1985: The Day After

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - December 1, 1985

It is the day after, big brother has been destroyed and the earth has to learn how to survive on its own. You have been assigned to find the energy your planet needs to survive. The old republic stored nuclear plasma on four neighbouring planets. It is your mission to visit the twelve alien landscapes to retrieve it. Utilising the intricate controls of your small spacecraft you leave the space station base to collect all the nuclear pods from each planet. If you are successful, you qualify to finally collect the fusion core from the last most difficult cavern.

1985: The Day After

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

The control of Big Brother (referring to George Orwell's novel 1984, hence the game's title) has been overthrown, and mankind is self-reliant again. The first task in achieving this is to find the required quantity of energy pods. Big Brother stored them on caverns under the surface of four planets, and it's your job to go and find them. You will have to negotiate through tight sections, using rotational controls where left and right changes the ship's direction and up and down change its speed. When you find a pod you must engage the ship's tractor beam to claim it.

3D Maze

Commodore VIC-20 - Released - 1984

In 3D Maze you're a 'spaceman' who, on a routine trip back from Mars while in orbit around Venus, is accidentally beamed down into a distant space maze somewhere in the alien terrain. All you have to survive is a space suit, oxygen tank (with a limited oxygen supply), a compass and a map of the maze. You must make it to the exit of the maze before your oxygen supply runs out! The game is a simple graphical 1st person maze game. Each move subtracts 1 from the total of your limited oxygen count.

3-D Pinball

Commodore 64 - 1990

A standard pinball table is featured in this simulation, but with the original addition of a tilted view of the table, giving an illusion of 3D. As with any table, the aim is to get a high score, and this is done by hitting particular targets repeatedly. There are bonus ramps, bumpers, lights to be hit to increase your bonus count (which can be toggled using the left and right flipper keys). There is no 'pin' between the flippers, and no apparent tilt feature, meaning that luck plays a bigger part than in most pinball games. The ball is always launched at a standard speed on each of your five...

Action Biker

Commodore 64 - Released - August 1, 1985

Action Biker is a game that uses the character Clumsy Colin from the British comic Buster, and he was also used as the mascot for the crisp range KP Skips. You take control of Colin on his motorbike and you must ride around an isometric 360 degree landscape to collect various clothing items and bike parts to enter a drag race. There are various obstacles to avoid and these include walls, fences, trees, telegraph poles, a petrol station and water and if you crash into any then you lose one of five lives. There are also raised platforms that can be negotiated but you are able to jump from them...

Adventures of St. Bernard

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1983

Adventures Of St. Bernard is a single player arcade style game. The player takes the role of a St Bernard rescue dog called Brandy and starts with a distress call being received. The player must guide Brandy across five levels during which he/she is attacked by wolves, walruses, skating penguins and snowmen. On some levels there is the added hazard of pools of freezing water. The game can be played entirely with the keyboard, there are only three controls Left, Right, and Jump. It also supports Protek & AGF interfaces.

Agent X II: The Mad Prof's Back!

Amstrad CPC - 1987

With Agent X having been a success in both critical and commercial terms, a sequel was inevitable. The Mad Professor's cunning plan this time is to infect everybody with acne, thus causing the economy to crumble (and not just the economy for Valentine's cards). As with the original, the game is split into distinct sections - as with the original these are each loaded one at a time. The first section is a horizontally-scrolling shoot 'em up, where Agent X flies freely and must collect powerful weapons to be able to get through. This is followed by some platform action, which involves...

Agent X II: The Mad Prof's Back!

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

With Agent X having been a success in both critical and commercial terms, a sequel was inevitable. The Mad Professor's cunning plan this time is to infect everybody with acne, thus causing the economy to crumble (and not just the economy for Valentine's cards). As with the original, the game is split into distinct sections - as with the original these are each loaded one at a time. The first section is a horizontally-scrolling shoot 'em up, where Agent X flies freely and must collect powerful weapons to be able to get through. This is followed by some platform action, which involves climbing a...

Alcatraz Harry

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1982

A unique blend of arcade strategy and adventure where the player must escape from the prison camp. In order to do so he must steal secret files and escape equipment, then negotiate a mine field, avoid the patrolling guards, use the escape tunnels, cut the wire fence and reach the car which you can steal to help you get to the escape compound where you can deposit the equipment you have accumulated and finally escape via a hole in the fence. Avoid the obvious and think carefully before you decide where to make your move.

Alien Kill

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1984

Aqua

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

This was on a free promotional cassette by Mastertronic in 1984. It came free with several magazines, as well as bundled free with a few other Mastertonic games as well. One side had a slideshow of other Mastertronic releases, and on the other side was Aqua. The game itself is an arcade collect 'em up which you can play 1-2 players (simultaneously against each other). You play a big-nosed character in a boat, and your goal is to collect a bunch of stuff while diving in the boat, and avoiding fish and other sea creatures. There is also an Air Supply meter, in which if you stay dove down in the...

Back to Reality

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1986

You control an astronaut who is wearing his spacesuit and jetpack. The object of this game is to get out of a maze inside a planet. The maze is comprised of different rooms, and, more often than not, each room has a monster that you need to avoid. When you come in contact with a monster, or use your jetpack, your fuel level decreases. When the fuel gauge is empty, you will lose one of your lives. Along the way, you will pass containers that store various chemicals, and you will be able to carry only one chemical at once, but you can switch the chemicals around. Some of the chemicals can be...

Bionic Granny

Commodore 64 - 1984

Bionic Granny is a top view single screen game where you play the role of a Bionic Granny who likes nothing better to do than wait outside a school at 4 o'clock and wait for the children. Once the children leave the school you have to move left or right on the bottom of the screen and hit them with your walking stick by touching the children as they pass you over various levels. There are three roads going down the screen where the children will walk but some move around the screen randomly. A Lollipop Lady moves around the screen and will throw lollipop sticks at you which need avoiding or...

