Category: Reviews
With the home computer boom of the 1980’s, everyone wanted a slice of the pie, including some unlikely candidates such as British Telecom. While it was good to talk, the phone network giant thought it was good to play games too, setting up Telecomsoft who, in turn, gave birth to three successful publishing offshoots in Firebird, Rainbird and Silverbird until…
‘Punch the Pedal’. Just one of the iconic phrases from the original Chase H.Q. still lingers in the minds of many, as does the woeful Commodore 64 and Amiga ports. A slew of home conversions and a staple of many an arcade meant a tune-up and respray of Taito’s runaway success was incoming with an obligatory sequel. Special Criminal Investigation:…
In the realms of Commodore 64 fantasy horror titles, there are few that can touch Cosmi’s 1983 release, Beyond the Forbidden Forest. It was not only terrifying but addictive, making the most of limited colour and sounds to create quite an unsettling experience. But there were two other games back in the 8-bit heyday, well one actually as Spellcast was…
If there’s one thing the English are good at is inventing a sport, spreading it around the globe and then promptly getting beat at it. Cricket is a prime example, although England’s recent fortunes at the stumps are a mix of great success or catastrophic failure. Released in 1993, Audiogenic brought Graham Gooch World Class Cricket to the Commodore Amiga,…
When Innerprise Software and Critical Design’s The Plague released on the Commodore Amiga in 1990, the scowling barbarian that adorned the front cover piqued my interest while browsing the local musty computer shop. The promises of “Incredible Arcade Quality” and “Joystick-sizzling” action, whatever that means, resonated as the gloriously colourful screenshots popped from the back of the box. With the…
Everyone’s a critic. When Arnie’s Last Action Hero opened, it was unanimously panned by the movie press but still earned nearly $140 million at the box office. As such, its popularity meant that video game tie-ins were a foregone conclusion and hot on the heels of Sony’s takeover of Psygnosis, the game based on the satirical stab at the action…
This game originally piqued my interest thanks to the cover of CRASH magazine #14 (March 1985). I mean, look at these guys… they kind of look like the grotesque marionettes Jeff Dunham uses for his ventriloquist act: Upon further investigation, ads for this game boast “1st ever multi-role arcade adventure” and there’s a song called “Everyone’s A Wally” included on…
The Grandfather of games is certainty iconic, ingrained in popular culture and inspiring a slew of paddle clones and iterations based on a basic yet enjoyable mechanic. Now in 2019, the team comprised of Cobe, Goatmare and Koyot1222 bring their take on the formula, Pong 4K, a third placed entry in the 2018 RetroKomp, to the Amiga CD32. Booting this…
Let it be known that I’m a sucker for video games based on film properties I enjoyed as a kid — so when I saw that Back to the Future for the C64 hadn’t been reviewed yet, I jumped at the chance. I do remember playing the NES version of this game released by LJN in the late 80s. I…
There’s nothing quite like feeling of the wind rushing through your hair as you hurtle through exotic locations in a supercar. The thrills, the speed, the adrenalin. Unfortunately for most of us, the only car based surge in wind and excitement we get to experience is when last nights curry kicks in and the race to crack the window begins….
