Category: 4 out of 5

Categories
4 out of 5 Arcade Adventure C64 Maze

Cops & Robbers

Publisher: Atlantis

Designer: Mike Davis

Type: Shoot-em Up

Platform: Maze

Release Date: 1985

Rating: undefined

This is another one of those awesome games that I remember from back in the days of the commodore 64. In fact, this game was also available on the Vic 20, and there was pretty much no difference between the two. Actually, come to think of it, I believe that there was a cartridge version of the game, which sort of works because it means that the cartridge could actually beef up the computer’s memory, giving the developers more space to be able to play with.

Well, you are a robber, and your job is to basically steal diamonds while avoiding the police. First of all, you have a limited number of bullets so you really need to be careful when you fire willy nilly around the place. There are also a number of locations that you can visit, including the diamond mine and the diamond store (which also have multiple levels).

However, where this game shines is that it is more than just a simple maze game where you avoid nasties and collect diamonds – otherwise, it would just be Pacman with a different skin. No, there are problems that you need to solve, such as getting the combination for the safe, and that certainly is quite tricky. The other thing is that in the mine you have ghosts, and not surprisingly your gun is completely useless against the ghost.

I do remember playing this for hours, and yeah, it is a pretty tricky game, but not as tricky as some. As I suggested, it probably falls into the category of arcade adventure because it is more than just a simple arcade game. There a problems to be solved, as well as numerous rooms that you can explore. Also, as I mentioned, there are the cops, and if they grab you (ditto with the helicopter) you are sent off to prison. However, if the ghosts nab you, then it is off to the morgue. Yeah, this is pretty cool.

Anyway, this game does have an entry in Wikipedia, but that shouldn’t surprise anybody due to its popularity. Also, you can find further details about it on Lemon64.

Categories
4 out of 5 Platform SNES

Castlevania

Publisher: Konami

Designer: Hitoshi Akamatsu

Type: Platform

Platform: NES

Release Date: 1986

Rating: undefined

So, you happen to be this guy with a whip. Yes, a guy with a whip, but you can upgrade it if you find something to do so, namely turn it from a leather whip to a chain whip. Anyway, you happen to be this guy and you wander into a haunted castle of all places, and you have to use this whip to kill all the nasties in the castle, as well as collect other things to help you in your quest (whatever that happens to be).

This is basically a platform game, sort of, because you also get to kill the nasties with your whip, and if you are lucky enough, with some special items that you pick up. Now here is the catch, you can only use these items a certain number of times, and these times sort of corresponding with the number of hearts that you pick up on the way.

However, these items aren’t necessarily visible – they happen to be hidden, behind torches and candles. Now, this is where the other use for the whip comes in, and that is that you hit the torches (or candles) and these special items (or hearts) drop out which you can collect. Now, this was the other tricky part, and that is if you aren’t careful you might end up using all these special items before they are really needed, and that is when you meet the big baddie (otherwise known as the boss monster, in video game parlance of course) at the end of the level.

Yeah, the game was fun, and it certainly does sound like it was pretty popular. I found that the controls were a bit tricky though. It took me a while to work out how to use the special items, and then I’d discovered that because I was mashing the controls as I was moving through the castle, I would end up using all of them before they were needed. Still, I did rather like this game – it was fun.

Anyway, as with a lot of games (but not all), you can find further details on Wikipedia. Also, I have found a few reviews of this game as well, including this one on retrogames as well as a fan site for the game.\

Categories
4 out of 5 C64 RPG

Ultima 2

Publisher: Origin Systems/Sierra On-Line

Designer: Richard Garriott

Type: Roleplaying Game

Platform: Various

Release Date: 1982

Rating: undefined

This is one of those games that requires a lot of imagination to appreciate how great it actually is. Initially, when I was playing it (and ironically I got if off a truckie that happened to live just down the road from me) I would just keep on dying, but after years of perseverance, I actually managed to kill Minax, who happens to be hiding in the realm known only as the Realm of Legends (though I suspect that in later versions it would become Britannia).