Black Crystal

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

Darkness has descended on the kingdom of Beroth. The evil Tobias has summoned the Black Crystal in an attempt to get revenge on the Brotherhood of Wizards for refusing him entrance. With the Black Crystal in his grasp, he is able to bring down the kingdom. It is up to the player to venture through the many realms of the kingdom and recover the seven Rings of Creation, so that they can banish Tobias and his minions and destroy the Black Crystal. To do this, the player needs to get through six maps. The first map, the player must find some rings so that they can enter the castles on that map....

Blastaball

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1988

A good, if challenging, conversion of the Arcadia game. The graphics are of a high standard - everything is suitably metallic and hi-tech but the front-end presentation is weak with no theme tune or loading screen. Craft control takes a little getting used to due to the high level of Inertia - it's much more apparent on this version than on the others - but practice makes perfect. Blastaball should keep most Amiga owners happy for a while, though interest could soon be lost due to its simplistic concept; the game doesn't change much, it just gets harder.

BMX Racers

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

You are riding your BMX along a road that can't be stopped and must avoid all obstacles for as long as possible. The game is viewed from above with the screen scrolling continuously upwards and you can use a joystick or keyboard to control the bike. Various obstacles appear as you ride and these include moving cars, other bike riders, oil patches and a granny who throws her stick at you. If you touch any of these obstacles then you lose one of three lives. There are no levels and you keep riding until you lose all your lives. There was actually two versions of this game, the original release...

BMX Trials

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

BMX Trials is a one or two player game in which the player competes in six cycling challenges. The challenges are a 200m race, pulling the longest wheelie, a ramp jump, a slalom course, 'bunny hopping' over bars, and jumping over a VW Beetle. The game uses a joystick to steer and the space bar or 'Fire' button to build up speed. The player(s) must complete one challenge before they are allowed to progress to the next.

Bomb Fusion

Commodore 64 - Released - 1989

Terrorists have planted bombs all over the Sellerscale Nuclear Processing Plant and will destroy the Northern Hemisphere if they aren't defused. You play the hero selected for this dangerous mission in this single screen platform game spread over various levels. On each level is a various amount of bombs and when one is nine seconds from exploding then you have to reach it and touch it to reset it before it explodes. If it explodes it will increase a radiation meter on the left of the screen and when it is full you lose one of three lives. As you defuse the bombs, fuel capsules are sprayed out...

Bomb Fusion

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1989

Terrorists have planted bombs all over the Sellerscale Nuclear Processing Plant and will destroy the Northern Hemisphere if they aren't defused. You play the hero selected for this dangerous mission in this single screen platform game spread over various levels. On each level is a various amount of bombs and when one is nine seconds from exploding then you have to reach it and touch it to reset it before it explodes. If it explodes it will increase a radiation meter on the left of the screen and when it is full you lose one of three lives. As you defuse the bombs, fuel capsules are sprayed...

Bosconian 87

Commodore 64 - 1987

This older arcade game got a budget-priced home conversion. Fighting it out above the earth for a newly-reunited people, you must shoot out the alien craft to depend your people. The game is a top-down shoot 'em up, with aliens to kill and rocks to destroy. Each wave has several Space Stations, and destroying these is the ultimate goal. A scanner helps you find these. The ship can be brought to a stop, or flown in any of the four main directions. You must watch the fuel gauge, but extra fuel and improved weapons can be collected. There is a mothership which can be docked with for shielding.

Bosconian '87

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1987

This older arcade game got a budget-priced home conversion. Fighting it out above the earth for a newly-reunited people, you must shoot out the alien craft to depend your people. The game is a top-down shoot 'em up, with aliens to kill and rocks to destroy. Each wave has several Space Stations, and destroying these is the ultimate goal. A scanner helps you find these. The ship can be brought to a stop, or flown in any of the four main directions. You must watch the fuel gauge, but extra fuel and improved weapons can be collected. There is a mothership which can be docked with for shielding.

Bouncer

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

Our hero, HOPPY, is out to score points by collecting keys as he jumps over aliens and obstacles traveling upward floor by floor to reach the exit. If you make it, you are on to level two with faster action and higher scores.

Bullet

Commodore VIC-20 - Released - 1984

In Bullet the player takes the role of a bank robber who has the chance to rob four banks. The game consists of two parts. The first part is a clone of Head On. The player races his car through a maze consisting of three lanes and has to pick up all the coins that are scattered around. In the opposite direction comes a police car that the player has to avoid crashing into. Once all coins have been collected he gets the chance to rob the bank. This is the second part of the game and is most reminiscent of a snake game. The banks appear on the screen one at a time and the player has to drive...

Cage Match

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

Cage Match is a single screen one to two player wrestling game where the ring is viewed from an elevated angle set in space as you attempt to beat five other fighters from across the universe. At the start of the game you can select your fighter as well as your opponent and the idea is to climb to the top of the cage that surrounds the ring. You have various moves that are controlled by joystick combinations and as well as kick and punch you can headbutt and throw your opponent. You are able to climb the cage at any time but if your opponent is still able to fight then he can shake the cage to...

California Pro Golf

Commodore 64 - 1989

California Pro Golf is a golf game featuring two courses with 18 holes each. The hitting mechanics are similar to Leader Board. It is important to figure in the wind and to use the correct club which can be chosen out of 14. When hitting, the game is played in a 3D third-person perspective, but there is also an overhead map which can be used to get an overview of the course.

Candidate

Commodore 64 - 1984

A computerized board game for 1-4 players. The aim of the game is to lead the party of your choice and win the Presidential nomination. You tour the 52 states buying votes when you can (just like the real thing).

