AUF WIEDERSEIN MONTY
10
:
In this adventure with extremely various, detailed and coloured graphics we must guide our friend mole Monty on a tour around the different European countries in search of the right path to return to his land. To accomplish this we need some money and an air ticket that we can find along the way but are not always easy to take. Often we meet hostile characters who we'd better not touch or apparently insurmountable obstacles. The view of the game is lateral without scrolling and the different rooms are connected in the four directions.
BOULDER DASH
9
:
Yes, Spec-chums, physics can be fun! Well, it can as long as you're playing Boulder Dash. The classic underground and diamond-collecting epic relied heavily on calculating the effects of gravity on piles of dangerous boulders.Fiendishly-designed levels and extra baddies complicated matters to a horrendous level. While based on existing concepts, Boulder Dash transcended its roots and turned out to be one of the most original games in years. That it's one of that select group to be converted from the speccy to the Game Boy proves the broadness of its appeal.
BIRDS AND BEES
30
:
In this game with graphics similar to strip, Boris the bee tries to collect the nectar. Meanwhile, comes to resistance of the local birds that are not content while someone tries to enter their fly space. The game appeared in the time when Melbourne house established the popularity of their hero Horace and wise games appeared. "The birds and bees" instantly got the popularity because they were different from anything that Bug-byte previously created. Also, this game proved that simpole conception can be changed ti original and very interesting game.
BOUNDER
90
:
A strange fish, this. You played a tennis ball with a mission to bounce across a cityfull of skyscrapers, placed just closely enough together for you to be able to stretch from one to the next. At least it looked that way! But the frequency with which you found yourself plummetting to the ground, or impaled on some obstacle, or burst by one of the horrible aliens (who always popped up where you wanted to go) suggested there was trickery afoot. Of course, the next time, the next time, you'd be ready for it...
BOUNTY BOB STRIKES BACK
57
:
The sequel to the first ever platform-and-ladders game, although that game (Miner 2049'er) didn't appear on the Spec. Bounty Bob Strikes Back took a traditional approach to the timing-and-climbing style, but the screens were so ingeniously designed and the whole thing was so thoughtfully done that it transcended the formula to be one of the most playable games ever in the genre. Un-Speccy-like graphics gave it a unique look too, and there's no harm in that.
BUGABOO
9
:
In this very old game we act as a nice frog that has landed, nobody knows where, on an alien planet. The surface doesn't seem to hide any surprises till our unlucky friend falls down in what seems a bottomless well. On the contrary; a bottom exists and from down there we must, by strenght of jumps, try to reach the top of the hole regaining freedom. But beware of the flying dragon that comes out suddenly and doesn't expect other than to have a snack (it's a frog-eater).
CHUCKIE EGG
19
13
:
Very probably the most-played computer game the world's ever seen, if you don't count Super Mario Brothers as a computer game, that is. Chuckie Egg was converted for just about every machine under the sun, but the Speccy incarnation was the oriinal and best. A straightforward platform game with the emphasis on speed and playability, Chuckie Egg rose above its daft title and totla lack of promotion to become the longest-running chart smash until Robocop, some six years later. If you want to see how thought and care can transform the most basic concept into a classic, take a look at this.
COBRA
89
:
Humour and Sylvester Stallone aren't normally two things you associate with each other. Unless, that is, you've played this brilliant platform game where laser-sighted machine guns are hidden in hamburgers and babies in prams paralyse our hero with fear, enabling the bad guys to kidnap his sweetheart and then shoot him into lasagne. The connection with the dire movie was extremely tenuous, but the game was such fun that nobody cared. Besides any game which asks you to define a 'murder' key is okay by me.
GHOULS AND GHOSTS
10
:
This game is a long and wonderful walk inside a fantastic and fascinating world which reserves thousands of surprises and in which live the most odd characters. It starts inside a cemetery with its good vultures roosted on twisted trees and follows through more stranger places full of rocks and ravines. The game consists of five parts loaded each one at the end of the previous and its object is to rescue the loved princess. Take care: at the end of each level there is a big monster absolutely peculiar which awaits us.
GYROSCOPE
77
:
Marble Madness was something of a Holy Grail for Spectrum software developers in the 80s, but the only game which came close to the arcade's abstract beauty was this shameless clone. Slick and pretty, it was also fiendishly tough, and it kept many a talented gamer glued to the screen in the early hours of many a morning. The scrolling judders horribly, but in the game everything flows so well that you just don't notice. Well, you might notice, but you just don't care!