So, you start off in the modern world, and it appears that these gates have appeared and monsters are all pouring out. Yes, you play the game on Earth, and there are these gates (which also appear in later games as well) that allow you to travel to different time periods. The date of the game shows us the feeling at the time as we end up at a point where the Earth has been destroyed by Nuclear War. However, you can also travel to the distant past, the ancient world, and of course the land of legends.

If that isn’t enough, you can also go to outer space where you visit each of the planets in our solar system (actually, you have to do that to complete the game, though you will need fuel for the rocket which, not surprisingly, lies at the bottom of the dungeons). Yeah, there are dungeons as well, and you can complete the game without actually going into any of them, but as I mentioned in a side remark, you may need to to get fuel for your rocket.

Honestly, while the game, and the gameplay, really isn’t all that great (it was made in 1982), the story behind it, and the concept, is actually pretty awesome. In fact, I don’t think I have found any other games with a similar storyline, though they are probably out there.

Well, not surprisingly, Wikipedia has an entry for this game, since it is pretty popular, and quite well known. You can also find details of this game on one of the Ultima Wikis. Oh, and Moby Games also has an entry, though it isn’t anywhere near as detailed. If you are looking for a walkthrough, you can find one here.

Categories
4 out of 5 Adventure Interactive Fiction

Mission Impossible

Publisher: Adventure International

Designer: Scott Adams

Type: Adventure

Platform: Various

Release Date: 1979

Rating: undefined

This is the third of Scott Adam’s adventures, and it is one that was based on the popular television show at the time, Mission Impossible. Sure, many of us probably associate this series with the more recent Tom Cruise movies (which I believe has spawned something like 6 so far) but back in the day it was actually a television show. You play Jim Phelps (Ethan Hawke was an addition for the movies since the movies were supposed to follow on from the series) and you find yourself in a nuclear power plant. Your job, if you chose to accept it (not that you have any choice because, well, you can’t leave the power plant) is to stop it from going into meltdown.

Well, this is the first of the games where you don’t have to collect treasures. Instead, you have to make your way around the plant and work out how to stop it from, well, blowing up. Okay, you don’t quite have a time limit, though I suspect adding such a limit wouldn’t have been all that hard. However, we must remember that this was one of the earlier games, so the developer (namely Scott Adams) was no doubt experimenting with the style. I guess the fact that he has moved on from simply having one travel around a land, solving problems, and collecting treasure, certainly does add a lot to this game.

It was one of the earlier games that I played, namely because the computer that we had was, well, somewhat limited in the software that was available. However, my Dad did end up collecting a lot of these games, namely because I liked them so much. It is hard, don’t get me wrong, and once you complete it, it really doesn’t have all that much replay value either. Sure, I might have not played it for ages, but I do suspect that if I were to fire it up again, then, well, I could probably complete it pretty quickly (and even then, the solution is online as well).

Anyway, this game is also known as Secret Mission, no doubt because the owners of the show weren’t too happy that Adams was stealing and using their property (no doubt to attract more customers). Mind you, these days companies go out of their way to merchandise products through software, but this was back in 1979.

There doesn’t appear to be a Wikipedia entry for this game, though there are solutions, including one for the TRS-80 (which also includes details on that version of the game), as well as a walkthrough in Ultimate Game Solutions.

Categories
4 out of 5 Adventure Interactive Fiction

Pirate Island

Publisher: Creative Computing Software/Adventure International

Designer: Scott Adams

Type: Adventure

Platform: Various

Release Date: 1979

Rating:

This is the second of Scott Adams’ adventures, and it is slightly different to the first one in that this time you aren’t just exploring a maze collecting treasure, and bringing them back to a single place. No, instead you have to go on a quest to actually find a pirate’s treasure horde and bring it back home. So, much of the game involves not just getting to the island but also building your own ship so that you can actually sail to this island.