The Captive

Commodore 64 - 1985

In The Captive, the player is trapped in the Glen of Colored Corpses and must escape. Players starts in the town located on an island, and they are free to travel around the island. Locked doors are scattered around the island, and correct, color-coded keys, also scattered around the island, are required to unlock them. Also, one of the “Messengers of Doom” will appear, move around, and then disappear. If the player touches one of them, then the game ends. Many items and scrolls are scattered around the island, and only three of these objects can be carried at the one time. Some of the items...

Chase

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1989

In Chase the player takes the role of a hero who has to save the abducted princess Chardonnay. To do so, the hero mans a space ship and has to solve four levels with slightly different gameplay mechanics: - Navigating through an asteroid field and shooting five enemy ships which appear from time to time - The ship moves at linear speed and the player has to steer left and right to fly through a number of gates - Flying through a tunnel while touching all checkpoints - Flying through another tunnel while dodging obstacles and killing enemy ships When all levels are solved, the game...

Chiller

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

Whilst trying to reach the haunted mansion in which your kidnapped lady is held, your car runs out of fuel. As a result, you must progress on foot to reach her. The areas you must travel through include the forest, cinema, a ghetto and the graveyard. All are filled with ghouls, zombies, ghosts or bats, all ready to drain your energy. To complete each screen you must collect the five blue crosses. Once you reach the mansion and find her, you must escort your girlfriend back through the same territories, switching between characters to collect the blue (him) and red (her) crosses as quickly as...

Chronos: A Tapestry of Time

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released

This shoot 'em up resembles many others, but was released at budget price. You're in control of space craft Chronos, which must get way out of the Mystical Dimension it has been trapped in. This means zapping through six constantly-scrolling and diverse levels of minions including balls, ships and spinning dice. The level designs are such that many sections of barriers and force fields need to be shot before you get to them. Lots of immovable blockades and blind tunnels are in place, so the route is extremely mazy. Bonus tokens can be picked up in a sequence which grows in value progressively,...

City Fighter

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

In City Fighter, a simple crosshair-shoot-em-up, you have to protect the city of London against an alien invasion. The alien attackers are on their way to destroy your underground nuclear reactor. To avoid this, you have to steer a powerful cannon from right to left, trying to blast away waves of attackers. The attackers will drop bombs on you. In each wave an alien starship mounted with an aggressive missile waits for you. Avoid the bombs and missiles and don't let the attackers reach the ground of the city. Once they reach the ground they will destroy your underground reactor: Your game will...

Colony

Commodore 64 - 1987

Mankind has established a distant colony, but the area is infested with ants, ladybirds and other parasites, all ready to cut through the perimeter fencing and eat your people's food. As a service droid it is your job to prevent this, and maximise the output. Achieving this involves a lot of planning and resource management. There are several buildings at your disposal, containing seeds, solar panels, weaponry, fencing and traps. You must plant the seeds, use the solar panels to maximise their growth, and then harvest the finished product so as to trade it. You can carry a gun to take care of...

Crazy Cavey

Commodore VIC-20 - Released - 1985

Game description: Crazy Cavey is single-screen platform game, where you play as a caveman collecting keys and avoiding all kinds of ghosts and monsters. The goal is to get to the exit after having successfully collected all keys. Beware of green platforms, that will vanish when you stand on them and platforms with "glue" written on it, as you will get stuck for a few seconds on them.

The Curse of Sherwood

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1987

Sherwood Forest has been taken over by the evil and ruthless Cult of Sagalia. Robin and his men fight on bravely, but the odds are stacked against them. You, as Friar Tuck are their only chance of survival. Solve the clues hidden in the rhyme and destroy the evil force. Robin Hood and his merry men are confronted with their biggest challenge to date! The evil Cult of Sagalia has taken control of Sherwood Forest instilling fear into the hearts of the forest dwellers. They are relying on you as Friar Tuck, Robin and the rest of the band to rid the forest of this evil force and then get back...

Dark Star

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

You are a skyeagle of the jupiton fleet on a suicide mission to destroy the Dark Star one and for all. The Dark Star, a space ship the size of a planet, spread terror and death throughout the galaxies. Its only weak spot is the central thermo nuclear core. You must reach this and with accurate aim explode it with your neutron booster rockets. Many skyeagles have tried and died in the attemps. You plan is to fly low to avoid the Dark Star's deadly energy shield; this means your reactions have to be ultra quick to dodge the numerous projections in your flight path. The enemy's protector...

Destructo

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

You are leading a mission to destroy Dr. Destructo's array of ships, and ultimately his island hideout, over 21 levels. You do this by flying a plane over a limited area, and shooting his planes so that they fall and inflict damage on the target item, which is large at the bottom of the screen. Multiple shots on a particular spot will ultimately cause a water-spout; three waterspouts and the ship (or island) will sink. Some enemy beings can be shot down, but others are indestructible and require evasive action. You are also armed with a bomb, which can be used to inflict precise damage once...

Devil's Crown

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1985

Legend has it that a group of sailors uncovered a buried treasure consisting of seven gems, and split it with the intention of running off, before being struck by a mysterious force which sinks the ship and kills them all. This leaves a wreck underwater, with 7 gems to retrieve, replace in a golden crown, and bring back to shore. Before each of the jewels can be revealed, you must find ways to convert various flashing objects into their real physical forms. After revealing the flashing gems you must do the same to those. The ship is made up of 40 screens, each with nasties to avoid,...

Doodle Bug

Commodore VIC-20 - Released - 1985

Doodle Bug is a clone of the arcade game, Lady Bug, itself a close relative of the original Pac-Man. Just like the yellow pill-eater, you guide your sprite around a maze populated by nasties, and can only escape once you've eaten all the pills in the maze. You can choose how many monsters shall be at the first level and from then on every level will get one additional monster. There are no power pellets, instead you have to use wits to avoid the monsters. You can also use gates which you can turn around.