HIGHWAY ENCOUNTER
40
10
:
Costa Panayi was quite possibly the Speccy's biggest ever cult programmer. From humble beginnings with Android 1, he built up a catalogue of incredible games that took the Spectrum closer to its limits with each succeeding release. The stunning, colour-filled 3D graphics and game plot (in its basic concept) predated the 16-bit smash Lemmings by five years. So tricky that only the most dedicated of gamers ever saw the last of the 30 screens of zapping-and-puzzling action, but every second of it was a joy.
I, BALL 2
35
:
Originality is something you don't see much of in the budget world. Great though they can be, budgies tend to be simple rehashes of previous successes. This game however, broke the mould and later inspired programmer Tim Closs to write one of the best 16-bit games ever, Kid Gloves. Basically a puzzle game, I, Ball 2 gleamed with slick presentation and imaginative design, and all for 1.99UKP. Don't blow 12 quid on this month's latest crappy licence, scour the bargain bins and find yourself a copy of this instead. I promise that you won't be dissappointed!
JACK THE NIPPER IN COCONUT GARDEN
10
:
This is a wonderful videogame placed in the jungle. It is full of nice but not so friendly little animals and the landscapes are extremely various, much detailed and colourful. The main character of the adventure is a naughty baby that jumped from the airplane on which he was travelling with his parents just above a thick forest. With his nappy as parachute he landed unharmed and now must face all the perils around. But the "perils" are now compelled to face him
JET SET WILLY
5
32
10
:
This was probably the Speccy's most eagerly-awaited title ever. Impatient gamers besieged shops for months unti it finally appeared, and no-one was dissappointed. It's a superficially simple platform epic (set in Willy's surrealist mansion) with some of the most tortuous timing traps in the history of computer gaming and a genuine 'being there' feel which has rarely been topped. It looks a bit slow today, but the superlative gameplay will soon make you forget about that.
JUMPING JACK
52
:
Jumping Jack is every bit as simple as it looks, but the simple graphics hides a game of almost frightening addictive qualities. All you have to do is jump through moving holes to the top of the screen, but miss one and Jack falls stunned to the ground. While he regains composure, you can be sure that another hole will sneak up on him, until he ends up back at the bottom of the screen, leaving even the most hardened gamer in tears of frustrated rage. This is a game that's practically unputdownable.
KONG
37
:
The tastes relating action games are different and while criticians try to evaluate originality and perfectness, the public often prefer their old heros from action world. "Kong" is one of such games, dirrectly taken from authors of action hit "Donkey kong". As Mario, you must save your girl fried from the paws of gigantic gorilla climbing over carriers and avoiding barrels and other projectiles. The reach graphic and mixture of skill and speed made this game one of the most successful attempts of conversion of the game from automat to TV screen.
LODE RUNNER
37
:
It doesn't really look like one of the greatest Speecy games ever, does it? What with those character-square red-and-black bricks with tiny little white stick figures running around it. What you probably don't know is that Lode Runner is just about the longest-running computer platform game in the world, with roots going right back to the Apple (ask your grandad), and all the way up to the GameBoy. A game doesn't last that long without being something special and Lode Runner's just that. Actually more puzzle game than platformer, it's just one of the most addictive things ever. That's all.
MANIC MINER
3
25
9
:
It grieves me that some of you haven't heard of this. The first real Speccy platform game, Manic Miner's character, sense of humour, brilliant design and mammoth addictiveness (in fact, it's even more addictive than a mammoth) made it one of the first true computer gaming legends. It's still a great game, almost nine years later, and I doubt if we'll be able to say the same of any of today's games in the year 2000. Come to that, in the year 2000 I'll probably still be playing Manic Miner.
MONTY ON THE RUN
10
:
This is the second episode of the nice mole Monty adventures. The object of the game is to collect all the blinking objects and to accomplish this we have to explore all that fantastic world. At the beginning we must select the equipment that consists of five objects that can be essential as the game proceeds.
POGO
9
:
In this nice game, placed on an odd pyramid, we control a strange puppet with big nose that, jumping from cube to cube, has to colour all the structure. As the levels go on we need more different colour to fill the pyramid. To obstruct us we have the usual odd-shaped creatures. The last we encounter, a sort of spring-puppet, unlike the others chase us and to run away from it we have to take the flying elevators making it to fall down the pyramid.