I believe that this game is actually based on the story of Treasure Island, though I don’t actually believe you play any of the major characters, and you certainly don’t meet Peter in the game. Actually, the characters that you do meet don’t really have names either (that is if you actually meet any characters – it has been a while since I have played it, but I certainly have played it quite a lot). I actually found the game to be quite challenging in a way, but since it was pretty much one of the first games I ever got it was also one of the first games that I completed.

As I mentioned, the game itself is challenging, though I don’t believe that it is really all that hard. The problem is, of course, that once you manage to complete it you sort of know how to get to the end of the game, so replayability is really not something that is a factor. However, I do remember that this game was pretty much available for most of the platforms that I encountered. In fact, a friend even had a cartridge that you would plug into the back of his Vic-20.

Once again though, I decided to actually play through this game because, well, it isn’t that long. Yeah, it’s pretty fun, especially since you get to build a ship, though inventory is a bit of a problem because there is only so much you can carry (though, of course, that goes without saying, doesn’t it). The problems are pretty tricky, and it took me a while to work out what I need to hold to book to intone the magic word. However, you don’t need an intricate knowledge of treasure island to be able to finish it. It’s tricky, but fun.

Oh, and the graphical version is certainly better than the first game because the game shows the graphics and the text at the same time, and even shows the objects that have been dropped in the specific locations. However, the problem that does arise is that the location details pretty quickly disappear being the picture, which will result in you have to look multiple times. Still, at least you can play the game with the piccies without constantly swapping around.

Anyway, Wikipedia probably provides a much more objective view of the game, though I also discovered that the source code is also available (and on the internet as well). Oh, and if you want a walkthrough, there are a few on the internet, though I did find this one fairly quickly.

Categories
4 out of 5 Adventure Interactive Fiction

Adventureland

Publisher: Creative Computing Software

Designer: Scott Adams

Type: Adventure/Interactive Fiction

Platform: C64

Release Date: 1978

Rating: undefined

While this isn’t the first-ever adventure game (or should I call it an ‘Interactive Fiction’ which is what they seem to be called today) it certainly is up there with the originals. I should point out first of all that this is entirely text-based, though later iterations of this game did have graphics added to it, that doesn’t mean that you can simply sit down with your controller and play it as if you were playing Super Mario Bros.

No, this is a game where you enter commands into the parser, effectively telling the computer what you want to do. The parser is two words, namely action and verb, though sometimes it might as for some clarifications. A description of the room is given to you at the top of the screen, as well as any items that you might see there, which does give you a bit of a hint as to what can be done there.

It’s not really that hard, but then again I did complete it when I was something like nine years old, and it has been around for so long that you can easily find a solution of the internet. However, that doesn’t mean that you should actually use the solution because it sort of destroys the fun of trying to work out what to do, and to solve all the puzzles.

The concept is pretty simple though, you have to find all of the treasures, bring them back to one particular spot, and then type on Score. Once you have all the treasures there, then you basically win the game. Mind you, I generally bring each and every item back to this one spot as well, namely because it helps me know where things are. However, you don’t really need to do that as the treasures are pretty obvious when you come across them.

Well, I decided that I would replay it (after initially writing this review) namely because it is a rather short game, and I hadn’t played it for a while. One of the things that I noticed is that if you die, you go to limbo, where you can escape if you head in the right direction. Mind you, there are a few ways of dying, such as wandering into the meadow with some evil-smelling mud, which results in the dragon waking up and killing you. However, despite the fact that you can sort of escape death, that doesn’t mean you can’t get snookered, as there are things that you can do that will make the game impossible to complete.

Oh, and for the problems, well, they are generally okay, but there are a couple, such as the one involving Paul Bunyan, that sort of end up having you guess how to deal with it. Okay, knowing the story probably won’t help all that much, but while most of the problems can be solved (or have hints as to solving them), some of them require a bit of joining a couple of rather distant dots together. Also, considering problems, there is a graphical version on the C64 (the version I played), and you can tell that it is the first because you need to switch between the pictures, and the text, which is quite annoying mind you.