Excaliba

Commodore 64 - 1985

Excaliba (Cavelon II) is the sequel to Cavelon, and once again you must collect the door pieces to go to the next dungeon, and time is against you. When you have collected all the door pieces, you proceed to the next dungeon. This time though, other knights are not just your enemies. The Black Wizard will appear and release hazards such as birds and archers onto you. You can use ladders to get to other platforms. Also, you can jump over hazards, but not shoot them. If you're lucky, getting the Excalibur floating around will allow you to ride an unicorn, allowing you to easily avoid obstacles....

Feud

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1987

Wizards Learic and Leanoric have a long-standing feud, and would do anything to see off their rival. As Learic, this is your task. Collecting herbs to cast spells is the main basis of the game. There are 24 herbs and flowers to be collected, which are used to make one of 12 spells (the herbs are only used for 1 spell, so there’s no need to decide which spell you’d prefer to have access to). You can use a combination of the spells (including a teleporter, invisibility and a fireball, which you must work our how to use). Leanoric’s direction relative to yourself is indicated by a compass.

Finders Keepers

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1985

Finders Keepers is a computer game written by David Jones and the first game in the Magic Knight series. It was published on the Mastertronic label for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore 64 and Commodore 16 in 1985. It was published in the United Kingdom at the budget price of £1.99. On the ZX Spectrum it sold more than 117,000 copies and across all 8-bit formats more than 330,000 copies, making it Mastertronic's second best-selling original game after BMX Racers. Magic Knight has been sent to the Castle of Spriteland by the King of Ibsisima in order to find a special present...

Formula 1 Simulator

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

In this simulation you can race ten international circuits (only one for the C16), including traditional favourites such as Monza, Monaco and Silverstone plus no-longer-used circuits like Zandvoort and the Österreichring. This can be done in wet or dry, and with manual or automatic gears. Expect to have to drive realistically in terms of braking points and acceleration levels to set a quality lap. The Spectrum version includes a 'steering wheel' control option, using a small disc along the top of the keyboard, using the keys for progressive steering intensity.

Frenesis

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

Frenesis is a 40 level game where you have to protect a cross in the middle of the screen stretching to the edges of the screen from waves of aliens. To destroy the aliens as they move towards the cross from all angles, you have a Statron which is a line stretching to the edges of the screen, made up of arrows that can either move vertically or horizontally along the screen. When you move the Statron the arrows point in the direction of travel and if the end of the arrows hit an alien moving in the opposite direction then it is destroyed. You have a set quota of aliens to destroy within a time...

Gaplus

Commodore 64 - 1988

Gaplus is a sequel to Galaga and has similar gameplay. The player controls a spaceship, that can now move vertically (limited to halfway up the screen) as well as horizontally, and shoots at swarms of incoming insect-like aliens which fly in formation above it and swoop down to bomb it in a kamikaze-like dive. In this sequel, the level starts over if the player is killed before all the enemies have come in. When all enemies are destroyed, the player moves on to the next level. By obtaining certain power-ups, it is possible to shoot 60 bullets per screen, the most any Galaga related game has.

Ghetto Blaster

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

Ghetto Blaster / Street Beat is an adventure in the land of good groove. You basically have a ghettoblaster, and you go around the streets of London and you get them to dance to the music. Once you have made the required amount dancing, you take the tape into a record company. Watch out for the policemen, the tone deaf walker, the gangster of groove and the psycho killer because they can make you start over, or kill you. This game is inspired by an unknown rasta and his ghettoblaster at Battersea Park in London, England.

Hektik

Commodore VIC-20 - Released - 1984

In Hektik, the object is to destroy all the monsters on screen that chase the player around the level, based on the arcade game Space Panic. This can be done by digging holes in the walkway of enemies on screen, then wait for a monster to fall into it, then fill up the hole. This makes the trapped monster fall down to the next level and be killed. There are two types of monsters. Hunters are red monsters who can fall down only one level and get killed. Chasers are green monsters that require falling down multiple levels before getting killed. The player's oxygen depletes as they progress...

Hektik

Commodore 64 - 1984

In Hektik, the object is to destroy all the monsters on screen that chase the player around the level, based on the arcade game Space Panic. This can be done by digging holes in the walkway of enemies on screen, then wait for a monster to fall into it, then fill up the hole. This makes the trapped monster fall down to the next level and be killed. There are two types of monsters. Hunters are red monsters who can fall down only one level and get killed. Chasers are green monsters that require falling down multiple levels before getting killed. The player's oxygen depletes as they progress...

Henry's House

Atari 800 - 1987

In this platformer, the player has to guide Henry through the numerous rooms of his house. Each room is a screen-sized level filled with deadly household-items such as toothbrushes, teapots, flying toast or coffee machines. Touching one of these objects or falling from too high kills Henry. The goal of each room is to reach the exit, however, before the exit opens up, Henry has to collect a key and all items that are spread throughout the level. In order for a key to appear, Henry usually has to collect a special item that sometimes adds more obstacles to a room.

Hollywood or Bust

Commodore 64 - 1986

You are an actor called Buster Baloney in the early days of cinema and you are to search a studio for five missing Oscars while being filmed. The studio is is viewed from the side with a small part shown on the screen with the screen scrolling when you move. You must search various floors of the studio connected by ladders as you enter doors to film sets. Patrolling the studio are security guards which can be avoided or shot with custard pies, or ghosts which need avoiding but will only attack behind you so you can stand against walls. If you do get touched by a guard or ghost then it is game...

