Urban Runner 3 May 2:00 AM (3 days ago)
The last (non-educational) game from Coktel Vision – maybe their best? Urban Runner puts FMV to good use.
%20game%20from%20%3Cem%3ECoktel%20Vision%3C/em%3E%20%26%238211;%20maybe%20their%20best?%20%3Ccite%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https://www.goodolddays.net/en/game/Urban-Runner%22%3EUrban%20Runner%3C/a%3E%3C/cite%3E%20puts%20FMV%20to%20good%20use.%3C/p%3E)
The Crown vs. Dr. Watson 26 Apr 2:00 AM (10 days ago)
The Crown vs. Dr. Watson. Wait, Watson, a murderer? Even the doctor himself admits that considering the facts, the conclusion of his guilt is inevitable.
Tiny Dungeons 19 Apr 2:00 AM (17 days ago)
Roguelikes belong to the oldest types of games. As such, there is no doubt that those games can be made under severe resource constraints. Making them popular with developers on older systems. Tiny Dungeons makes the best of the Spectrum.
Impossible Mission 2025: The Special Edition 12 Apr 2:00 AM (24 days ago)
Impossible Mission 2025 is one of those sequels which largely are met with a surprised “What, they made this?” attitude. Released with little fanfare only on the Amiga platform, it’s a game which nobody who has played it really likes, but equally, nobody has any idea how it could have been better.
Shaolin's Road 5 Apr 2:00 AM (last month)
Shaolin's Road – it’s another game from thirty years ago which you haven’t played, haven’t heard and don’t care to learn about. But, well, this sort of obscure discovery for myself it my passion. Won’t hurt if I give the option to follow along just in case.
Death at Appledore Towers 29 Mar 3:00 AM (last month)
Death at Appledore Towers. The murder victim was a blackmailer. Did he deserve it, as Sherlock Holmes suggests?
Scotland Yard Interactive 22 Mar 3:00 AM (last month)
It’s Scotland Yard, the board game we all loved in the 1980s, but now interactive! Wow!
The Joker's Wild 15 Mar 3:00 AM (last month)
The 1990s were a wild decade for sure. Not due to The Joker's Wild, though.
Name That Tune 8 Mar 2:00 AM (last month)
Cheesy FMV quizshow games? Bring them on! Name That Tune sounds like a good place to start with.
Ice Hockey 1 Mar 2:00 AM (2 months ago)
Early Activision truly was a great company! Ice Hockey is a fine example of how to make a good game in spite of limited resources.
The Black River Emerald 22 Feb 2:00 AM (2 months ago)
The first gamebook entry this year, but still staying in the realm of investigative work, The Black River Emerald puts the popular Sherlock Holmes character on its sleeve, but then, neither he nor his usual ensemble appears much in the book.
In the 1st Degree 15 Feb 2:00 AM (2 months ago)
In the mood for more courtroom drama? In the 1st Degree combines this amazing subject with glorious 1990s FMV goodness.
Perry Mason: The Case of the Mandarin Murder 7 Feb 2:00 AM (2 months ago)
It’s not easy to do justice to a widely beloved TV character as Perry Mason. All too risky to enrage the fans whose fervor would have been re-ignited in 1985 due to the relaunch. The Case of the Mandarin Murder holds its own qualities, its own place of interest in the history of computer games, however.
Give My Regards to Broad Street 1 Feb 2:00 AM (3 months ago)
Weird cross-promotions with big names on them happened already fourty years ago. Paul McCartney’s Give My Regards to Broad Street was a big flop as a film. Let’s see how the game does.
Jack the Ripper 25 Jan 2:00 AM (3 months ago)
Publishers have their own planning. Not selling a game may have advantages in their own commercial endeavours. Jack the Ripper became a victim of such circumstances. Left in its hardly finished state, it makes for a fascinating study object of game design and corporate politics.
