Spectrum Computing

Juan F. Ramirez wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 3:41 pm Yeah, surprising results so far.
But more surprising is the vote Howard the Duck got

That's just depressing.
As is the one for Altered Beast, for that matter...

What title did you expect to lead the poll.

I always liked Hacker so I went with that

WIWC wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:56 pm What title did you expect to lead the poll.

Nothing specific in mind, but I thought Ghostbusters would be performing really strong. I don't like Ghostbusters - really dull and boring. It's got the feel of a BASIC game. What a missed opportunity.

Apparently, it was some car management game (on the C64, I believe) that was being developed just as Activision got the license for Ghostbusters, so they took what they had and retooled it to be Ghostbusters.

Commercially, it appears it might be the best selling ZX Spectrum game of all time (either that or Robocop). Surely must be the power of the license, because the game is so shoddy. (Robocop however, is a great game, even if you despise the film.)

PeteProdge wrote: ↑Wed Aug 14, 2019 7:27 am Robocop however, is a great game, even if you despise the film.)

Are there actually people out there that despise Robocop?!?! It's one of the best films to brilliantly take a stab at the whole 80's ethos of greed and power. Plus it's just a bloody (pun fully intended) good film.

Most of the early Activision released had a template loading screen with a standardised logo on top and credits at the bottom. (I never understood the need for including the French “par” in those credits BTW. Was there a Canadian connection perhaps?)

I couldn’t help noticing seeing all these titles listed in this poll that there are subtle differences in those screens depending on what company did the conversion.

All conversions by Software Conversions Ltd. have a bright yellow Activision logo:



Whereas all conversions by James Software Ltd. use a white Activision logo:



...Can I claim my Trainspotter award now?

Looks like I’m the only one who’s voted for The Eidolon. Too bad. I think it’s a pretty neat game.

Man, Activision has made a lot of (at best) mediocre stuff, it was real easy to vote for Enduro Racer.
I'm surprised that no one has voted for Dragon Breed though. That would've been my seconds choice.

I liked the arcade Dragon Breed, but looking at it again, it's not a great conversion. I think the sprites are actually a bit too big compared to the arcade, going by the relative size of sprites-to-screen, and the screen just fills up with no room to manouvre. And it's pretty slow and jerky. Again, it was maybe a bit too ambitious. Not exactly Bob Pape's finest. I suspect he was rushed, or maybe just too p*$$*d off after doing R-Type for Electric Dreams to really make a go of it!

St Dragon is better proportioned and a lot smoother on the Spectrum (although without the vertical scrolling and rather useless ability to dismount).

Joefish wrote: ↑Wed Aug 14, 2019 12:36 pm I liked the arcade Dragon Breed, but looking at it again, it's not a great conversion. I think the sprites are actually a bit too big compared to the arcade, going by the relative size of sprites-to-screen, and the screen just fills up with no room to manouvre. And it's pretty slow and jerky. Again, it was maybe a bit too ambitious. Not exactly Bob Pape's finest. I suspect he was rushed, or maybe just too p*$$*d off after doing R-Type for Electric Dreams to really make a go of it!

St Dragon is better proportioned and a lot smoother on the Spectrum (although without the vertical scrolling and rather useless ability to dismount).

It has been a while since I played it, but I do remember that the sprites are pretty big. Perhaps I should have a go at it again to see if I agree with you
But yes - the sizes of the sprites in St. Dragon are much more sensibly sized.

1. Enduro Racer
2. Wonderboy
3. Ghostbusters

1. Rampage
2. Enduro Racer
3. Hacker

Loved Rampage, great as a two player, I thought it just pipped Enduro Racer which is one of the best Speccy racing games.

The hardest decision was what to go for in 3rd place. After a bit of consideration I went for Hacker - a great idea for a game and a good atmosphere (once you manage to log in!).

Well, Enduro Racer has obliterated the others.

25 votes out of the 44 cast. That's 57%!

Its closest contender, sitting in second place, is Ghostbuster, with just 4 votes!

At third, with 3 votes, it's Rampage.

Then the ones with 2 votes each: Power Drift and River Raid.

And in joint fifth place, quite a lot with 1 vote each: Altered Beast; The Eidolon; H.E.R.O., Hacker, Hammerfist, Howard The Duck, Mindshadow and Wonder Boy.

A similar story over in the proportional vote...

33 Enduro Racer
13 Ghostbusters
7 Rampage
6 River Raid
5 Wonder Boy
2 AfterBurner
2 Hacker
1 H.E.R.O.
1 Pitfall II: Lost Caverns
1 Power Drift
1 Time Machine