Hopto

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

Hopto is a flick-screen platformer based on the arcade game Bongo where you play the role of an explorer who has to get from the left of a huge cavern to the right over 27 screens. As you go across each screen, after a short time, a T-Rex appears on the left of the screen and moves after you but does disappear if you make it across the screen. There are various obstacles and creatures that appear on the screen and these need avoiding or you lose one of three lives, and they consist of lava, falling rocks and birds. Treasure is collected on every screen as well and if you get six in a row...

The Human Race

Commodore 64 - 1985

The Human Race is a single player game with different game styles on each level. The aim of the game is to achieve a high score. This is done by jumping around the screen and collecting objects. Each single screen level is set at a different point in man's evolution and sees the character start as an ape and evolve into a caveman and beyond as the player progresses through the game. Each level is a different kind of mini-game. For example the first level is a platform style game where the player leaps through the jungle eating bananas and avoiding nasty creatures such as dinosaurs, while...

Hunter Patrol

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

You're the pilot of a WW2 airplane, attacking enemy ground installations and avoiding enemy planes and flak. Once you've destroyed enough targets, you can get to your main target and shorten the war.

Hyperbowl

Commodore 64 - 1986

Hyperbowl is a one-on-one futuristic sport viewed from above, with a small amount of the rectangular pitch visible at a time. Each player controls one of the 10 available spaceships, each with their own subtle strengths and weaknesses in terms of speed, inertia and fire direction. A scanner shows the positions of both ships and the ball, so that things don't become disorientating. The aim is to guide the ball either into a 'goal' in the middle of each end (scoring 2 points) or onto the goal-line elsewhere (scoring one point). The ball can be steered either by hitting it with the ship or by...

Hyperbowl

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1986

Hyperbowl is a one-on-one futuristic sport viewed from above, with a small amount of the rectangular pitch visible at a time. Each player controls one of the 10 available spaceships, each with their own subtle strengths and weaknesses in terms of speed, inertia and fire direction. A scanner shows the positions of both ships and the ball, so that things don't become disorientating. The aim is to guide the ball either into a 'goal' in the middle of each end (scoring 2 points) or onto the goal-line elsewhere (scoring one point). The ball can be steered either by hitting it with the ship or by...

Hyperforce

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

The player represents a space pilot whose STATRON system is heavily damaged by opposition fire. A single mission remains before you can head for home. The aim of the game is to pass through a series of chambers collecting the pods which will appear at random around the screen. However, as you attempt to do this the chamber walls will advance upon you, absorbing the pods as they move.You can shoot at the walls to force them to retreat but as they move back will erase the pods behind them. It is possible to drag back some of the walls, but once again the pods will disappear as the walls are...

The Incredible Shrinking Fireman

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1985

Sid the Fireman's life is ruined when he falls into a shrinking machine, whilst dealing with a fire at a shrinking factory. To return to his full glory, he must find five parts of a stretching machine. The end result is a side-view arcade adventure, in which obstacles must be used to clear paths to obtain all five parts. Many screens have multiple exits, which are not always obvious. Ghosts and ghouls on fixed patterns must be avoided.

Invasion

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

Strategy games with a real-time movement element didn't begin with Dune 2, and this was one early implementation of the concept. Your army has landed on an alien planet and has the intention of destroying their weather control station, and ideally as many of their units as possible. The action is viewed from above, and you use a cursor to direct units, and automatically target and attack enemy units. Once you blow up the weather control tower, by exploding at least 2 bombs next to it, you must flee the planet ASAP. Protecting all your units is important and requires a tactical overview...

Invasion II

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

Jackpot

Commodore VIC-20 - Released - 1983

Vegas Jackpot is a simulation of the gambling fruit machine. The player tosses the coin in the slot of the video machine and starts to spin the reels, waiting for the winning combination to appear for a single-pay line. To increase the chances, it is possible to hold certain reels or to nudge them for a certain number of times when it is allowed. The goal of the game is to win jackpots. The amount of reels in the video machine is equal to three for ZX Spectrum, BBC / Electron and Dragon 32/64 versions, and to four for other versions.

Jason's Gem

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1985

Your mission here is to guide Jason through 15 screens in order to claim a legendary gem for himself. First you must guide the spaceship down the screen onto a teleport platform. Next you venture downwards through the caves, shooting out gaps where necessary. The latter 2/3 of your journey are accomplished on foot. Only then can you change the course of history, and erase the by-the-numbers poetry featured in the inlay.

Jungle Story

Commodore 64 - 1984

Jungle Story is a side view horizontal scrolling game where you move Mowgli around the bottom half of the screen, avoiding animals and spears over various levels while the screen scrolls constantly from left to right. The spears appear from the left of the screen while the animals which are elephants and snakes appear from the right and they have to be avoided or you lose one of three lives. Moneys also make an appearance in the trees above and drop coconuts and these also need avoiding. To move off a level you have to kill five tigers that run across the screen very fast by throwing pots of...

Kikstart 2

Commodore 64 - 1987

Based around the Kikstart TV show, the game allows you to recreate all those death-defying stunts in the comparative safety of your home. Viewed from the side, there are many hazards to avoid along the way. Some of these include steps to jump over, tyres and hedges to plough through at maximum speed, and mud which will slow you down. 24 courses are built in, and you can choose a set of 5 of these to race at a time, or let the computer choose them at random. More importantly, a course designer allowing you to create one of your own is included, with full control of the placement of the many...

Kikstart: Off-Road Simulator

Commodore Plus 4 - Released - 1986

This motorcycling stunt game is complete with simultaneous split screen two player action (C16 version has one player only). You also have the option to test your skills in a one player game against the clock. The object of the game is to guide your rider as quickly and carefully as possible through three out of the eight courses you get to choose from before each race. The C16 version has 16 courses that have to be done in order with five lives. Every course has its own level of difficulty and a unique layout of trees, car's, bus's and pools of water for you to avoid by jumping your bike...