RAINBOW ISLANDS
8
:
For many (me included), this is the best 16-bit game of all-time. The adorable graphics, lovably naff music (a pocket-calculator version of Somewhere Over The Raindow), instinctive gameplay and a level of hidden depth that would shame the Pacific Ocean make it all but the perfect arcade game. Unfortunately, on the Speccy the graphics become just a little bit too indistinct for comfort on the later levels, making it a real bitch to complete in a slightly unfair kind of way, but that's its only flaw. If you've got keen eyes or a really good monitor, this is just about the only game you'll ever really need.
RICK DANGEROUS
10
:
A fascinating videogame with detailed and at the same time clean and colourful graphics featuring a nice explorer in the search of nobody know what inside breathless beauty places. It starts inside a cavern inhabited by primitive humans and then continues in ancient and misterious egyptian tombs till to arrive to technological alien installations. It's worth to be noticed the very high manoeuvrability of the character and the overall playability of the videogame.
RICK DANGEROUS 2
10
:
This is the sequel of the previous videogame. This time it consists of five different multiload levels, all of them beautifully painted, detailed and colourful. The first four levels can be played in any order (there is a menu to select) but it's not possible to enter the last without having completed all the others. The action starts in Central Park where an alien starship is landing and then inside the space ship. Later we enter ice caverns, primeval forests and nuclear mines in an incomparable adventure.
SABOTEUR
55
:
Famous (well, it depends on how old you are) for being The Game That Didn't Give You Any points For Shooting The Dogs. This was a masterful piece of psychology, as the dogs(guard dogs on the installation you were trying to sabotage) snapped at your heels so annoyingly that you really wanted to kill them, but couldn't because your conscience wouldn't let you. This of course meant that you got yourself killed with embarrassing regularity, but you just couldn't bring yourself to do anything about it. Damn sneaky. (Oh, and it was agreat game too, incidentally).
SIR LANCELOT
80
:
If you'vegot any friends with 16-bit machines complaing that their best games don't fit into 512K of memory, why not show them this? A classic platforms-and-ladders game with sharp graphics, loads of speed, and more addictiveness than a big bag of really addictive things, Sir Lancelot was programmed in just over 9K. Yes, nine. not only a great game, but an amazing feat to boot, it makes you wonder what they're feeding progammers these days.
SPINDIZZY
10
:
TAPPER
68
:
Or as it would have been had Codemasters had released it - Advanced Barman Simulator. Yep, the sole purpose in life for your character in Tapper was to serve drinks to a never-ending flow of thirsty punters who were apt to sling him the length of the bar if their (ahem) 'soda' wasn't delivered promptly. Cleaned up from the arcade original (where the glassses were filled with beer), this conversion nonetheless retained all the frantic fun of the coin-op, with a fair touch of humour to boot. Oh, and the dancing alien girls were worth seeing too...
TECHNICIAN TED
84
:
This game set a whole series of standard in Speccy gaming. It was the first (and, indeed, practically the only one to this day) to have an animated loading screen, the first to have pixel-perfect collision detection, and the first Manic Miner-type platform game to call more on brainpower than ladder-leaping precision. Not to say that there wasn't plenty of that needed too though. Massively difficult but equally compulsive, Technician Ted was the peak of a genre, and the end of an era.
UNDERWURLDE
18
10
:
'Boing! Time for bed, everyone', said Zebedee once, and Underwurlde fans knew exactly what he meant. Ultimate's brilliant platform arcade adventure had only one real difference from the thousands which the Speccy's played host to. The nasties didn't kill you, they bounced you around the screen in an attempt (usually successful) to send you plunging to your death down a mineshaft. The statospheric level of frustration made this at the same time the most-loved and most-hated computer game of its day. If you play it now, you'll see why. Devillish.
WANTED MONTY MOLE
10
:
This is the first game with the nice fatty mole Monty as main character. It is placed inside a deep mine in which some pieces of magic coal are hidden. We have to collect all these pieces. Among other things this is the only way to proceed through the game descending in the deeps of the mine. Without the coal we'll find our way blocked by obstacles of various kind. We must also avoid the odd hostile characters that live in the mine and the hydraulic presses that are constantly working.