Gossip 11 Jan 2:00 AM (3 months ago)
Two out of three people in the credits of Gossip became big names in the industry. Chris Crawford for his phenomenal indie runaway success with Balance of Power, at a time when “indie” didn’t even exist. Aric Wilmunder as one of the fathers of the Lucasfilm SCUMM system. Reason enough to have a look at this early collaboration.
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 4 Jan 2:00 AM (4 months ago)
Another beloved game covering which may not score me a lot of sympathy points. Gabriel Knight easily is one of my favourite Sierra games, because it did try something different from their usual formula.
Starglider 28 Dec 2024 2:00 AM (4 months ago)
Specialised Arcade hardware has commonly been ahead of what people could have at home. Then, at some point, a new generation of off-the-shelf machines would make possible what previously had been reserved to being experienced one quarter at a time. Starglider showed off the power of the new Atari ST. Celebrated at its time, how did it hold up?
Murder at the Diogenes Club 21 Dec 2024 2:00 AM (4 months ago)
Gamebooks could be so much more than just sword & sorcery. The Sherlock Holmes Solo Mysteries got a great start with Murder at the Diogenes Club.
The Curse of Monkey Island 14 Dec 2024 2:00 AM (4 months ago)
Shied away from this one for many years. Based on memories, I feared I would take a controversial position. Finally replayed and unfortunately confirmed: The Curse of Monkey Island is a gorgeous-looking and sounding indulgence in boredom. There, I said it. Now find me and slap me. Or explain the fascination to me.
Football Manager 7 Dec 2024 2:00 AM (5 months ago)
Digging even deeper into the Spectrum days, Football Manager was a sensation in its time. It is also a game which made itself obsolete with its enormous success.
Masks of Mayhem 30 Nov 2024 2:00 AM (5 months ago)
Masks of Mayhem is #23 in the Fighting Fantasy line. To be transparent, it will be the last one I’ll cover here for some time. With more duds than entertaining ones lately, I need a break. Which is not to say I’ll abandon gamebooks in general. I have already started with the first book of another line. Stay tuned!
Where Time Stood Still 23 Nov 2024 2:00 AM (5 months ago)
With this one, it may look like I’m preparing a “Best of Spectrum” list. Not right now. Such a list only really make sense when a certain threshold of overall games listed has been reached. Where Time Stood Still most certainly will be a hot candidate nevertheless when the time comes.
Bandit Kings of Ancient China 16 Nov 2024 2:00 AM (5 months ago)
Knowing that quite soon, everyone around the world will be learning about Chinese history at school, here is something for you older people to catch up a bit: Bandit Kings of Ancient China.
Simulcra 9 Nov 2024 2:00 AM (5 months ago)
It is interesting how some companies come to fame, have their day, but they cannot maintain it. Graftgold had been one of the most beloved developers on the Spectrum and the C64. Simulcra was their first foray into the 16 bit homecomputer age. A great, forgotten game and also the beginning of the end.
Rock Star Ate My Hamster 2 Nov 2024 3:00 AM (6 months ago)
Do you remember Rock Star Ate My Hamster.
Lords of the Realm II 26 Oct 2024 2:00 AM (6 months ago)
Lords of the Realm, Impressions' first universally lauded hit, received its second incarnation in the mid-90s. Even though I had enjoyed the first part a lot, I waited for a budget release of this one. Seldomly, unbound enthusiasm and pure frustration have been coupled so closely.
Robot Commando 19 Oct 2024 2:00 AM (6 months ago)
The previous three books of the series indicated a significant slump in quality. Science fiction themes, in particular, had rarely worked out this far. Along came Robot Commando. A blatant rip-off of Transformers, throwing in dinosaurs on top. Finally getting non-linear gameplay right as well.
Rogue64 12 Oct 2024 2:00 AM (6 months ago)
With the recent release of Roguecraft for the Amiga, it’s time to revisit its predecessor: Rogue64.
Traffic 3 Oct 2024 2:00 AM (7 months ago)
Changing the world doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be a hero. In Traffic, the protagonist saves his own life by moving through time and the stream of consciousness that surrounds him. As the title suggests, he is just another participant in the dense traffic at any given intersection. As a contribution to the running 30th edition of IFComp, I’m looking forward to find out its final placement.
