#0069 H.E.R.O.

Finally! A good Atari 2600 game! At last! Leave it to activision to breathe life back into a system nearly a decade old. The premise is simple, but fun, the controls are surprisingly efficient and work well despite the limitations, even the sprite art is decent for a system that came out before Space Invaders.

Next up: Boulder Dash

#0068 Bank Panic

You know, for a game about running a bank, in a Post Golden era arcade this really isn’t bad. It’s no Robotron, or even a Tapper, but it pretty fun.

Next up: H.E.R.O.

#0067 Ballblazer

Another sports game, but this one is actually pretty good. For the Commodore 64, it’s like football except they tweak the rules a tad to work better with the PCs of it’s time. Once you get used to the controls, the game is actually a blast!

Next up: Bank Panic

#0066 Track & Field

Eh? Sports games aren’t really my thing to begin with so I really had a hard time justifying pounding on my keyboard as fast as I could.

Next  up: Ballblazer

#0065 Tapper

Today I played Tapper. This one. This was a good game. Finally. I was really starting to feel the sting of the video game crash. The graphics are charming, the controls are tight and intuitive, and the concept builds upon the classic SHMUP but in a way you wouldn't think of. Personally the best part of the game is the music, jesus that little tune gets stuck in my head so easy.

Oh! and that finishes off 1983! That means it's time for Ultimate-Gamer's Game of the Year award.

This year goes to Star Wars. Not only is it the best use of vector graphics (outside of Polybius anyway), but for being a legit fun experience. One I'd love to play on an actual arcade machine.

Planetfall only JUST came in second, it really all came down to which game I would come back to.

Up next: Track&Field

#0064 Manic Miner

Played 1983’s Manic Miner today. I think it’s a cult classic or something.

Ugh. Wow, quite possibly the worst platformer I’ve played on my list so far. While the graphics are decent for the hardware available, the style of the art is charming, and the level designs are decent, nearly everything else is just awful. The controls are stiff and floaty, it’s practically game breaking. I don’t think you can blame this on aging genres either. These controls are FAR worse than even Donkey Kong. There’s no sound, only terrible TERRIBLE music. Good god you have to hear this. The opening is the most ear splitting version of “The Blue Danube” you will ever hear in your life. Jesus I don’t know how they could have ever thought that sounded good?

Next up is Tapper

#0063 Lode Runner

I just played Lode-Runner. Eh, I can appreciate it for what it was, but I didn’t much care for it. As far as early platformers go, this one makes the cardinal sin of having VERY fast paced action, but you can’t go up and down ladders unless you’re RIGHT on them. Also, your main defense against enemies (who are pretty intelligent, I gotta give the AI credit) is digging holes for them to fall in. You have to be pretty far away for them to fall in them. I also like how you don’t die if you fall more than two centimeters. Oh well.

Up next: Manic Miner

#0062 Juno First

Today I played Juno. This was a fun one. The first SHMUP that had an actual horizon. Where enemies would appear and grow as you get closer. Not bad. Not bad at all. It's facinating to watch the SHMUP genre grow as the years go on.

Next up: Lode Runner

#0061 Jetpac

Today I played Jetpac, a platform Shmup from Rare in 1983

Honestly? This game was pretty awesome. It's Rare's very first game, and I remember it from Donkey Kong 64. I love the colors for the lasers and the jetpac mechanic is very fun. It's a little clunky, but overall not bad.

Next up: Juno first

#0060 Crystal Castles

Today I played Crystal Castles, a 1983 Maze runner by Atari

You play as a little bear that has to grab all the pellets on the screen. It's kinda like Pac-Man, but it's a really cool isometric view and you use a trackball to control your character which is surprisingly effective and actually ended up being very adicting.

Next up: Jetpac

#0059 Spy Hunter

Today i played Spy Hunter. An action racing(?) game by Midway in 1983.

Honestly, this is one of those games I wish I could have played in an actual arcade. I could really see the game here, I could see how fun it could be driving around shooting up bad guys and avoiding obstacles. But I just couldn't map the ocntrols to my keyboard or controler that could make it in any way playable. Maybe a steering wheel might be something to invest in.

Next up: Crystal Castles

#0058 Planetfall

Finally finished playing Planet Fall. A 1983 Text Adventure from Infocom

I didn’t get too far, old text adventure games are infamous for having nearly impossible puzzles, but I can honestly say that it was probably the most enjoyable time I’ve had with a text adventure. I hope to see more.

