Dizzy was a regular at the Spam Club who shared a little of his ZX Spectrum expertise with us and the world.
Jet Set Willy was the follow-up to the very successful platform game Manic Miner and, like its predecessor, it was written by Matthew Smith, a very young programmer with a wild imagination, of whom great things were expected. That's not exactly the way it turned out, but more on that later.
It was time to face one of my childhood traumas. No, not my horrible school days, but rather a lie I've carried with me since then. Everyone said, at the time, that Teacher Busters was the greatest thing invented since ice cream. But I didn't even know the game! Though how could I admit that without being stamped a total loser by my nerd friends? Well, here I am, just 35 years later, making amends.
Mr Creosote
Dime City is one of the last games published by the second incarnation of Starbyte. It is incredible how in such a short lifetime, this company managed to push out so many titles which are still sort of fondly remembered! The "fondly" part may not always be justified, of course. In this case, there could even be serious doubts about the "remembering" part.
Mr Creosote
This picture left a strong impression on me as a child. It all seemed to be there. The impressive guard figure, looming above us due to the choice of perspective. And then, in the background, a sketchy, but alluring promise of what would await us if we managed to get past that guy. The cover of the edition I had back then even featured a die as part of the street's cobblestones. It all seemed perfect. But, of course, memories may be misleading. So let us enter the City of Thieves together.
Mr Creosote
The port of Cisco Heat to the Amstrad CPC does not have the best reputation and is sometimes even considered unplayable. This is particularly serious because its precedent on the arcade machines was a great success and Jaleco probably had to do everything right to convince home computer users of their game as well. You can find out here whether they really failed so miserably.
LostInSpace
There is a certain perverse pleasure in looking back at those not so great games of times gone by. No, not in a "so bad it's good" way or to mock them, but rather as a reminder of the realities back then. Common retrospectives focus on the few classics, the big hits of their days. It's not like those were really played all the time. No, we also spent our time with stuff like Das Magazin. Which really raises another question. I'd be really curious to know the story of its development. Were there people behind who (at the time) thought this was good? Who really stood behind their work? Maybe, one day, we should try to research all this.
Mr Creosote
"Ouch! The evil aubergine wizard threw an aubergine at me!" That, or something like it, must have gone through the mind of the hero Pit in Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters when he turned into a defenceless waddling aubergine and set out to search the hospital room to regain his original heroic form. And this is just a small sample of the flourishing imagination that Nintendo put into this game.
LostInSpace
For decades, where did all chess world champions come from? Correct the USSR. Yet, it seems this clean-shaven US boy wants to play the Russian chess computer for world dominance. Representing game's player. Geopolitique 1990 does not allow to take over the "other" side. Even though it should really have been possible. It is a minor oversight in a game which is full of very good ideas and paved the way for other, much more commercially successful re-interpretations.
Mr Creosote
Yes, it is the incredible John Hurt! In the 1990s, he actually appeared in several so-called FMV games. In spite of the horrible hairpiece the makers of Tender Loving Care made him wear, he graces the game with his presence. Giving it a degree of credibility it otherwise surely wouldn't have reached. You'll be remembered!
Mr Creosote
Already in the days of the home computers, smaller software houses were that extra something. The resourceful name Pandora obviously promises a big surprise when opening their products. This became a reality for me after playing Into the Eagle's Nest. Because a few years later, I had a déjà-vu as I regard the much more famous Wolfenstein 3D only its logical sequel.
LostInSpace
It's a little bit ironic. Starship Traveller is a game with a technobabble science fiction theme. Yet, it is presented in fully analogue format itself. A Fighting Fantasy entry from Steve Jackson, be prepared for experimental gameplay…
Mr Creosote