IK+ 28 Sep 2024 2:00 AM (7 months ago)
Zzap!64, back in 1987, called this a “classic in the making”. How right they were! IK+ has stood the test of time.
Weirdness 22 Sep 2024 2:00 AM (7 months ago)
The title Weirdness as such has no concrete direction and so I also read the following foreword: “The universe: huge, vast, 99,993% empty space, and lifeless… with a few exceptions. Earth: The only known inhabited planet. An insignificant pebble infested with insignificant specks of life. One of theses specks, Jace Nyglus, is about to learn of his insignificance.” It was only later that I learnt about the many relations in terms of origin and impact in whose spotlight this game lives.
Cave Noire 14 Sep 2024 2:00 AM (7 months ago)
The very first page of the Cave Noire manual reads: ‘For sale and use in Japan only. Export and sale of this product outside is prohibited’. So if I, as a hypothetical German-Japanese and Game Boy fan, had bought the module there on a holiday trip in 1991, the seller and myself would probably have been guilty of a criminal offence. Nowadays, I also download an – unofficial – language patch from the Internet without any guilty conscience. Konami: have mercy!
Ewe Woz 'Ere DX 7 Sep 2024 2:00 AM (8 months ago)
Smoking is more and more considered indecent and is increasingly tabooed by society. Films in which the superhero takes a pleasurable puff of a cigar to emphasise his alpha status, as in the A-Team or Predator, are no longer being made. Small retro games such as Ewe Woz 'Ere DX show courage by once again pushing this pose into the field of vision for the young-at-heart retro audience. The cigar has simply been disguised as an iron pipe to match the robot sheep.
Aliens 31 Aug 2024 2:00 AM (8 months ago)
Aliens. To be quite honest, and at the danger of being yelled at, the last time I watched this movie, I found it difficult to get through. This rampant 1980s body cinema, the obsession with big guns, the stupid one-liners – I felt it hasn’t aged well. Today’s game recreates the tense action, aka “the good part”.
Trial of Champions 24 Aug 2024 2:00 AM (8 months ago)
Trial of Champions – the much-awaited (?) return to Deathtrap Dungeon! It’s the right book for you if you like failing. In a way, most of these books are really about failing and trying again, of course. Though this one puts this whole idea to new levels.
%20return%20to%20%3Cem%3EDeathtrap%20Dungeon%3C/em%3E!%20It%26%238217;s%20the%20right%20book%20for%20you%20if%20you%20like%20failing.%20In%20a%20way,%20most%20of%20these%20books%20are%20really%20about%20failing%20and%20trying%20again,%20of%20course.%20Though%20this%20one%20puts%20this%20whole%20idea%20to%20new%20levels.%3C/p%3E)
Mindwheel 18 Aug 2024 2:00 AM (8 months ago)
As in other media, computer game trends go in waves. Recently (at the time of writing this), a study claims to have found that interest in strategy games is decreasing . Forty years ago, in the United States, everybody was convinced that the age of arcade style games was a thing of the past. Companies formerly active in that field rushed to move to other fields, targetting older audiences than the kids previously playing with the Atari VCS.
,%20a%20study%20claims%20to%20have%20found%20that%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https://quanticfoundry.com/2024/05/21/strategy-decline/%22%3Einterest%20in%20strategy%20games%20is%20decreasing%26nbsp;%3Ci%3E%3C/i%3E%3C/a%3E.%20Forty%20years%20ago,%20in%20the%20United%20States,%20everybody%20was%20convinced%20that%20the%20age%20of%20arcade%20style%20games%20was%20a%20thing%20of%20the%20past.%20Companies%20formerly%20active%20in%20that%20field%20rushed%20to%20move%20to%20other%20fields,%20targetting%20older%20audiences%20than%20the%20kids%20previously%20playing%20with%20the%20Atari%20VCS.%3C/p%3E)
Sword of the Samurai 10 Aug 2024 2:00 AM (8 months ago)
My Fighting Fantasy output has been slowing down significantly. The reason being that I feel I’ve reached a stage where the line collapsed under the weight of its own success. Sword of the Samurai came from the same authors as a previous book I actually liked, showing their talent. Though this one has several significant defects, it’s hard to imagine it went through any serious quality control. Pressure to release more and quickly must have been considerable.
