Tag Archives: weird

Sinistar, Arcade

People forget how early Sinistar was – 1983. Which was a hell of a year for old arcade shooters!

Of the first colour arcade shooters, the class of 1983 were definitely second or third generation – in terms of ideas, patterns, movement, challenge, and sophistication. Graphically they were becoming a great improvement over early shoot ’em ups.

Sinistar is a good example of this. The graphics are much more detailed and colourful than the old arcade shooters of 1980/81.

Continue reading Sinistar, Arcade

Tempest, Arcade

Tempest, by Dave Theurer, is one of the first ever ‘tube shooters’. It was released by Atari in 1981.

You control a spider-like yellow craft that walks along the edge of a 3D playfield, often taking the form of a cylindrical tube. You shoot bullets down the tube at enemies that are rising upwards to get you. Thus the name ‘tube shooter’.

Continue reading Tempest, Arcade

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, PC

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was first released in 2011 by Polish developer CD Projekt Red.

It is the predecessor to the smash hit The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and also follows the exploits of Geralt of Rivia – a Witcher, or monster-hunter – on a series of open-world adventures.

Continue reading The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, PC

Ninja Golf, Atari 7800

A notch above “Monkey Tennis” in terms of great ideas, Ninja Golf was dreamt-up and released for the Atari 7800, way back in 1990.

Continue reading Ninja Golf, Atari 7800

Hercules, Commodore 64

Steve Bak‘s insane-but-fun platform game, Hercules, was first released on the Commodore 64 by Interdisc in 1984. By “insane” I mean: the game is deliberately deceptive to the point of driving the player to insanity! 🙂

Continue reading Hercules, Commodore 64

The Firemen, Super Nintendo

The Firemen is an original overhead action game with you controlling a small team of intrepid fire fighters while out on duty.

Continue reading The Firemen, Super Nintendo