Kikstart: Off-Road Simulator

Commodore 64 - Released - January 1, 1985

This motorcycling stunt game is complete with simultaneous split screen two player action. You also have the option to test your skills in a one player game against the clock. The object of the game is to guide your rider as quickly and carefully as possible through three out of the eight courses you get to choose from before each race. Every course has its own level of difficulty and a unique layout of trees, car's, bus's and pools of water for you to avoid by jumping your bike over. You can use your joystick or keyboard to accelerate, decelerate, wheelie and jump your bike from start to...

King Tut

Commodore VIC-20 - Released - 1985

In King Tut the player takes the role of Archie, a lion-hearted explorer who has entered the tomb of Tutankhamun, the Egyptian pharaoh. In his quest for gold and glory he has to traverse the maze like corridors of the tomb until he finds the famed golden death mask. The game is played from a side view. At the start the player has a good view of his surroundings and can locate the position of the mask. However, the player's lamp is not reliable and will go out after a short time. The tomb will then become shrouded in darkness and the player will only be able to see what he is next to. So...

Knight Tyme

Commodore 64 - 1986

After rescuing the wizard Gimbal, the Magic Knight finds himself transported into the 25th century aboard the peaceful trade starship USS Pisces. He must find a way back to his own time. Knight Tyme is the third game of the Magic Knight series. As in Spellbound, the previous game, the player interacts with the environment through the "Windimation" system: pressing a button brings up a window with a list of commands (pick up/drop/take/give an object, examine, command a character, read something, cast a spell and wear / unwear object). The player can scroll through these with the movement keys,...

Knuckle Busters

Commodore 64 - Released - 1986

By 2133, crime is so out-of-control that a more advanced solution than prison is required - offenders have their minds and bodies reprogrammed to turn them into constructive and subservient citizens. As one of the few to refuse such treatment, you escape, and must find your way to freedom, through the six areas of the city, and ultimately through the city walls. You have a limited amount of time to finally escape from the city, as it is set to self-destruct. Enemies to take on with your punches and kicks include the guards and five other Re-Formed people. You must find enough food and water...

Kobyashi Naru

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

Split into knowledge, wisdom and understanding sections, the Kobyashi Naru trial must be completed in order to gain immortal status. Collect the required objects from each one in this adventure game. The game offers pictures of each location and significant objects, and a textual description of each location, but beyond this the game system is atypical of 1980s adventures, especially those originating on cassette. A set of icons is displayed in the top half of the screen, which are selected to activate movement, item manipulation, analysing the scene (by selecting specific words of text), and...

Kobyashi Naru

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1987

KOBYASHI NARU: The final trial for those who would be one with the immortals. You stand in a closed chamber on the world of Ygor, a candidate to the Order. Sent here by the Overlord of All, you must complete the Naru in all its phases. Success will bring you the knowledge and power of those who have transcended the need for life itself. Failure results in extinction. Ahead of you there are three doors and behind you only a closed portal, off the planet. It will not open again until you have completed the three tasks of Kobyashi Naru and obtained the required objects from each. To help...

Las Vegas Video Poker

MS-DOS - Released - 1987

With 20 coins in your hand, you approach the electronic poker machine confidently, with the aim of making a killing. There are several winning hands, with a Royal Flush paying out at 250-1, a Royal Flush at 50-1 and Four of a Kind at 20-1. Smaller winnings can be scored with multiple pairs or pairs of 'face cards'. There are five skill levels, and four different values of money to play with. After the initial draw you can choose which cards to hold in the hope of getting the best possible combination together. There is no opponent to play, and thus no bluffing involved.

The Last V8

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

Seven years have passed since world war III, and only now dare you leave your shelter in order to investigate what has become of the surface world. You drive out in your specially-equipped vehicle, the Last V8, only to discover that the outside world is more hostile than you would have expected. Your task is now (as commended by a digitised voice at the beginning of each level) simply to get back to the base in as short time as possible. The Last V8 is an over-head driving game where you must drive through narrow roads without crashing into anything, and with a strict deadline for your arrival...

Los Angeles Swat

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1986

The streets of Los Angeles are not safe. Lately, the kids are sick and tired of parents ordering them about and telling them what to do, so they decide to go out on the streets and threaten to club every policeman who gets in their way, making the streets not safe for the public, not even for little old ladies who decide to take a walk on a sunny day. The bad news is: you're a police officer patrolling the streets, and you have two other police officers at your side. Your job is to shoot the little troublemakers that approach you. These troublemakers are harmless at a distance, but they are...

Los Angeles SWAT

Commodore 64 - Released - 1986

The streets of Los Angeles are not safe. Lately, the kids are sick and tired of parents ordering them about and telling them what to do, so they decide to go out on the streets and threaten to club every policeman who gets in their way, making the streets not safe for the public, not even for little old ladies who decide to take a walk on a sunny day. The bad news is: you're a police officer patrolling the streets, and you have two other police officers at your side. Your job is to shoot the little troublemakers that approach you. These troublemakers are harmless at a distance, but they are...

Majik

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

King Markham lies in his deathbed. Before he passes away, he holds on to the desperate hope that he will be united with his only son and heir, Prince Gideon, before he passes away. However, it is rumored that Gideon is being held captive in the evil clutches of Domir – for only Gideon himself can unite the Clans of the Reaches and prevent Dolmir's intended domination. Piradon, a great magician, has the task of rescuing Gideon, but accomplishing this task will be most difficult as his magical powers are limited in the lands he is about to journey. Majik is a first-person adventure where...