Truth be told, it had some amazing imagry and a sense of humor that really kept me coming back. On top of that half the  experience is the manual, which is an entire book that is beautifully written and illustrated. It's incredible. I've never seen manuals like this before, not only did it FINALLY give me a good idea as to what I was doing, but it helped me get a better feel for the world that I was in.

Very good game.

Next up: Spy Hunter

#0057 M.U.L.E.

Finally got around to playing M.U.L.E. A Strategy game from 1983, and EA's very first game!

 Not a bad game at all. Worlds better then utopia was. At least I could figure out just what the heck I was supposed to be doing.

That’s always the problem with old computer games. Unless you have the manual, you’re completely lost. Luckily I’m kinda used to that already, when I was a kid, my Mom would always buy me obscure computer games from thrift stores and it would be up to me and my brother to try and figure out just how to play them. Computer games didn’t have to be as accessible as arcade games did. They had more room to try new things and expand on different genres. It’s fascinating to watch.


Next up: Planetfall

#0056 Mad Planets

Today I played Mad Planets, a... Shooter? From 1983 by Gottleb.

This game is so weird. And the control scheme is strange. It uses two buttons, a dial and a joystick. Maybe if I had played it on the original arcade machine? Maybe? Anywho, it was okay, not good, okay.

Next up: M.U.L.E.

#0055 Gyruss

Today I played Gyruss, a Tube Shooter from Konami from 1983.

Not bad, not bad at all. This was the first tube shooter I've played since Tempest, it's interesting to see how far games have come in just a couple years.

Next up: Mad Planets

#0054 Dragon's Lair

Today I played Dragon's Lair an Adventure game from 1983 from Cinematronics.

Fuck that game. Jesus Christ.

A. The game is EXTREMELY dificult to emulate, finding all the files I needed and getting them to work correctly was a chore But this seems to be a more and more common occurrence. Es specially in computer games of this era.

B. People told me that this would be “Quick Time Events, the Video Game” that’s all well and good, I’m not bad at quick time events, but I would really like to know when those events occur. They give you NO clue what you’re supposed to be doing something until it’s too late. I swear to god I was stuck on that first bridge forever!

C. That’s it. That’s the whole game. Not that I was expecting much more, but what I was expecting was some amazing visuals by Don Bluth and to his credit, Mr. Bluth did an amazing job. When you can see it. It upsets me that this is the best looking game I’ve seen so far, but the quick-time events occur so frequently and are so unforgiving that you have zero time to admire the craftsmanship that went into hand drawing every frame. Would it kill them to linger on a cut scene longer than a couple seconds?

Ugh, maybe I’m just bitter because I was so bad at it.

Next up: Gyruss

#0053 Chuckie Egg

Today we got Chuckie egg, a 1983 platformer from Nigel Alderton

Not a bad game. Not bad at all. Most platformers of this era have your character doing akward jumps at a snails pace. This game, however, kicks the speed up several times, with dynamic jumping. It almost feels like a modern platformer. The faster pace really helps with that. I found myself addicted actually.

Next up: Dragon's Lair

#0052 Star Wars

Today we have Star Wars, a Star Wars Rail Shooter from 1983.

 I thought Atari was prettymuch dead and burried by 1983. But it seems with their dying breath, they make one of the best arcade games I’ve ever played. I don’t normally like Vector graphics, but these work flawlessly. It’s honestly amazing how immersive it feels.

Next up: Chuckie Egg

#0051 Archon

Today I played Archon, a weird chess like game that has the balls to say "Ya know that game Chess that's been played for hundreds of years? I think we can do better."

Honestly, it really wasn't that good. Mostly due to controls on early PC games being what they are, they were nearly impossible to figure out. Even though I like the idea of a chess game where all the pieces have powers I can't really suggest it.

Next up: Star Wars

(Just a note, because of Sinistar, I'm going to be adjusting the numbering on the games starting with this one. Just FYI)

We're Back!

I know I'd once said that I'd only come back if people requested it. However, I have to admit, I missed writing these. A lot. I really enjoy reviewing and chronicling my journey. So... That's what I'm going to do. Starting with Archon.

So, be ready for an avalanche of content 'cause I've played QUITE a few games in the intervening months. And while the reviews that I produce probably won't be quite on the same level as they once were with their full page writups, I'll at least be able to share my thoughts on these. So!

Next up: Archon