Tag: C64

Cops & Robbers

Publisher: Atlantis

Designer: Mike Davis

Type: Shoot-em Up

Platform: Maze

Release Date: 1985

Rating:

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.

Tags Arcade Adventure, C64, Maze, Retro Game

2 out of 5 Beatem Up C64

Express Raider

Publisher: Data East

Designer: Zoltán Kanizsai, Zoltan Czigler, Istvan Ratkai, Ferenc Frank

Type: Beat-em Up

Platform: C64

Release Date: 1986

Rating:

I’ve seen quite a few beatem-up games, though to be honest with you, pretty much all of them involve ninjas and the like, or street fighters, however in this one you happen to be a cowboy, and you are running along the top of the train beating up anybody who gets in your way. Furthermore, you also happen to have just robbed a bank, so it seems that you are trying to get away with as much money as possible (or simply just trying to get away because, well, I suspect the law of the West plays its role here and all that).

Okay, it is probably more than a beatem-up game because when I got to the second level it was more like a shooting gallery where you shoot people who are hiding in the train, while you are riding alongside on your horse. Mind you, I didn’t quite expect that horses would run as fast as trains, but then again this does happen to be a computer game, so I probably should give it a bit of leeway in that regards.

Look, it was okay, but like a lot of the games that I have been playing around with, I found that this one ended up getting particularly hard once I hit the second level – namely the shooting gallery and all that. The first level was pretty easy though, but I guess it had a lot more to do with trying to control your character, and also getting the shots to go where they are supposed to go. In the end though, while it was a nice game, it really isn’t worth spending all your time playing it, despite it being one of those games that the video game magazines back in the day would really hype about them.

Anyway, there doesn’t seem to actually be a Wikipedia page for the game, which sort of suggests that it really wasn’t all that groundbreaking, at least to be remembered. However, you can find an entry on Lemon64, which sort of does say something.

Tags Beatem Up, C64, Retro Game, Shoot-em Up

1 out of 5 C64 Platform

Finders Keepers

Publisher: Mastertronic

Designer: David Jones

Type: Platform

Platform: C64

Release Date: 1985

Rating:

This game was actually rather annoying. You basically play knight and are given a mission by the king to, well, do something, and the next thing you know you are in a dungeon full of nasties. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is not some role-playing game or anything, but rather a platform game, that in part also transforms into a maze game in sections.

Well, the story is that you have to go and get a present for the princess, and if you succeed, well, you can be admitted to the royal order of the knights of the polygon table. Yeah, it sounds pretty silly, and honestly, it really did seem to be pretty silly as far as I was concerned. Okay, it was pretty popular in its time, but that probably was because it happened to be an el-cheapo game. However, when I played it, well, I wasn’t all that impressed.

Apparently one of the ideas was that you had to manipulate objects (though I couldn’t figure out how to do that) and of course avoid nasties (which I also couldn’t figure out how to do either). You could also sell the items to collect gold, which no doubt you needed to do to be able to get that present for the princess.

Yeah, with all the other quality games out there, this one is definitely missable.

Though, if you really want to know more about it, well, you can always go to Wikipedia, or just jump over to Lemon 64, which seems to have the heads up on pretty much all of the Commodore 64 games.

Tags C64, Platform, Retro Game

5 out of 5 C64 Puzzle

Boulderdash

Publisher: First Star Software

Designer: Peter Liepa

Type: Puzzle

Platform: C64

Release: 1984

Rating:

I remember that this was a favourite game of my family back in the days, and honestly, it certainly has a unique quality about it. I would basically describe it as a puzzle game, namely because you are given a level and your job is to collect the correct number of diamonds (or more) without getting killed. Getting killed comes about through a number of ways, the major one being a boulder falling on top of you. However, you also have butterflies (which explode into diamonds when killed) or fireflies (which just explode), and while they initially seem to be something to avoid, it becomes pretty obvious, pretty quickly, that you need to use these things to complete the level.

Yeah, this game turned out to be pretty challenging, and of course the levels get progressively harder as you move through them. Not only that but you also have a time limit, which means you simply can’t really dawdle through these levels. Oh, and I should also mention that it can be pretty easy to ‘snooker’ yourself in this game, and one minor mistake can result in you not being able to complete the game.

Initially there were two games released, but then I remember another version appearing that was basically 16 games, which meant hundred of levels that would no doubt keep the most avid fan occupied for years. Of course, I’m not really one of those ‘most avid fans’ but in my mind the game is still pretty fun. Oh, I probably should also mention that this game was ripe for a construction set, which means that I shouldn’t have be all that surprised that so see so many levels appear afterwards in a collection that was no doubt put together by some keen programmer.

Oh, and I probably should also mention that it seems as if this game hasn’t died out over the years either, if the Wikipedia page, or the official website, is anything to go by. Then again, nothing beats the simplicity of the original. Oh, and if you are interested, there is a lot more information about the game on the C64-Wiki page as well.

Tags Arcade Classic, C64, Puzzle, Retro Game