Master Chess

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1987

The ancient game of chess is recreated here, with all the traditional rules and game concepts. The game is in 2D, as the programmers felt this was the most effective use of available memory. Controls involve moving a pointer over the square to move a piece from, pressing space, then moving to the destination square and pressing space again. You can set the amount of time players (human and computer) have to plan moves, although an over-ride option to force a move instantly also exists. You can save and reload games, and at any point can move pieces either from current settings or from scratch,...

Master Chess

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

The ancient game of chess is recreated here, with all the traditional rules and game concepts. The game is in 2D, as the programmers felt this was the most effective use of available memory. Controls involve moving a pointer over the square to move a piece from, pressing space, then moving to the destination square and pressing space again. You can set the amount of time players (human and computer) have to plan moves, although an over-ride option to force a move instantly also exists. You can save and reload games, and at any point can move pieces either from current settings or from scratch,...

More Adventures of Big Mac: The Mad Maintenance Man

Commodore Plus 4 - Released - 1986

Mac must neutralize 18 single-screen vaults in this early platformer. He can climb ladders and safely fall any distance, as long as he lands on smooth ground. The puzzle aspect of the gameplay involves switches, which can remove walls, create floors and freeze obstacles. They must be pushed in the right order to allow access to parts of the room which contain other switches. A lack of air creates a time limit, with bonus points awarded for however much air is left when the screen is completed.

More Adventures of Big Mac: The Mad Maintenance Man

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

Mac must neutralise 18 single-screen vaults in this early platformer. He can climb ladders and safely fall any distance, as long as he lands on smooth ground. The puzzle aspect of the gameplay involves switches, which can remove walls, create floors and freeze obstacles. They must be pushed in the right order to allow access to parts of the room which contain other switches. A lack of air creates a time limit, with bonus points awarded for however much air is left when the screen is completed.

Motorbike Madness

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

Motorbike Madness views downhill racing from an isometric Marble Madness-influenced perspective. You must reach the bottom within the time limit, remaining within the track boundaries and avoiding hazards including water, logs and stationary cars. The faster you complete the course, the more prize money you receive. Repairs to any damage to the bike (incurred by contact with the aforementioned hazards) must be paid for from this, but the rest can be spent on upgrades. The controls are rotational, with the fire button or space used for wheelies.

Mr. Puniverse

Commodore Plus 4 - Released - 1986

In a land of dinosaurs and hardships, humans have to be tough to survive but unfortunately a new breed of human has started appearing 'The Wimp'. Unable to hunt, these men need a special vitamin to keep them alive but these are in dangerous places with many hazards. You play one wimp, Mr. Puniverse as you attempt to collect vitamins in this flick-screen platform game. One or two players take it in turns after a loss of life trying not to let your energy bar decrease fully or you lose one of eight lives and you lose a life if you fall from a height. There are objects that fire at you and...

Munch Mania

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

Munch Mania is a single screen maze game based on the arcade game Pac-Man where you move Munch Maniac around a maze to eat all the devil dots. While you eat the dots you are chased by four ghosts and if you touch a ghost then you lose one of three lives. There are four flashing senior devil dots in each corner and when eaten allow you to chase and eat the ghosts for a short period of time. Occasionally a fruit will appear and when eaten give you bonus points and a level is completed once all the dots are eaten and you then play the same maze full of dots again.

Night Racer

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

Players must compete in a race organized by the Intercontinental Rally Championship. Since the competitors are still involved halfway through the race, The IRC introduced new rules: The races are to be held at night, and each car must be fitted with explosives with built-in timers, which can only be defused at official checkpoints. Players must drive their cars through the dark pine forests, avoiding green cars in an attempt to out-position the yellow car of the race leader. But players must complete each stage within a reasonable amount of time, or they are out of the game.

Nonterraqueous

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

Control your eyeball shaped robot on your mission is to destroy the central computer currently in control of the planet Nonterraqueous. The robot has a "psyche" value which is reduced every time contact is made with a surface, requiring fine control over the robots movements. Barring the way are enemies which can be shot with the robots lasers, "photon thrusters" (white barriers that pulsate and kill the robot instantly if they contact) and other obstacles, some of which can only be destroyed by finding a bomb and dropping it in the room. Along the way there are stations at which the robot...

P.O.D.: Proof of Destruction

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

Gridrunner provides the gameplay for this top-view budget shooter with 25 levels, challenging you to survive until the time runs out. You start with three lives, but get an extra one (up to a maximum of five) when a level is completed. The time goal is not reset when you lose a life. You guide a small spacecraft around a screen representing your people's power grid, moving it in the four compass directions along the grid lines. Aliens fire in all directions, so there are no 'safe spots' in which you will not get hit. Their shots cut lines out of the grid, preventing motion along that space...

Pigs in Space

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

Pigs in Space is a single-screen side view shooter inspired by the arcade game Pooyan where you have to move a pig in a basket, up or down, on the right of the screen to save your piggy friends. Space Wolves have arrived in a Intergalactic Space ship to attack you and your friends and you must shoot them all to stop them. The wolves appear from the top of the screen carried by balloons or heli-packs, and move down the screen towards the ground firing space dust at you. You must avoid the dust while shooting back with your pig lazer and if you are hit then you lose one of three lives. If...

Pool

Commodore Amiga - 1987

Pool is a game about pool billiard. There is one opponent to compete against (either controlled by the AI or another player) without further possibilities for customization. The control method is divided into two distinct parts: first the basic position of the cue is set in a top down view. After that the game switches to a first-person perspective where the player can fine-tune the cue to select the spin (the game gives the parameters of the current position). Finally the shot is performed with a mouse click. For both parts the player is on a time limit of about ten seconds each.