As I said, it isn’t really that easy, but the problems are solvable. The catch with this game is that you don’t necessarily know all of the commands that you can use, and this it sometimes takes some guesswork. However, for the first in a series, it still is pretty good, and it certainly does have a lot of historical value as well.

Anyway, you can find out more about this game on Wikipedia, and of course, if you want to play it, along with the many emulators and versions that exist, you can also play it online.

Categories
4 out of 5 Platform SNES

Donkey Kong Country

Publisher: Nintendo

Designer: Rare

Type: Platform

Platform: Super Nintendo

Release Date: 1994

Rating: undefined

This was certainly an interesting game, and a part of me suspects that it has something to do with the popularity of Super Mario Bros. The thing that that you might not realise that back in the deep dark days of computer history, Mario and Donkey Kong used to go head to head in an attempt to rescue Princess Daisy (whom Donkey Kong had kidnapped and taken to the top of a construction site). No doubt, this goes back to the grand old days of King Kong, hence the name, and hence the fact that Donkey Kong is a pretty big ape.

Well, this game takes us back to Donkey Kong’s home, and of course, there is no sign of Mario anywhere. However, what has happened is that Donkey Kong’s protege was tasked with guarding a cave full of bananas. Unfortunately, some nasties came along, tied up Diddy in a barrel, and scampered off with all the bananas. As such, it is now up to Donkey Kong, and Diddy, to get them all back.

So, the game pretty much plays like Super Mario Bros, though it does happen to be a little more detailed than the previous game. Then again, this is the SNES that we are talking about. You pretty much run, jump, and collect as many bananas as you can. You also have the benefit of having Diddy come along with you, and you can tag team with him. This also means that you get the benefit of having an extra life. Fortunately, if you do lose one of them, all you need to do is find a barrel with DK on it, and you can get them back.

The game has some interesting features, one of them being the ability to save, though to do that you have to get to a save point (though I haven’t managed to actually get that far). You can also find yourself getting some bonus rounds, such as when you collect three Emus, and thus you can then collect a heap of gold by playing the emu game (if it is an emu because this thing flies, and emus don’t).

One really cool aspect is that Donkey Kong happens to wear a tie, which was rather cute. Also, you can get power-ups, such as a rhinoceros which you can ride, and basically splatter as many enemies as you can possibly imagine while charging through the level.
Yeah, this game was pretty cool, though of course it does have the problem of getting somewhat harder as you progress through the levels, but still, I did like it.

Anyway, that’s enough from me for a change. If you want to know more, well, Wikipedia is probably the go to source for pretty much everything these days. Oh, and there is also a wiki page set aside for everything Mario Bros related, so you’ll find this game here as well.

Categories
4 out of 5 Shoot-em Up SNES

Super R-Type

Publisher: Nintendo

Designer: Irem

Type: Shoot-em Up

Platform: SNES

Release: 1991

Rating: undefined

How can I describe this game other than as one of your typical shootem-ups. Well, I guess you could call it a typical shoot-em-up.

However, it wasn’t too bad, though, like a lot of similar games, this one can sort of grab your attention and drag you into a quagmire of simply spending heaps of time trying to see how far you can get. Well, I didn’t get caught up in that quagmire, not that I didn’t want to, but rather that I ended up getting bored rather quickly. Also, I kept on dying, but then again, that is sort of what you should expect to happen in such games.

I ended up getting bored rather quickly. Also, I kept on dying, but then again, that is sort of what you should expect to happen in such games.
I’m not sure if there is a story behind the game, but I suspect there is, not that you really pay all that much attention to it. It seems that you are basically a fighter pilot who flies their spacecraft towards a multitude of enemies and then have to face off against the big bad guy at the end of each level. Since I didn’t really get past the first big bad guy (as I said, it is challenging), I can say whether this is one of those ‘infinite loop’ type of games, though a part of me suspects that it just well maybe.

