I remember when Choplifter arcade first appeared at the corner shops. I had no idea an arcade version was in the works. Was totally amazed at how it looked. I just wasn't prepared for the firepower you'd be up against in this version. I didn't last long. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIxo...
level106.bsky.social
level106.bsky.social
@level106.bsky.social
Full on retro gamer, nostalgia seeker, and dad joker.
85 followers56 following806 posts
I think it was the Apple II version of Karateka I played first. ๐ค Either on my friend's Apple II, or on the ones at school. Then I played it a whole lot on the C64 at home. But Apple II on a green screen is what I'll always remember. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F9T...
I dunno about you, but if I was going to investigate the atmosphere processing plant of a planet where the colonists have mysteriously disappeared, that's exactly the kind of vehicle I'd want to be doing it in. ๐ (Knowing it's a Hunslet aircraft-towing tractor doesn't deter me in the slightest.) ๐
I liked how Raffaele Cecco would make games for the ZX Spectrum and C64, and you could tell that neither version was a simple port of the code and assets from the other. The capabilities of each machine was well used. (No monochrome graphics and software sprites here! Not *all* software sprites) ๐
For comparison I should put some Speccy screenshots. ๐ I like these versions of the same game done on different systems by the same author. (Mercenary on C64 and Amiga would be a good example.) ..There are usually differences, but because the author's making all the calls, the gameplay matches. ๐
Nothing like a bit of Wave Race-ing on a simulated CRT to pass this sunny day. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJzV...
Moon Patrol (arcade) ๐ต da-da da-da-da da-da-da! ๐ต Love that music. Gorgeous parallax scrolling too. (The first game with parallax!) ๐ค www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSh-...
There's something bouncy and warbly about the music of Fred Gray that I just adore. No other music on the C64 sounds like his. The game itself, Mission AD, is yer basic run-n-gun type of affair, but needs some quick reactions to survive. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfbG...
Interesting quirk with Deluxe Pac-Man: With a regular joystick or joypad, where odd movement combo's aren't possible, you're fine. But if you play it in an emulator with keyboard controls for the joystick, the game gets confused by any simultaneous up+down or left+right movements. Stuck in walls: ๐
Choplifter (C64) A beautifully made conversion of an Apple II game. It even made the jump to an impressive arcade version later. Choplifter has you rescuing men while defending you (and them) against tanks, jets, and the occasional over-aggressive satellite. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=FILX...
WipeOut Phantom Edition on Windows is really a fun way to revisit the original PlayStation 1 future racer. But, what if it's too sharp and antialiased for your retro sensibilities? Why pipe it through ShaderGlass I say, to give it that old-timey scanlined CRT look. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVsc...
Ghostbusters! Hahahaha! ๐ป This is one of those few well-made 80's movie licenses. They have had to invent much of the gameplay, but in true Activision form, they've made a good, addictive game for those who want to bring some Ghostbusting to their home computer. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TOy...
I went back to this one because the programmer of C64emu has just added an option to disable the virtual 1541 disk drive. There were quite a few Activision releases where the game would fail to run if any peripheral, such as a disk-drive, was detected. ๐ Thus: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jER...
I like how Paradroid lets you wander the ship, shooting the s** out of all these rogue droids. But also when you find a powerful one with a good weapon, you can go "I'll have that" and take over its brain. ๐ Though I've somewhat tired of the transfer game these days. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pum...
Sometimes it's good to take a break from the frenetic blasting/racing/platforming action, and just play a nice relaxing game of golf. The first Leaderboard on the C64 appeared and showed us that this was the way to do a computer golf game. Great stuff. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7Of...
Circus Charlie was an arcade game that was down at the local fish&chip ๐๐ shop. I really like this era of arcade gaming where just about any idea could be put out there if it was fun enough. This one certainly was, but it's not very forgiving if your timing is off. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD0y...
Okay, so I won the auction for a retro Apple II joystick. First thing I had to do was plug it into the PC (via the appropriate adapter) and play some Choplifter. The fire-button is a bit twitchy, making me miss a few things. But it's been a lot of fun to test out. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFAa...
The conversion of Terra Cresta for the C64 has some excellent Martin Galway music. Zzap!64 weren't hugely impressed by this game, and I can see why. But I really enjoyed it all the same. It's just a fun vertical shooter with some cool power-ups, in my book. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBbL...
..Comparing the C64 conversion to the arcade Terra Cresta, it's the usual deal where the pace of the arcade is faster, and there are more sprites. But I kinda think the C64 may have ended up with the better soundtrack. ๐ค It's a tough call though. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pad...
Can there be a villain name as on point as Death Adder? (Black Adder did lessen his scariness a bit) ๐ Golden Axe is really a cool arcade game. A great slash-em-up. Was lucky enough to play it on a free-play night, so got to the end without it eating all my money. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=thzD...
Tau Ceti (C64) Population of the planet killed off by a disease? Planetary defence systems run amok after a meteor shower? Turns out it only took me five and a half hours to zip around, collect the cooling rods, and shut down the reactor. ๐ Great game that was. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB5H...
If yer not into the fake CRT look I do nowadays, here's the output straight outta the emulator, with gorgeous sharp pixels: ๐ (Hey, it was 5+ hours of gameplay. I'm not gonna point OBS at it and go through it to edit every time I go to the loo or feed the cat.) ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=M__N...
City Connection (arcade) I love the little Honda City car she drives around in. A perfect vehicle for this kind of game: paint the road, avoid the police, and that darned flag-waving cat! ๐ธ www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hcx...
City Connection (ZX Spectrum) Though the arcade version is undeniably pretty, it's the Speccy version of this game for me. I get frustrated by the arcade levels not complete because of two pixels of unpainted road. ๐ The cat is real tenacious though. ๐ผ www.youtube.com/watch?v=amtl...
Lode Runner (Apple II) Nothing like a bit of Lode Runner to focus the mind. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyQH...
Of course, there were those lucky Apple II people who got to experience Lode Runner in *colour*! (At our school, out of twelve people in the lab, one got the colour machine.) ๐ I got a bit further this time. Finally got past the ship level. Yay! ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF6l...
Toy Bizarre (C64) How did Activision keep taking these simple concepts and make the most addictive, challenging games of concentrated fun? ๐ Toy Bizarre remains one of my favourites. Collect the bubbles and toys on each level to progress. But avoid Hefty Hilda! ๐ฎ www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDv_...
Rygar(arcade) Have to say, if you want to run around a landscape, like some Conan character, taking out various creatures with your shield, then Rygar is the game for you. So many weird and wonderful creatures here, appearing from all sides. Keeps you on your toes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAyA...
DaWormy (Amiga) Some days all we need is a good worm game to pass the time. DaWormy is the ideal candidate. Runs on your Workbench screen so you can while away your wormy adventures as the latest Aminet file-of-interest downloads. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISVe...
Donald Duck's Playground (C64) Y'know, educational games usually aren't my thing. But those smart chaps at Sierra On-Line really did something quite good here. I mean, sure, it's not Armalyte or Ultima IV. But I rather enjoyed recording this one. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDTe...
Stunt Car Racer (Framerate Unleashed โ Amiga) I'm still in two minds about this one. I mean, it's great to be able to see Stunt Car Racer without it dropping any frames. But all the landings, and tilt of the corners feel so smooth now. Too smooth? ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJGl...
Stunt Car Racer Unleashed (Amiga) I don't know what it is: If I play this game on a slightly slower Amiga (a virtual 68030 @ around 30MHz), so it's dropping a few frames, somehow it feels 'better' to me. I'm too retro to handle a perfect frame-rate. ๐ www.youtube.com/watch?v=znRP...