Power Down

Atari 800 - 1987

The task in Power Down is to infiltrate a fortress built on an asteroid by the evil Argon, inside a one-hour time limit. You have five ships, but there are many ways to lose one. Lazer beams and triangular rays toggle on and off, so require timing and planning to avoid. Argoniks patrol the area, and are fatal to the touch - however, they can work in your favour, as they activate some types of indestructible blocks on contact, changing the blocks' frames from white to red as a signal to you. Most doors are closed by default, and are activated by firing into their brown covers. They can be...

Pro-Golf

Commodore 64 - 1986

Pro-Golf, not to be confused with the Hole in One series from HAL which shares its UK title, is a golf game with one 18-holes course. To perform a shot, the player chooses the kind of club, the strength and the direction. It is important to consider the wind direction. When near the hole, the game displays an additional, smaller window with the hole and ball position for better aiming. Besides playing the full course alone, there are a training and two-player mode available.

The Quest For the Golden Egg Cup

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

The Quest for the Golden Eggcup is a humorous, single player, text adventure. The game doesn't have a grand back story about wizards and magic, instead it starts with the player standing in the middle of the motorway and being hit by a pink Citroen C5 driven by a very pink, pink panther. Naturally they get run down and are killed immediately whereupon they meet God who gives the player their quest, which is to find his treasured golden egg cup or else there will be dire consequences. The player's progress is recorded both as a score and in the number of turns taken.

The Quest for the Holy Grail

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

The Quest for the Holy Grail falls into the genre of a text adventure game but in addition to the text there are simple pictures which help add to the descriptions of the locations you are in and add to the atmosphere as you move around the game world. You take on the role of the knight Sir Tappin, who is on a mission to track down the Holy Grail. You must navigate your way around the villages and countryside of medieval England to track down the clues that will help you on your quest. You will need to find objects to help you negotiate your way past the characters dotted along the way,...

Rapid Fire

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

An undercover cop must destroy a warehouse owned by a group of bank robbers. This is achieved by reaching the master level where the central power electrode is stored, but in order to reach this level, the previous levels must be negotiated. The cop also has to shoot various thugs with his machine gun, which overheats after heavy use. At the end of some levels, a plasma computer needs to be destroyed before the cop can proceed to the next level. This is done by shooting the rotating plasma vent where bolts are fired toward the cop.

Rasterscan

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

The Rasterscan, a large damaged spacecraft, is drifting uncontrollably towards a nearby star. The Rasterscan can still be controlled and piloted to safety but only by a droid called MSB. Unfortunately, MSB is also damaged and (without help) can only repair toasters. The player needs to control MSB and, hopefully, use it to save the unfortunate spacecraft. The player controls MSB, a spherical droid who can float through the interior of the ship in all directions. MSB can interact with the craft's machinery and instruments, which all serve a purpose. It also needs to solve logic-puzzles in...

Raw Recruit

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

A lightgun style target shooter game that can be very difficult game to play with a joystick.

Rebel

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

In the future, working conditions in agridustrial combine compounds are a step back to slavery, with no prospects, long hours and poor treatment. One day THX2240 (an obvious George Lucas reference) decides she's had enough, and steals a Crowd Control vehicle to escape. Escaping from the whole 10-level complex is a big task though, as each of the many compounds has its own locks. These can be removed using mirrors to guide a solar beam onto the locks, weakening them. There are patrol guards trying to stop you, and each time you fire a beam and it fails to open a door, you lose a life. The...

Rescue

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1988

Aliens are attacking the research station. As the security chief you have to guide the scientists to the rescue ship, along with their experiments, when they each wake up and start running around. Rescue as many as you can, because one of them has the answer to winning the whole war, but you don't know which. And don't forget to collect fuel for the trip.

Revenge Of The Mutant Camels II

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1988

Sequel to Jeff Minter's REVENGE OF THE MUTANT CAMELS. REVENGE II was published 4 years before its predecessor on the Amiga, which finally saw a shareware release in 1992.

Rigel's Revenge

Commodore 64 - Released - 1987

Harper and Elliot, two 23rd-century investigative journalists, have joined an organisation called the Alterian Corps in order to further their careers. They have been sent on a mission to the planet Rigel V which is in a state of war with one region holding out against the Federation troops attempting to conquer it. The Rigellians claim to possess a Doomsday Machine which will enact a terrible revenge if the Federation refuse to withdraw from the planet. Elliot has been smuggled in by the Alterian Corps in the guise of a Rigellian trooper with a mission to locate the whereabouts of the...

Rock n' Bolt

Commodore 64 - Released - January 1, 1984

Louie The constructor struts pieces to their location. The Girders are constantly moving back and forth. It is your job to lock them down, and then get back to where you started the level. There are 100 levels, and two types of levels. One is just locking down, the others you have to put them in a specific location. There are three levels of difficulty to choose from, you just get paid more the harder the level, and you have less time to complete the level. The objective of the game is to lock platforms into place according to a supplied map. There are three levels of difficulty; the second...

Rogue

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

Rogue is a turn-based dungeon crawler in which the player controls an adventurer who must explore the dangerous Dungeon of Doom in order to retrieve the precious Amulet of Yendor and make it out alive. The player character starts on the upper-most level and slowly makes his way downwards. The game uses ASCII characters to represent locations, items, monsters, and the protagonist himself. There are twenty-six different types of monsters, symbolized by their initial letters (e.g. L for Leprechaun). Monsters have different abilities and modes of attack. The dungeon and the items in it are...

S.O.S.

Commodore 64 - Released - 1986

One way to lose a good droid is to send it out to do something it isn't programmed for. Biomech 1 (Sydney to his friends) is marooned in a very weird place all because his creator, the eccentric Foley, has a terrible memory. If Sydney can't get back intact then Foley's boss will remove his kneecaps. (Foley's, not Sydney's that is). Tell Syd how to get home in this 3D arcade adventure and save the taxpayers one billion dollars in the bargain! Released in Digital Marketing PD #025, Starlight #2