One interesting thing though is that you do have a power-up button, where you can charge your weapon to be extra strong simply by holding it down. Actually, I should also mention that I didn’t realise that you have two guns – one normal gun, and one that you can power up – though since these guns are pretty much, how do you say it, similar, I’m not sure why you have two.

In the end, though, this game was rather fun, though you may want to try to avoid getting sucked into a quagmire.

Anyway, you can find more information about this game on Wikipedia, of course, but there are also some reviews of this game as well, such as this site.

Categories
4 out of 5 C64 Shoot-em Up

Attack of the Mutant Camels

Publisher: Llamasoft

Designer: Jeff Minter

Type: Shoot-em Up

Platform: C64

Rating:

This is one of the classic games of the Commodore 64 and I have to admit that it is absolutely awesome. Oh, and it is pretty hard as well, not impossible, just pretty hard. Basically, you are flying a space ship (and honestly, what else would you be flying in a shoot-em-up) and there are these massively gigantic camels heading towards you that shoot bombs out of their eyes. Oh, and occasionally they also fire smart bombs, which means that they home in on you.

You have energy levels, which does actually make it somewhat easier (otherwise it would be massively impossible because avoiding those bombs, and those smart-bombs, is a challenge in and of itself). You also have three lives, which really helps as well, but the problem is that first of all, these camels aren’t easy to kill – by no means. You simply have to bombard them with bullets, and as they get weaker they change colours until you finally kill one. Yet, there is more than just one.

The other catch is that these camels are moving slowly across the screen, and when they reach the edge of the screen it is basically ‘game over man, game over’. Yeah, when that happens, it does not matter how many lives you have left, your base has been destroyed and you might as well start over again.

This game is full-on fast-paced and is honestly one of those amazing games that I remember from my youth. Oh, it also has a two-player mode, though I don’t believe you attack them at the same time (which would have been much, much easier mind you). Yeah, this game rocks.

Oh, it also appears that this game has made it into the Smithsonian as a museum piece, at least according to the games Wikipedia article. Another thing I discovered from this same article is that you can find the source code for the game up on Github, which is also pretty awesome (though it was written in assembly). In fact, the popularity of the game has warranted it an article all of its own in the Old School Gamer Magazine. Oh, and in case I forget, you call also find out more about it on Lemon 64.

Categories
4 out of 5 Game Shoot-em Up

Time Pilot

Publisher: Konami

Designer: Yoshiki Okamoto

Type: Shoot-em Up

Platform: C64

Release: 1984

Rating: undefined

A lot of games that were converted from the arcade machine to the home computer really didn’t come out all that well, no doubt due to the limitations of the home computer. Well, it wasn’t the case with this game. Then again, the game is actually quite simple when considered. Basically, the story goes that you are from the future and a number of your comrades have been scattered throughout history and it is your job to travel back in time to rescue them.

The game itself starts during World War I where you guide your futuristic plane across the skies shooting down, and attempting to avoid, various planes from the time. You will also encounter people hanging from parachutes – these are the guys that you are attempting to rescue. There is a timer at the bottom that once the time runs out then a ‘mothership’ will appear that you have to shoot down to allow you to progress into the future.

Mind you, I’ve only made it as far as the Vietnam War (passing through World War I and World War II). That is probably because once you get to Vietnam you suddenly have helicopters that fire guided missiles, and I am sure if I put more effort into it I could probably defeat that level as well. There are two more levels after this one, though I have never been good enough to be able to get that far.

This is one of my favourite arcade games, though like a lot of these games I can’t necessarily claim that I am really any good. I guess I liked the idea of flying around World War I in a futuristic fighter shooting down bi-planes, though it isn’t like shooting fish in a barrel as it sounds, because it turns out that that the weapons on the biplanes are actually quite capable of shooting your plane down, which means it is probably a pretty good idea to avoid those bullets, and of course bashing through the planes doesn’t work all that well either.

You can find some hints and tips on Strategywiki, and of course, you can always go to Wikipedia for a more, unbiased, account of this game.

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