LAKE Adventure 3 Aug 2024 2:00 AM (9 months ago)
The summer holidays motivate Eddie to go on a boat trip across the lake behind the house. This scene almost fully reveals the climax of innocent pubescent dreams, which some of us might have had on those occasions. In this ambiguous sense, however, LAKE Adventure brings far deeper insights to the surface via much longer ladders.
The Hunt for Red October 27 Jul 2024 2:00 AM (9 months ago)
Tom Clancy’s espionage-thriller The Hunt for Red October was released in 1984, whereupon the popular war game theme was immediately transferred to the home computer market. When the film was released in 1990, a large Japanese company starting with N was already enjoying great success with its consoles. The game was also to appear on the smallest of these devices – the Game Boy – in a completely revised form, but under the same name.
Barcarolle in Yellow 20 Jul 2024 2:00 AM (9 months ago)
A public service announcement that as every year, the annual Interactive Fiction Competition will take place in October. There is still time to install or update your interpreters. Be ready, because when it starts, you will not have enough time to play all those games until the voting deadline! In the meantime, just to get acquired to the taste again, here is a game which ran last year: Barcarolle in Yellow.
The Heart of Salamanderland 13 Jul 2024 2:00 AM (9 months ago)
Anyone who associates platform games with fast action might think of Sonic the Hedgehog. However, the conversion for the C64 lost much of its speed when it was ported from an advanced console to the home computer. If you take another step back, you might end up with The Heart of Salamanderland on the Amstrad CPC and be amazed at how far back the roots of this genre can reach.
Amazon 6 Jul 2024 2:00 AM (10 months ago)
40 years ago, the first wave of established novelists lending their names to computer games occurred. Michael Crichton was an exception insofar that his involvement was not just a licencing deal. Before even being approached by the eventual publisher, he started designing Amazon by himself, programmed scenes and logic himself and hired a programmer to translate his BASIC code into a more efficient language.
Jagged Alliance 2 29 Jun 2024 2:00 AM (10 months ago)
If that email interface doesn’t scream 90s, I don’t know what will! And wait until you see their website. Straight out of Frontpage Express. Uh… that was a horrible “WYSIWYG” website editor from Microsoft in case you don’t remember. Jagged Alliance 2, the game in which this virtual mail application and those virtual websites appear, has aged a bit better, thankfully.
Wonder Boy in Monster World 22 Jun 2024 2:00 AM (10 months ago)
Wonder Boy in Monster World is an often overlooked part of the eponymous series with a very unique graphics style. This visual impression was the main reason for trying out a Wonderboy-game in the first place. You can easily realize the Japanese origin all over the place, but without – in my case, fortunately – being fobbed off with the usual manga-imagery.
Mindshadow 15 Jun 2024 2:00 AM (10 months ago)
Don’t we all love these moments in classic text adventures? The obligatory maze, intended to make the game longer! What’s worse, you have to traverse this one without any memory. Because Mindshadow has you stranded on a remote island and with amnesia. Oh boy, retrospective trope alert!
Crime and Punishment 8 Jun 2024 2:00 AM (11 months ago)
To the chair with him! Next case. To the chair! Next. The chair! Who said that being a judge cannot be fun? And what’s fun must have a computer game made out of it. Crime and Punishment – if that doesn’t spell fun, I don’t know what would.
Empire: Wargame of the Century 25 May 2024 2:00 AM (11 months ago)
A title screen in full, ugly CGA glory. Thankfully, the game itself uses a different, much more pleasant screenmode. Which, in a game such as Empire: Wargame of the Century, is a necessity. It lies in the nature of strategic wargames to have their players staring at hardly changing maps for hours and hours.
