmiles, Arcade

Deathsmiles is an infamous (and much-loved) 2007 shooter from Cave – a Japanese company known for its relatively innovative and leftfield output. Cave shooters are ‘Bullet Hell’ in overdrive…

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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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Bruce Lee, Atari 8-bit

Ron J. Fortier‘s and Kelly Day‘s classic Bruce Lee is part platform game, part beat ’em up.

In it you assume the role of Bruce, fighting his way through a number of simple puzzles. The basic aim is to collect the lanterns so that they open up new exits.

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International Karate, Atari 8-bit

International Karate was released in 1986 by System 3 Software.

It was written by Archer MacLean and was one of the first beat ’em ups – ever – to actually feel like a decent game to play and not a ridiculous slug-fest.

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Speed King 2, ZX Spectrum

A budget motorbike racing game, created by Derek Brewster in 1987 for Mastertronic.

Speed King 2 is the sequel to… well, nothing, because there’s isn’t a Speed King 1, as far as I can tell. Was there a prequel to this? If there was, I can’t find it… Maybe Brewster was trying to make a sequel to Full Throttle? Because Speed King 2 does look a bit like it. I dunno.

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Bonanza Bros., Megadrive/Genesis

Bonanza Bros. is a split-screen, two-player, side-scrolling action game that first appeared in arcades in 1990. A number of home conversions followed although none were better than this Sega Megadrive/Genesis version which was released in 1991.

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Ikari Warriors, Arcade

SNK‘s famous arcade shooter, Ikari Warriors, was released in 1986 at a time when many Commando clones were saturating the market, but managed to stand out against the competition.

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