Tag Archives: ZX Spectrum

Retro Select, Videos

Retro Select: Short Circuit

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Ocean Software were rather well known for their licensed movie tie-in games — some of which were better (and more creative) than others.

This video game adaptation of Short Circuit, which was exclusive to 8-bit home computers, is one of their more inventive titles, combining a significant adventure game component with a possibly unbeatable arcade-style segment. The exact implementation varies a bit from platform to platform, but today we’re having a go at the 128K ZX Spectrum version!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Retro Select, Videos

Retro Select: Mad Nurse

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Ah, the Spectrum. Legend of the 1980s gaming scene in the UK — and the mortal enemy of Atari fans like myself. Unfortunately, the fact that fanboyism goes all the way back to the earliest days of gaming means that I missed out on a lot of interesting games back in the day — that changes now!

The first of an occasional dalliance in the ZX Spectrum’s library on Retro Select is Mad Nurse, a simple but enjoyable arcade-style game released on Firebird’s £1.99 budget label. It was described as “one of the sickest games ever released” by Computer & Video Games, and involves dead babies. So that’s fun!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Evercade A to Z, Videos

Evercade A to Z: Multidude

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One of the nice things about the Evercade is how it’s not only bringing us new opportunities to enjoy classic games, it’s also fully embracing the “new games for old platforms” indie development scene.

A specialist publisher in this part of the business is Mega Cat Studios, who make it their business to pick out some exciting examples of modern games for classic hardware, and bring them to a wider audience. And a fine selection of such titles can be found on the Mega Cat Studios Collection 1 cartridge for the Evercade.

Multidude is a great example of the sort of thing you can expect: fun, enjoyable experiences that work within the limits of classic platforms but provide distinctly modern-feeling gameplay challenges to explore. Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Saboteur!

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I never played Clive Townsend’s classic open-structure 2D platformer Saboteur! until his recent Nintendo Switch version, which I absolutely loved.

Imagine my delight, then, when I saw that some talented AtariAge members had taken it upon themselves to port this classic game to the dear old Atari 8-bit. How would it come out, I wondered.

Pretty damn well, as it happens; some speed inconsistencies aside, we have a very true port of a ZX Spectrum classic here — now available for any Atari fans to enjoy! Check out the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

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Essentials, One-Shots, Switch

Saboteur II: Avenging Angel – Dropping the “J”

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1985’s Saboteur! is a well-regarded title in the ZX Spectrum’s considerable library of games — and, as we’ve seen, it still holds up surprisingly well today.

Two years later, creator Clive Townsend brought us a full-on sequel that was an extremely noteworthy title for a number of reasons — and, just like the original Saboteur!, this can now be played in enhanced form on modern systems.

So grab your shuriken and hop on your hang-glider — we’re going in.

Continue reading Saboteur II: Avenging Angel – Dropping the “J” →

Essentials, One-Shots, Switch

Saboteur!: Full Spectrum Ninja

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The 8-bit home console era is, at this point, pretty well documented; how many times over the years have we seen an article or video purporting to tell “the story of Super Mario Bros. 3” for the umpteenth time?

But what about the 8-bit microcomputer era? For one reason or another, this has always remained much more niche-interest, with far less in the way of online historical explorations and even less in the way of reimaginings, remakes and rereleases.

Here’s Saboteur!, a Nintendo Switch and Windows PC rework of a ZX Spectrum game from 1985 — put together by the original author, no less — and a title I’ve found myself surprisingly wrapped up in since downloading it from the eShop for 89p a couple of weeks ago!

Continue reading Saboteur!: Full Spectrum Ninja →

One-Shots

Rod Land: “So Cute… It’ll Make You Puke!”

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I have spent more time than is probably strictly necessary pondering who my first “video game waifu” was.

My initial reaction was that it was Sophia Hapgood from Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and to be fair that would be an eminently solid choice for a first digital love. But I had a feeling there was someone special before that… but who?

Picking up a copy of puzzle game Soldam for Nintendo Switch, which I’ll be taking a more in-depth look at soon, reminded me that ah yes, it was Rit from Jaleco’s Rod Land.

Continue reading Rod Land: “So Cute… It’ll Make You Puke!” →